Birchas Hatorah when listening to A Torah Shiur Online

Hi,Every morning when I wake up and drink my morning coffee, I listen to a Daf Hayomi shiur. I find it a really good way to start my day. However, my question is, do I have to say birchas haTorah before I listen to the shiur, or can I recite it later when I say all the birchas hashachar?

Thank you for your question.

The Answer: 

It would depend if you are listening to a live shiur or a recorded one; 

If it is a pre-recorded shiur, then according to the Mechaber, one does not need to recite birchas hashachar. However, the Gaon Mivilna argues and says that one would have to recite birchas hatorah and say Yevorechecho before listening to the shiur.

However, if it is a live shiur, according to all opinions, one should recite birchas hatorah and say yevorechecho before joining the shiur.

The answer explained in-depth:

This is a very complex halacha, and HaGaon HaRav Amrom Fried shlitah wrote an entire Azamroh Lishmech issue covering this subject, (issue 308). I would like to share and explain the background involving this halacha.

Prerecorded shiur:

The Mechaber siman 47 seif 4 writes that one who only thinks divrey Torah and doesn’t actually verbalise it does not need to recite birchas haTorah. This is based on the Tosafos in Brachos 20b that hirhur lo ke dibbur dami which means that thinking is not the same as speaking.

The Gaon in his commentary on the Shulchan Aruch argues and says that especially when it comes to divrey Torah, we should say that thinking has the same halacha as speaking, since, as it is written והגית בו יומם ולילה, one should ponder and think about the Torah day and night. So we see that thinking divrey Torah is the actual mitzvah of learning Torah, so one would need to recite Birchas Hatorah before even thinking and pondering thoughts of Torah.

So, it would seem that the basis of the argument, whether one needs to recite birchas hatorah before even thinking about divrey Torah would be whether one is mekayem the mitzvah of limud hatorah when thinking about Torah. The Shulchan Aruch would hold that one is not mekayem the mitsvah, and the Gaon would hold that one is mekayem the mitzvah of Talmud Torah through thinking.

We find that the Ritva on Brachot, brought in the Shittah Mekubetzet (Brachot 15a), writes that one can be mekayem the mitzvah of Talmud Torah even through thinking alone. However, the Penei Yehoshua (ibid) writes that just by thinking one is not mekayem the mitzvah of Talmud Torah.

Hagaon Harav Amrom Fried shlitah writes (Azamroh Lishmech, issue #308) that we could say it is not a machlokes between the Mechaber and the Gaon. Even the Mechaber holds that one is mekayem the mitzvah of Talmud Torah through thinking. However, he holds that nevertheless, one does not recite Birchas Hatorah before thinking divrei Torah, there could be a number of reasons for this.

1.      The source that one needs to recite the bracha before learning is learnt from the verse כי שם ה' אקרא הבו גודל לאלקינו. When one wants to read the Torah he should first praise Hashem by blessing Him. So we see that the bracha was initiated specifically when reading the Torah verbally, and therefore, even though thinking may be a mitzvah, the bracha was established only when one actually reads aloud divrey Torah. This resoning is found in the Shagat Aryeh siman 24 and the Chayei Adam Nishmat Adam klal 9.

נשמת אדם חלק א כלל ט

הרמב"ן במנין המצות מצוה ט"ו כתב דברכת התורה לפניה היא מ"ע מדאורייתא, מהא דברכות כ"א (ב') [ע"א], דאמר ר' יהודה מנין לברכת התורה לפניה מן התורה, שנאמר "כי שם כו' הבו גודל" 

2.      The Pri Megadim, Mishbetzot Zahav (ibid), writes that since this is a mitzvah that one does through thought and not through speech, one does not recite a bracha before doing such a mitzvah. For example, we find that by bitul chametz before Pesach, when one is mevatel the chametz balev, even though he is doing the mitzvah of tashbisu, nevertheless since it is done only through thought, one does not recite a bracha. The same would apply when one is only thinking divrey Torah, one does not say a bracha beforehand.

A live shiur:

According to all opinions, one needs to say a bracha before listening, since here there is the issue of shomea ke-oneh, meaning that by listening to the person speak, it is as if you are actually speaking. And even though this is a big subject, if one it is considered shomea ke-oneh through a telephone or live shiur online, nevertheless one should say the bracha before the shiur and say Yevorechecho in order to be yotzeh all the opinions.

Wishing you much success in your limud hatorah, and may you go 'mechayil el choyil'.

1.       Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 47:4
2.       Tosafos Berachos 20b 
3.       Vilna Gaon (Biur hagra) on Shulchan Aruch, O.C. 47
4.       Ritva Berachos 15a, cited in Shittah Mekubetzes
5.       Penei Yehoshua Berachos 15a
6.       Azamroh Lishmecho, issue #308 – HaGaon Rav Amrom Fried shlit”a
7.       Shagas Aryeh, siman 24
8.       Nishmas Adam Vol 1, klal 9 
9.      Pri Megadim, Mishbetzos Zahav (O.C. 47)