brachot 8

some rabbis are keen to emphasise communal prayer and the synagogue.

but other rabbis prefer to pray where they study. after the destruction, God isn't housed in buildings anymore

and death can be painful like a thorn pulled from wool, or as smooth as hair taken out of milk.













(for an english translation of this talmud page see here)

brachot 7

God's anger lasts the moment when the rooster's crest turns from red to white and it stands on one leg, (leaving demon-like footprints around the bed...)

but can God be calmed and restrained with knotted reminders of mercy and human's prayers?

or do the wicked deserve to experience the anger? what about when it hits the righteous?














(for english translation of this talmud page see here)

brachot 6

we are surrounded by demons, but where is God?

look in God's tefillin and see that God values people. After all, demons only attack when alone (brachot 3), there's safety in numbers. God can be experienced when with other people.

so, run RUN to find others, and fix a time and place to pray.









(but what if when with others, you are not part of the group.... you know.... what if you are a woman...?)

(english translation of this talmud page can be found here)

brachot 5

saying the shema at night is like a sword of protection


but not everything should be protected against.
Resh Lakish: suffering is a loving rebuke, some things can only be achieved by suffering.

but for R.Yochanan, who would carry his dead child's bone, not all suffering has meaning...


and Abba Binyamin would lie in bed at night, lie in the right direction and say shema.








(english translation for this talmud page see here)

brachot 4

the rabbis make hazardous fences and say that the shema can be said up til midnight.
but without a clock who knows when midnight is?

a pious king is woken at midnight by the wind-played instrument and sings alphabetical praises,

and the angels take flight.













(english translation of this page of talmud can be read here)

brachot 3

the night is divided into 3 (or 4...) watches. God roars like a lion over the destruction, cries echoing in the night, and punctuating the darkness.

and ruins are dangerous places to enter. although it is unclear why, but it is precarious to be near places of destruction.
















(english translation of this talmud page can be read here)

brachot 2

the talmud begins with a question.












when does the night begin?
well, it depends on whose sitting down for supper.
the priests? the poor? or the ordinary? who do we take notice of and are influenced by?

or do we choose instead to take our cues from the natural world and look to the stars?