THE TALMID WHO BLESSED IN FRONT OF BAR KAPARA
What are Dormaskin?
Rashi citing R. Yitzchak b'Ribi R. Yehudah's Perush on Bava Kama: They are salted vegetables, from the beet family.
Rashi citing R. Yitzchak b'Ribi R. Yehudah here: They are prunes.
Rashi: Also I heard so, but this cannot be. If so, their Berachah is Borei Pri ha'Etz. How did he bless on the meat first sheha'Kol? It is not like something important!
Rav Elyashiv: R. Akiva Eiger asked, what was difficult? Via cooking them, their Berachah becomes sheha'Kol! Rashi must alternatively presumably, he ate them raw. However, nowadays people eat them also cooked, so in any case their Berachah is Borei Pri ha'Etz.
Tosfos: Below, it implies that the Berachah is Borei Peri ha'Adamah. It seems that it is a kind of cabbage.
Did the Talmid make a Berachah Rishonah or Brachah Acharonah?
Tosfos: It was a Brachah Rishonah. There is no Zimun for Peros. (Only for bread, l'Chatchilah one may bless to exempt others.) The case is, they reclined together. For us, reclining helps only for bread. Everyone must bless by himself for Peros and for wine.
Rav Elyashiv: Rashi explained that these are matters that do not come due to the meal. How did he know that they were in the middle of a meal? Tosfos explained that reclining helps only for bread. Rashi explained that they were in a meal; since reclining helped for bread, it helps also for all Berachos in the meal.
Why did he say 'he acted like one who never tasted meat'?
Rashi: The meat was Chaviv (dearer) to him.
Why did he say 'is there no elder here?'
Rashi: I am an elder - you should have asked me which to bless on to exempt the other species! They are not due to the meal, so bread does not exempt them; they require a Berachah beforehand.
Rav Elyashiv: An elder has experience. Perhaps he remember when they discussed this or ruled about it.
What do we learn from this episode?
Ha'Kosev: One must be very careful about the honor of a Chacham or elder. If one is lenient about their honor, their sting is like that of a scorpion. Hash-m is quick to punish for this. Also, Bar Kapara showed anger to defend the first Talmid's honor before he showed anger for his own honor.
Initially he was angry at the one who mocked. When he retracted to be angry at the one who blessed, why did his anger at the other depart?
Ha'Kosev: First he explained that his anger at the one who mocked was not due to his own honor, for disgracing him in front of Bar Kapara. (NOTE: An Apikoros is one who disgraces a person in front of a Chacham (Sanhedrin 99b). - PF) He was adamant only about overt disgrace, e.g. one who blessed and did not ask him. After he explained his adamancy, he was assuaged and did not want to punish them. Hash-m was concerned for honor of the Torah, and punished them within the year.
Maharsha: Initially, he had a little anger at the one who blessed, for not asking if he should bless on what is Chaviv, or what is Zayin (sustains). He had great anger at the one who mocked - this was like showing the Halachah in front of his Rebbi, that it was improper to bless on the meat. The first was authorized to bless, so it was not as if he showed the Halachah in front of his Rebbi. The second explained that he did not mock him for blessing improperly, rather, for not asking Bar Kapara. Then, Bar Kapara was angry only at the first.
Iyun Yakov: Derech Musar, he rebuked each not in front of the other. He told each, I am angry only at you. This way, they will not repeat their folly, and they will not quarrel with each other.
Rav Elyashiv: 'I am not angry at the one who mocked' means that I am angry not only at him, rather, also at the one who blessed.
SHOULD ONE BLESS ON A LARGE PIECE OF BREAD, OR A SMALLER WHOLE LOAF?
Which bread does he cut?
Rashi: He cuts both of them, or the loaf.
Rav Elyashiv: It suffices to look like he cuts both. Since now there are only pieces, it looks like he cut also the piece. The Rosh says that on Seder night, one must eat a k'Zayis both from the whole Matzah and the piece. Bi'ur Halachah (475:1) asked, it suffices to cut both. One need not eat from both!
Tosfos: He cuts the loaf.
Why did he say that Salmon's teaching makes Shalom among the Talmidim?
Ha'Boneh: It is a proper compromise (it enables the Amora'im to conduct themselves the same way). Torah is called war - the purpose is to reach Shalom!
For which Eruv was the bread used?
Rashi: It was used yesterday for Eruv Chatzeros.
Me'iri: You cannot say that it was Eruv Techumim - it must be intact for all of Shabbos! All the more so it cannot be Eruv Chatzeros - if so, afterwards he cannot carry in the Chatzer! (NOTE: A Shi'ur is needed initially, but any remnant suffices for Eruv Techumim (Eruvin 46b) and Eruv Chatzeros (ibid. 80b, if Shituf was done in the Mavuy! He can bless on the loaf, and save part! Further, perhaps the Eruv was big enough so that a Shi'ur will remain even if he eats this entire loaf! - PF) However, we could say that he ate it after Shabbos.
Etz Yosef: This shows that for Berachos of Hana'ah, we are not concerned for doing Mitzvos in bundles (two or more Mitzvos with one item).
Me'iri: It was Eruv Tavshilin.
Why did the Gemara need to say that [when they used bread of an Eruv], they would bless ha'Motzi on it?
Daf Al ha'Daf: Orach Ne'eman (212) brings from here a support that one may use Pas ha'Ba b'Kisnin for an Eruv.
What are other cases of 'since it was used for one Mitzvah, it is good to use it for another'?
Me'iri: It is good to use the Hadas taken with the Lulav for Birkas Besamim in Havdalah, and remnants of wicks from Ner Shabbos for Ner Havdalah.
Mishnah Berurah (297:8) says that it is good to bless on the Hadas as long as it has smell. Some say not to bless on it after the primary smell departed. Chashukei Chemed - the first opinion holds that doing another Mitzvah with the same item overrides doing the Mitzvah with a more Mehudar object. Likewise, it is better to make Kidush over white wine of Ma'aser Rishon, even though [normally] red wine is preferable. The latter opinion disagrees. I am unsure about a Kohen who received a silver cup for Pidyon ha'Ben, if it is good to use it for Kidush. Perhaps we say so only about bread of the Eruv - it itself was used for the Mitzvah. And if it applies even to a cup, I am unsure if it is better to use this cup, or a nicer cup.
Rav Elyashiv: Acharonim say to use wool of Reishis ha'Gez for Tzitzis.
Daf Al ha'Daf: R. T. Avramovitz says that if wheat was tithed, even the remnant (Chulin) is considered that a Mitzvah was done with it. It enabled taking the Ma'aser, for one may not take more than a 10th for Ma'aser. Reishis ha'Gez itself, a Mitzvah was done with it, but not with the shearings that the owner kept, for they did not enable the Mitzvah; one may make all the wool Reishis ha'Gez without any remnant.