Questions tagged [blessing]
Questions about short prayers called b'rachos ("benedictions" or "blessings"), generally said to praise/thank God for specific events.
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Why don't we say Baruch Hu UVoruch Shmo more often?
I notice in Minyanim that I participate in that when the Chazan repeats the Shemonei Esrei and gets to "Baruch Ata Hashem", nearly everyone says "Baruch Hu UVoruch Shemo".
Yet, those same people skip ...
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Should I make a bracha on spice infused nasal spray?
My otolaryngologist (a.k.a. - ENT) uses a mint infused nasal spray to lubricate my nose. I once asked him to show me the spray bottle and the ingredients includes peppermint. Similarly, one of my ...
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When can a bracha carry over onto more food?
If i make a bracha x, eat some y, then decide i want some z, do i need to make another bracha? I'll present a few cases for x, y, and z here.
Make a mezonot with the intention to eat one cookie, and ...
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Is the blessing after food determined by the blessing before it?
Someone takes a cup containing just the amount of wine for which he must make a blessing after drinking it.
He then dilutes the wine with water such that the blessing is no longer “borei pri hagofen”...
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Why must the birkas kohanim be "with love"?
The bracha that the kohanim recite before birkas kohanim ends with "be'ahavah" (with love). I have read that this expresses that the fact that the kohanim are required to feel love when saying birkas ...
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Lighting the menora in shul and at home. How many brochos need be said?
Our shul has a minyan for mincha before sunset and for maariv after sunset. Between the two, the chanuka lights are kindled. There is a later maariv minyan; the chanuka lights are again kindled before ...
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Why Isn't There a Tefila for Fertility?
Within Shmoneh Esrai we daven for everyone of these items below, except for childbirth. Why?
R' Yochanan said: Three keys the Holy One blessed be He has retained in His own hands and not entrusted ...
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Why does Asher Yatzar close with a different idea?
The bracha of Asher Yatzar acknowledges the creation of man and his inner workings. It begins by blessing Hashem as the one who formed man and put in him all the things that allow man to operate. It ...
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'Tadir' and Brachos
There is a rule 'תדיר ושאינו תדיר, תדיר קודם'. Loosely translated: When faced with two mitzvos, one must first perform the one which occurs more frequently.
Q: When it comes to bracha achrona, we ...
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Can you answer amen to a non-Jewish blessing or prayer of a gentile?
Is a person allowed to answer amen to a prayer or blessing of a gentile? I would assume you can unless the prayer specifically of an idolatrous nature. For example in Christianity saying grace before ...
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Meaning of "lifnei kisei kevodekha" in the blessing of asher yatzar
The gemara (Brachot 60b) gives us the text of the blessing after going to the bathroom - and we still recite nearly exactly the same
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר יָצַר ...
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Wishing someone Mazel Tov may turn out to be problematic
I am a member of a Chabad-Lubavitch shul with its wonderfully diverse community here in Southeast Asia though I am not a Chasid. I may have caused some discomfort to our much loved Rabbi & ...
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"Sheasa nisim" after doing the mitzva
Shulchan Aruch, OC 692, says that if someone reads m'gilas Ester without reciting the benedictions before and after it then he fulfills his obligation of reading Ester. It doesn't say what to do about ...
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Rambam and altering brachot
Inspired by this question and its comments:
Rambam Laws of Brachot 1:5
The text of all the blessings was ordained by Ezra and his court. It
is not fit to alter it, to add to it, or to detract ...
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Do you need to eat a kezayis of the ikar to make a bracha acharona necessitated by the ikar?
Say you're eating a mixture of something requiring a mezonot blessing mixed with something requiring a shechakol blessing. By the rules of ikar and tafel you would just say a mezonot on the entire ...
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Bracha on avocado / sashimi "boat"
A take-out place near where I work makes an "avocado boat".
A whole avocado is peeled, pitted and cut in half. One half is placed on the bottom of a tray and filled with brown rice and assorted ...
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Beracha achrona on yogurt?
Do you make a boreh nefashot on yogurt according to sepharadim? Is it treated like a liquid, like ice cream, or as a solid? This is in relations to the time needed to eat it. If it's liquid, you ...
