לע"נ מרת אסתר בת ר' שמואל
לרפואת הרב רחמים עצמון בן מרסל
The gemara in Temurah learns from the pasuk "לא תשא את שם ה' א-להיך לשוא" - “You shall not take the Name of Hashem your G-d in vain" that one may not use Hashem's name in the context of an שבועת שקר or שבועת שווא - false or vain oaths. [False oaths: It is forbidden to swear falsely, as it says “And you shall not swear falsely in My name”. One who swears an oath about a past or future event and is wrong has sworn a false oath, provided the event is something that it is possible (and not forbidden) for him to do or know about. This type of oath is called an “oath of expression” (shevuas bitui), as it says “Or if a person swears, expressing with his lips, for evil or for good”. Vain oaths: It is forbidden to swear vainly, as it says “You shall not take the Name of Hashem your G-d in vain”. There are four types of vain oaths: swearing that a well-known thing is or is not so; swearing not to observe a commandment; and swearing to do something that it is not possible to do. Swearing to observe a commandment is not forbidden, but such an oath is not valid.]
However someone who says Hashem's name in vain not in the context of a שבועה does not transgress this לאו but just transgresses an איסור עשה [but there are no מלקות because it is not a לא תעשה]. There are two גירסאות in the gemara that determine what מצות עשה he transgresses. In our text we have "את ה' א-להיך תירא" - You should fear Hashem your G-d". Uttering His name in vain is a violation of that pasuk. But Rashi has the pasuk "ליראה את השם הנכבד והנורא" - To fear His honorable and awesome name.
There is a מחלוקת ראשונים if a ברכה לבטלה is as serious as a שבועת שווא and if it would thus mandate a punishment of מלקות.
The gemara in Brachos [33a] says:
"כל המברך ברכה שאינה צריכה עובר משום לא תשא".
A simple straightforward reading of the gemara would indicate that one violates this prohibition when he makes a ברכה לבטלה. So writes the מגן אברהם [in 215-6] based on the Rambam who writes [Brachos 1-15]:
"כל המברך ברכה שאינה צריכה הרי זה נושא שם שמים לשוא והרי הוא כנשבע לשוא".
The מגן אברהם learns that the Rambam equates ברכה לבטלה to שבועת שוא. According to that - ברכה לבטלה is an איסור דאורייתא.
However Tosfos in Rosh Hashana [33a ד"ה דהא and dozens and dozens more poskim] argue that the איסור is only מדרבנן and the pasuk is but an אסמכתא. Tosfos holds that since one is saying the name of Hashem in the context of blessing Him, it a is less serious offense and thus only rabbinically proscribed.
It emerges then that Tosfos are at two opposite ends of the spectrum. According to Tosfos, ברכה לבטלה is merely דרבנן while the Rambam holds that it is a לא תעשה and mandates מלקות. In Tosfos' understanding a ברכה לבטלה is less severe than a regular utterance of Hashem's name in vain. The former is אסור מדרבנן while the latter is an איסור עשה. According to the Rambam a ברכה לבטלה is much worse than merely saying Hashem's name in vain. A ברכה לבטלה is a לא תעשה מדאורייתא while שם שמים לבטלה [saying Hashem's name in vain] is only an איסור עשה.
The rationale of Tosfos is likely that when saying Hashem's name in the context of a bracha, since praise is being uttered, it is not such a serious infraction. But if one says the Name of Hashem for no reason at all - then he is treading in dangerous waters and transgresses an עשה מן התורה.
However the Rambam holds the opposite and we have to understand why. The logic of Tosfos seems compelling. Why according to the Rambam is saying the name of Hashem for no reason less a severe infraction than saying it in the context of a bracha? Maybe we can suggest that when Chazal decreed that we must make brachos, they endowed brachos with special potency. Brachos are POWERHOUSES!! So like medicine, if one uses the right amount at the right time, it works like a charm. But if one take too much or uses it at the wrong time, it has very deleterious effects.
There is a TON more to say. ועוד חזון למועד בעז"ה בל"נ!!
