Reb Eliezer

Above should be, he has heaven in mind.

ברכות יז,ב

When we do some chumra openly that others don’t do is considered יוהרא a sign of haughtiness, gaiva.
Putting on Rabbenu Tam’s tefilin, says the Aruch Hashulchan O’CH 34 after a long discussion that since many people currently put it on, it is not consirered yuhara. Similarly following the Rabbenu Taam waiting for 72 minutes, 4 mil after shkia on motzei shabbos as paskened by the Mechaber O’CH 261 is not yuhara.

The mishna at the end of Maseches Menochos אחד המרבה ואחד הממעיט בלבד שיכוין לבו לשמים whether one adds or diminishes as long as יe has the heaven in mind. Rav Ovadya Yosef in Yabia Omer YD (10,29), take the word אך which diminishes is followed by letters לב, take the word גם which adds, the letters preceding it are also לב indicating that in either case we come together at לב, רחמנא לבא בעי doing it for the right reason
לראש -לעשות רצון אבינו שבשמים.

ברכות יז,א

I will talk about לשמה learning Torah for its own sake. The gemora says in Shabbos (63,1) Tehilim 45,5
צלח רכב. יכול אפילו שלא לשמה – תלמוד לומר על דבר אמת you succeed if you ride (go) after the truth. Says the gemora one should learn maybe even not lishma? No follow the truth. This teaches us that lishma means learning to arrive to the truth. We find Pesochim (22.2) Shimon Hamosini was interpreting all esin (additions) in the Torah when he arrived to the pasuk to fear G-d, he did not know whom to add to it. So he wanted to abandon his whole lives work as he thought his whole interpretation was incorrect. He said I will get the same reward of not doing this interpretation as doing it. Rebbi Akiva included the fear of talmidei chachomim. How come Shimon Hamosini did not think of it? For him this was obvious as the chachomim get their knowledge from Hashem. So if Hashem felt that they were worthy of it, they deserve to be feared and respected, but Rebbi Akiva did not appreciate that requiring a pasuk because he was originally an am haaretz.

The gemora says in Maseches Nedorim (81,1) that EY was destroyed because they did not make a birchas hatorah. The Taz O’CH 47,1 explains this in great detail. The Ran says that the Torah was not chashuv in their eyes, Explains the Chasam Sofer over there that they thought that Torah is only beneficial to know how to do mitzvos, so in itself it does not require a brocho being only a hechsher mitzva. They didn’t realize that the Torah is beneficial when learning lishma to arrive to the truth and therefore it requires a brocho hence it is called Torah lishma, learning for its own sake to arrive to the truth. Rav Chaim says that the cheftza of Torah requires a brocho.

The Ben Ish Chai has another mashel for the yetzer hara:
As a man was limping along, another man came riding on a horse. Having mercy on him, he allowed him to sit on the horse in the front holding on to the rains. When they got into town, the one sitting in the front, says to the other, get off my horse. So at the din torah, he argues this is my horse as I am sitting in the front and holding the rains. The dayan realizes that he wants to take his horse, says we know it belongs to you but you should not have allowed him to sit in the front, holding the rains and take over the horse.
The nimshal is obvious. the yetzer hara arrives as a guest and then he takes over.

The Chasam Sofer gives us an eitza how to fight the yetzer hara.
It says in Tehilim (34,15) ס֣וּר מֵ֭רָע וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב בַּקֵּ֖שׁ שָׁל֣וֹם וְרָדְפֵֽהוּ Turn away from the bad and do good look for peace and go after it. He explains that there is always a conflict between the body and soul. We would like to make peace and resolve the conflict. So we should basically cycle through the making of peace and go after. We will create a small conflict between the body and soul by doing something inferior to the body and than make peace by letting the body get used to it. It has to be small such that the body will not get frustrated and reject it.

We find a tefila from Rebbi that we say every morning but we don’t mention yetzer hara. The question is what is the difference between satan hamashchis and yetzer hara? The yetzer hara does different functions, first he influence us to sin and then becomes an accuser.
It says Koheles (11,9) שְׂמַ֧ח בָּח֣וּר בְּיַלְדוּתֶ֗יךָ young man enjoy your youth and then it says וְדָ֕ע כִּ֧י עַל־כָּל־אֵ֛לֶּה יְבִֽיאֲךָ֥ הָאֱלֹקים בַּמִּשְׁפָּֽט realize that for all G-d will take you to judgement. The gemora in Shabbos (63,2) asks that it is a contradiction? It answers that the first part is the yetzer hara and the second part the yetzer tov. The Dubner Magid says that they are both the yetzer hara. He gives a mashel, there was a poor man who was looking around for a place to stay over. The only thing he had is a small back back that he carries on his shoulders. A joker gives the impression that he cares about him by telling him come to my hotel and enjoy yourself. After two weeks staying there the proprietor of the hotel tells him to pay up. He has to hand over the little he has. Going outside saddened, he meets this joker laughing and then he seems to have mercy on him by telling him go back and now fill yourself up to your hearts content as he can’t take anything else away from you.
This is how the yetzer hara operates, first he gets people to sin and then he says there is no help for you and you might as well continue on sinning. He turns into an accuser saying it’s one thing to sin a little but you continue on sinning.