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Bracha after terrifying experience?
Recently we had a scare when we couldn't find our 4-yr old son. For 30 minutes, we searched and panicked, called police and Hatzolah. Finally, it was discovered that our older daughter was with him ...
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How long does a Bracha last for if I'm moving around in a building?
I work in a school with quite a large building. I have my own office, but I spend a lot of time out of it, checking the building, going into classrooms etc. If I make a Bracha on food and then leave ...
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What does 'בציצית' mean in 'להתעטף בציצית'?
When we don the טלית גדול, we say:
ברוך אתה ה׳ אלקינו מלך העולם אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו להתעטף בציצית.
I'm wondering about the meaning of the last word of the benediction. (Not midrash-like ...
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Include "al hagefen" if just had a sip of grape juice when anyways saying me'ein shalosh
Sorry I don't have all the sources in front of me. The basic rule of blessings is that wine/grape juice, fruits from the seven species, and the five grain products get a special after blessing known ...
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Baruch hu u'varuch shemo or Baruch Shemo?
It says in all the seforim (e.g. Orach Chayim 124:5) that one says "Baruch hu u'varuch shemo." But some people say "Baruch Shemo" instead. Is either one correct halachically, or only the former?
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Blessing in vain, Torah interdiction?
The Rambam in Mishneh Torah (Brachot, 1:15) write :
כָּל הַמְבָרֵךְ בְּרָכָה שֶׁאֵינָהּ צְרִיכָה הֲרֵי זֶה נוֹשֵׂא שֵׁם שָׁמַיִם לַשָּׁוְא וַהֲרֵי הוּא כְּנִשְׁבָּע לַשָּׁוְא וְאָסוּר לַעֲנוֹת ...
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Why not fulfill the birchat hashachar with the leader?
In many Shuls, the Shaliach Tzibbur starts the morning service by saying the list of brachot of Birchot hashachar. After that the individuals repeat these brachot to themselves. Why do the ...
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Why is the bracha of Asher Yatzar limited only to urination and defecation?
In viewing the words of Asher Yatzar, there is no mention of waste elimination, excretion or anything even indicating a specific bodily activity. All it mentions is the wonders of the bodily structure ...
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What berachos should be made when Moshiach comes?
I supose shehecheyanu or hatov vehameitiv, but I'm not sure about this. Are there something more specific than that? What are the mekorot dealing with berachos to be made when Moshiach comes?
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Guide for complete daily prayer/blessings
I was raised secular/Christian (secular Jewish mom) and am reconnecting to my Judaism. I just moved to a place with no significant Jewish community or rabbis for a few hours. (Luckily I lived in a ...
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What's a common blessing given to people at a bar mitzvah?
What is a common blessing given to the bar mitzvah boy when attending his bar mitzvah?
What is a common blessing given to the friends and family of the bar mitzvah boy when attending a bar mitzvah?
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One's Jewish Birthday in Judaism
Is one's Jewish birthday a day of עת רצון (time of will) regarding prayer?
Is there a source for giving berachos to people on one's birthday?
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Why do we not use the original language of בִּרְכַּת הַמִּינִים?
The language we currently use in the amidah for בִּרְכַּת הַמִּינִים is different from that found in the earliest siddurim. The gemarah (Berachot 40b) teaches us that "If one alters the formula laid ...
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Blessing: who gets first?
A father who wants to bless his family, whom should he bless first? His wife? His oldest son? His oldest child? The oldest among his sons, daughters, sons-in-law, and daughters-in-law? The cohanim? ...
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Do blessings and curses affect the dead?
Do blessings and curses have any effect on the dead?
We say things like, " may his memory be a blessing," "may the Neshamah have an 'Aliyah," etc.
What effect does it have?
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Birchas Ilanos on Fig Trees
Can one say Birchas Ilanos on a fig tree?
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Tefillas Haderech in Shacharis
I once heard of a concept of saying tefillas Haderech in שמע קולינו during shemonah esrei by Shacharis of that day. Has anyone here heard of it, and if so, what's it about?
