Rephael Cattan

 We have finished siman 9. The Chayei Adam wrote that vegetables do not receive a shehecheyanu because they are stored from year to year. This idea would seem to approximate our reality nowadays, where we transcend the local seasons through refrigeration and other methods. Therefore, in a country where such methods are employed, it would

 We are beginning siman 8. The Chayei Adam addresses the shehecheyanu made on new fruits. We will learn the Chayei Adam, and then discuss the practical ramifications.  Fruits which grow in cyclical seasons receive a shehecheyanu, even if the cycle is irregular (e.g., every other year), because there is a time element, and there is

We finished siman 5. The Chayei Adam applied the concept of mitzvos lav le’henos nitnu (mitzvos were not given for us to gain material benefit, therefore any perceived material benefit is not halachically considered benefit) to seforim, writing that one does not make a shehecheyanu on acquiring a new sefer. He also brought an opinion,

 We have finished siman 4, where we learned about the bracha made on receiving a gift. The Chayei Adam wrote that if a poor person receives a gift, they make a hatov vehametiv, because both the poor person and the giver benefit–the recipient from the gift, and the giver from the opportunity to give tzedakah.

 We are beginning siman 3. The Chayei Adam previously explained (shiur 1195) that the root of the reason to recite shehecheyanu is the simcha one feels from the new item. Therefore, the Chayei Adam writes that if one does not receive simcha from the item (due to it’s lack of Chashivus), they do not make

 We are beginning siman 1. The Chayei Adam writes that one recites the bracha shehecheyanu on good tidings which are relevant only to oneself. If the good tidings are relevant to oneself and to others, one makes the bracha hatov vehameitiv.  The Chayei Adam gives an example. If one hears that their wife gave birth