ברכות טז,ב

We mentiion Rav’s tefila for benching Rosh Chodash. Our girsa is ימלא ה’ כל משאלות לבנו Hashem should fullfil our whole will of our heart has an alternate meaning that the name of Hashem should be come complete (currently its half but we are asking to become full)) לטובה for the good as sometimes we don’t know what is good for us.

ברכות יד,ב

The gemora says we should not repeat אמת by saying אמת ויציב why not? There is an interesting argument between the Maharal and the Maharam Shik what comes first אמת or שלום? The Magaram Shik holds the אמת comes first because it says אמת והשלום אהבו. He said this against the reformers based on the pasuk ישעיהו פרק מח
אֵ֣ין שָׁל֔וֹם אָמַ֥ר יְדֹוָ֖ד לָרְשָׁעִֽים: there is no peace, Hashem says to the rashoim. The Maharal says that peace comes first because שלום is name of Hashem whereas אמת is the stamp. The name comes before the stamp. Now we learned in SA O’CH 61,9 not the repeat שמע because it looks like two rashuos., You need permission from two, violating what we are saying that there is only one G-d. Could be that the argument in the
in the gemora is, if this also applies not only to the name but also to the stamp.

In SA O’CH 62, 5 says clearly to place the hands on the eyes in order not be distracted from accepting oul malchus shomayim with a full kavono.
The Avudraham says that שמע is acronym for עול מלכות שמים.
The Shlah Hakadash says that the word shma also means to unite like וישמע שאול את העם Shaul brought the nation together. The Rabbenu Bachaye in Kad Kameach says that people who have a common cause, the same beliefs tend to unite. Unite the nation of Yisroel because we all believe that Hashem or G-d is One G-d.

ברכות יד,א

Rebbi says in Pirkei Avos 2 – איזהו דרך ישרה שיבור לו האדם what is the proper way that one should chose
כל שתפארת לעשיה ותפארת לו מן האדם – whatever is good for him and good for others. Explains the Midrash Shmuel
if there is choice, ben adam lechavero comes before ben adam lamokam because a ben adam lachavero includes ben adam lamokam. We see from the gemora the importance to interrupt krias shma to give shalom.

ברכות יג,ב

We find the expression of reward ימיו ושנותיו his days and years will be extended by leining two times Torah and one time targum and over here by extending the saying of echod. Why the double expression which looks the same? The Ben Yehoda explains that assigned days he will live in quality, having a good life and the years extended will be in quantity, giving him additiinal years as he uses his life productively.

ברכות יג,א

The Rabbenu Bechaye in Parashas Vaychi says that the name Yaakov applies to his physical being whereas Yisroel his spiritual being. Yaakov plus Satan adds up to Yisroel. 182 plus 359 = 541, Yaakov Avinu encompasses the character of the satan after his battle.
Why is Yehoshia ‘Bin’ Nun rather than ben Nun? Explains Rebbe Reb Heshel (rebbi of the Shach) that when the yud was taken from Sara and given to him, the vowels were missing which was taken from the segol of ben and two dots a shvo were added to Yehoshia under the yud remaining a chirik an ee under the beis.

When a talmid chacham is sick, we should feel sick for him. Why a talmid chacham. what about any person? The gemora in Shabbos 32,1 says, a person should pray for mercy not to get sick because if he gets sick, he will need great defenders. This is the reason that Hashem creates the cure before the illness as he might not be worthy to get healed. The Chasam Sofer O’CH 166 explains that we consider ourselves sick to be included in the prayer bur we might not be worthy of it as we are the leg, so include the prayer for a sick talmid chacham who is the head because of his zechus we will also be healed. I explained with a similar logic when on shabbos we say שבת היא מלזעוק ורפואה קרובה לבא Shabbos holds us back from screaning and cure will arrive soon, I think it means that we should feel the illness like our own and scream, but the holiness of shabbos holds us back. The zechus of shabbos by our not screaming should bring the cure.