Source sheet with the following sources:

·                      Gemara Tractate Brachot 8a

·                      Gemara Tractate Brachot 54b

·                      The Beit Yosef who quotes the Mahram MaRotenberg who was the first Rishon to mention the problem of entering a shul with a weapon.

Summary of Last Shiur

Eating is permissible in a Shul only when it is considered a Seudat Mitzva.

Introduction

We will discuss one last question with regards to the kedusha of a shul. Is one allowed to walk into a shul with a gun? This question is a very important one for soldiers and even for the civilian population in Israel today, who carry guns with them 24 hours a day.

Chevruta

Have chanichim learn the following sources:

·                      Gemara Tractate Brachot 8a

·                      Gemara Tractate Brachot 54b

·                      The Beit Yosef who quotes the Mahram MaRotenberg who was the first Rishon to mention the problem of entering a shul with a weapon.

Questions for Discussion

·                      Where did the Mahram derive this halacha?

·                      Compare both Gemaras. Are they talking about the same halacha?

Learn

The Mahram derived his halacha from the gemara that claims that prayer makes people live longer and a knife’s (or any weapons) purpose is to shorten someone’s life. Point out to chanichim that from both gemaras we learn that davening has the power to extend our life span. But there is an important difference between them:

·                      Brachot 8a: prayer in a shul makes life longer

·                      Brachot 54b: prayer in general makes life longer

The difference between them (nafka mina) is if the issur is only to enter a shul with a weapon or if it is to pray with the weapon on you?

From the fact that the Shulchan Aruch brought the halacha in “Hilachot Beit HaKnesset,” we can assume that the main problem is that bringing a weapon into the shul desecrates the kedusha of the shul, in addition to the reason brought in the Gemara in Brachot.