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Why do we say הנותן ליעף כח with Hashem's Name?
The Rema rules in OC 225:2:
יש אומרים מי שנעשה בנו בר מצוה יברך בא"י אמ"ה שפטרני מעונשו של זה וטוב לברך בלא שם ומלכות
Some say that one whose son becomes a Bar Mitzvah should make a blessing ...
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Don't rely on rov for general blessings, but do for tevila
The Mishnah Berurah (215:20) brings from the Chayei Adam (Kelal 5) and Pri Megadim (Pesicha LeHilchos Berachos) that even if there's sfek sfeka (a double doubt) telling you to make a blessing, we don'...
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Kiddush levana – intensity of moonlight required in areas of light pollution
The answer to this question
came from Mishna Berura 426:3 which defines the light from the moon on which one can make the blessing as follows:
ג) ונהנין מאורה - דהיינו בעת שזריחתה ניכרת ע"ג קרקע. ...
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Who decides whether it's normal to eat something in a certain fashion?
The Shulchan Aruch in several places writes that if something is eaten in an abnormal fashion, it gets a Shehakol rather than its usual bracha.1
What defines whether something is a "normal" way of ...
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We need ten consolers; why not ten mourners?
The mishna, M'gila 23 amud 2 as described by Rashi, says we don't say the mourners' outdoor blessing without the presence of ten people, and the mourners themselves don't count toward the requisite ...
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What bracha should be made when smelling soap?
I'm assuming that when one showers / bathes and uses a bar of soap but isn't concentrating on the smell, he would not need to make a bracha. (There is a similar M.Y. question about needing to make a ...
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What does "give a blessing on the face of the earth" mean?
The ninth blessing of the weekday Amida as recited between Pesach and the rainy season contains, in some traditions, the phrase:
ותן ברכה על פני האדמה
and give a blessing on the face of the earth
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Excluding water from blessing after food
One common scenario is for someone to make a berakha on water at some point in the morning and to drink the water throughout the day. Suppose during the day, the person decides to have a snack whose ...
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Two brachos one mikvah
If I made a bracha and immersed two vessels, and then someone came over and asked me to immerse their vessel as well, since I did not have their vessel in mind, do I say a new bracha?
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Havdalah: mistake in the bracha
If a person saying havdalah began the last bracha (benediction) without mentioning sheim umalchus (God's name and dominion) i.e. he said ברוך אתה השם המבדיל בין קודש לחול וכו׳, skipping אלוקינו מלך ...
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Why Doesn't Rasag Mention Olives In The Five Fruits From Eretz Yisrael?
In his siddur, Rav Sa`adya haGaon (Rasa"g) mentions only four of the five species of peroth ha-ilan which are special to Eress Yisrael, leaving out zethim ("olives"). He does so in two places. Further,...
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Do bananas make the best karpas?
For karpas at the seder, one is supposed to eat a food on which the blessing "borei pri ha'adama" is made. However, many of the most commonly used food items for karpas (e.g. parsley, raw onion, raw ...
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Meaning and Difference between baruch and bar'chu
I'm sorry, I don't know a word of Hebrew, and I really want to know what these sentences mean:
Bar'chu et Adonai ham'vorach l'olam vaed
Baruch atah Adonai
If I didn't write them correctly, ...
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What is the prayer uttered by Michael Ginberg's dad in Mad Men?
In the second last scene of episode 5x03 of Mad Men, Michael Ginsberg (one of the Jewish characters on the show) comes back home from the grocer's to be greeted by his dad. The latter encourages ...
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Blessing on tree with inedible fruit
I am looking into the blessing for the trees for NISSAN.
There is a almond tree on our block. Blossoms really early. But it is the red-blossom type (bitter almond) not the sweet kind that you eat. In ...
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If I wear a synthetic and/or mesh garment with Tzitzis, will I fulfill the mitzvah of Tzitzis?
If I wear a mesh garment with Tzitzis, will I fulfill the mitzvah of Tzitzis? Can I say a blessing when I put it on?
If I wear a synthetic garment with Tzitzis, will I fulfill the mitzvah of Tzitzis? ...