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Young Israel of Westside Shiurim

Brachos 59

  1. The constellation Ash is the tail of the Ram (aries=kimah). Ash is missing some stars. It happened bc when Hashem wanted to bring a flood to the world, he took two stars form Kimah, and to close the gap, he took two stars from the tail, Ash and closed it up.

  2. Earthquakes come either from Hashem's two tears, or Hashem clapping His hand, Hashem kicking the sky, or Hashem pushing his feet under His throne.

  3. Thunder is the clouds colliding , or clouds pouring water into one another, or a lighting bolt striking a cloud that shatters pieces of hail, or hollow clouds that the wind blows through their openings. Thunder was created only to straighten out he crookedness within the heart.

  4. One only makes the bracha on very strong winds, like a hurricane. Hurricanes do not begin at night and they do not last two straight hours.

  5. The Gemara suggests bowing to rainbows, but ultimately, the Gemara is against it so it doesn't look like bowing to the rainbow itself, but one should recite a special bracha on the rainbow.

  6. For the compeers, earthquakes, thunder, and lightning, the Gemara concludes that either the bracha of "Kocho Maleh Olam" or "oseh ma'aseh bereishis" is acceptable.

  7. There is a bracha for a perfectly clear sky without a trace of a cloud but the Gemara says this hasn't happened since the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash.

  8. One makes a bracha on the sun every 28 years when it returns to exact spot it was at the time of creation. It returns at the spring equininox when it's a tuesday night at sundown.

  9. Theres two blessings for rain. "Hatov v'hameitiv" and a "modim for the rain." We only say hatov v'hameitiv if there was a lot of rain that fell, or alternatively, when one actually has land so he is personally benefiting from the rain. However, this is only true if one is sharing the land with a partner. Otherwise, it is shehechyanu. This is the general rule for hatov v'hametiv- it must a shared joy, like having a baby boy or inheriting with other brothers, or drinking wine with others.

Broadcast on:
02 Mar 2020