&sq=&lang=&file=File:First_page_of_the_first_tractate_of_the_Talmud_(Daf_Beis_of_Maseches_Brachos).jpg) The first page of tractate Berakhot | |
| Tractate of the Talmud | |
|---|---|
| English: | Blessings |
| Seder: | Zeraim |
| Number of mishnahs: | 57 |
| Chapters: | 9 |
| Babylonian Talmud pages: | 64 |
| Jerusalem Talmud pages: | 68 |
| Tosefta chapters: | 6 |
Berakhot (Hebrew: בְּרָכוֹת, romanized: Brakhot, lit. "Blessings") is the first tractate of Seder Zeraim ("Order of Seeds") of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. The tractate discusses the rules of prayers, particularly the Shema and the Amidah, and blessings for various circumstances.
Since a large part of the tractate is concerned with the many berakhot (English: blessings), all comprising the formal liturgical element beginning with the words "Blessed are you, Lord our God....", it is named for the initial word of these special form of prayer.[1]
Berakhot is the only tractate in Seder Zeraim to have Gemara – rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah – in the Babylonian Talmud. There is however Jerusalem Talmud on all the tractates in Seder Zeraim. There is also a Tosefta for this tractate.
The Jewish religious laws detailed in this tractate have shaped the liturgies of all the Jewish communities since the later Talmudic period and continue to be observed by traditional Jewish communities until the present, with only minor variations, as expounded upon by subsequent Jewish legal codes.
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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Berakot". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
