Siman - Pesachim Daf 7
- The beracha on the search for chametz
Rav Yehuda said הבודק צריך שיברך - When doing the search for chametz one must recite a beracha. Rashi adds that the Gemara later says that the beracha must be recited before the search. The Gemara brings a machlokes about what the proper words of the beracha should be. Rav Papi said in the name of Rava that one should say לבער חמץ, and Rav Papa said in the name of Rava that one should say על ביעור חמץ. The Gemara clarifies that according to both of them, since the beracha is said before the bedikah, the word לבער would be the correct word to use, being that it means to destroy in future tense. They argue only in regard to the words .על ביעור Rav Papi holds that it means to destroy in the past tense, and therefore these words cannot be used in the beracha, and Rav Papa holds that על ביעור too means to destroy in the future tense, and therefore it may be used in the beracha recited before doing the search. The Gemara goes on to discuss about how this argument between Rav Papi and Pav Papa about the wording of על, would apply to other mitzvos.
- Reciting a beracha before doing the mitzvah
Rav Yehuda said in the name of Shmuel כל המצות מברך עליהן עובר לעשייתן – We recite the beracha for all mitzvos, before we do them. The Gemara discusses how we know that the words עובר לעשייתן mean “beforehand”. In the beis medrash of Rav they said that there are two exceptions to this rule. One does not recite a beracha before he goes into a mikveh, and also one does not recite the beracha before the mitzvah of blowing shofar on Rosh Hashana. The Gemara explains that one does not recite a beracha before going into the mikveh, because before becoming tahor from certain tumahs one may not say a beracha. However, the Gemara asks why one would not be able to recite a beracha before blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashana? The Gemara concludes that the statement from the beis medrash of Rav must have been that the only exception is tevillah alone.
- Using a candle for bedikah
The Gemara asks how we know that one needs to use specifically the light of a candle to do the checking of the chametz. Rav Chisda answers that we learn this out from a chain of similar words. It says the word מציאה by chametz in the pasuk, שבעת ימים שאר לא ימצא בבתיכם, and we find the word מציאה in a different pasuk, ויחפש בגדול החל ובקטן כלה וימצא- He searched; he began with the oldest and ended with the youngest and it was found, which also has in it the word חיפוש – search. We see that the word מציאה was accomplished through a search, and therefore we see from this that we must do a search for chametz. Rav Chisda continues that the word חיפוש is also found in another posuk which discusses a candle בעת ההיא אחפש את ירושלם בנרות – At that time I will search Yerushalayim with candles. We therefore see that the word חיפוש is specifically a search done with a candle.
