questions about short prayers called b'rachos ("benedictions" or "blessings")
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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, ...
15
votes
3answers
515 views
What Bracha should you say on a Hurricane?
What Bracha should you say on a hurricane? Oseh Ma'aseh Vereishis?
You say Birchas Gomel if you travel over the sea; do you also say it if the sea travels over you?
0
votes
2answers
109 views
Blessing on the next American President
If the winner of the presidential elections is the person I voted for, am I allowed to say the blessing hatov ve-hameitiv (Who is good and beneficent) upon hearing the results?
In my eyes, this ...
0
votes
1answer
118 views
Can I say the prayers of Birkot HaShachar and Tikkun Chatzot after Chatzot (Midnight), even if I don't sleep yet?
Can I say the prayers of Birkot HaShachar and Tikkun Chatzot after Chatzot (Midnight), even if I had not gone to sleep yet?
How should I proceed with the Kriat Shema Al Hamitá if I will remain awake ...
7
votes
1answer
129 views
When I wake up before Alot Hshachar and won't go back to sleep, what can/can't I do?
If I wake up early in the morning, like any time from 2am to 6am, before Alot Hashachar, and I'm pretty sure I'll start my day and not go back to sleep, at least not before a possible afternoon nap, ...
7
votes
2answers
146 views
Can you do benching for 3 people when one person does not know what to say in response?
When you have at least 3 men who ate a meal together, you can bench using the formula "Rabbosai Nivorech", at which point the other men at the table respond "Yehi Shem..." and so on. However, what ...
2
votes
1answer
57 views
Bentching Ha-Gommel after a Birth
After a woman gives birth many have the custom of reciting the blessing of "ha-gommel" (a blessing of Thanks.) Until how long after a birth may this blessing by recited? (i.e. can it be said even a ...
2
votes
2answers
74 views
Gentiles and Berachoth
It seems pretty obvious that gentiles shouldn't make Berachoth on any Mitzvoth (their 7 aren't exactly ritualistic, and they were not commanded in the rest of ours). But are there any Berachoth that ...
2
votes
3answers
88 views
Bracha Lesheiv B'Suka when making Havdala
When one makes Havdala in the Succa, does one say the Bracha of Lesheiv Basuka?
3
votes
1answer
77 views
Bracha for fruit that is part of the meal
Does fruit eaten as part of a bread meal (rather than as dessert) require its own bracha?
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1answer
114 views
Al Netilas Yadayim in morning and after bathroom
Are you supposed to say the bracha al netilas yadayim after doing negel vasser after waking up or going to the bathroom?
2
votes
1answer
240 views
Does one make Birkas Hatorah/Hashachar before alos hashachar?
As per this question, it seems apparent that one doesn't make the morning blessings until at least alos hashachar.
However, in Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum's book "The Sweetest Hour: Tikkun Chatzot," on ...
3
votes
3answers
61 views
Leishev Basukkah before Shehechiyanu or after?
According to my minhag: on the first night of Sukkos by Kiddush, Leishev Basukkah [לישב בסכה] is said before the bracha of Shehechiyanu [שהחינו]. On the second night, however, Shehechiyanu is said ...
5
votes
1answer
92 views
Bentching after vomiting
If someone gets sick during a meal, assuming they are not incapacitated as a result, should they still Bentch, or do we say that they did not gain any nourishment and it's like they didn't eat (or at ...
4
votes
1answer
81 views
What is the significance of “white glass”?
In the bracha to Yissachar and Zevulun Moshe mentions that
For by the riches of the sea they will be nourished, and by the treasures concealed in the sand.” (Devarim 33:18-19)
Rashi explains ...
4
votes
1answer
57 views
May a child make a Berachah on a Pasul set of 4 species?
May a child make a Berachah on a Pasul set of 4 species that their parents gave them to learn how to make the Berachah and do the Mitzvah?
8
votes
2answers
131 views
May one recite a bracha while in the presence of ervah?
May one recite a bracha while in the presence of ervah? According to Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 75, one may not pray or recite Torah while in the presence of body parts that should be covered. Does ...
6
votes
1answer
104 views
גמר חתימה טובה gender
During the nine and a half days ending with Yom Kipur, we wish each other "גמר חתימה טובה" (an end to the good signing). This seems very strange. Shouldn't it be "גמר חתימה טוב" (a good end to the ...
4
votes
3answers
196 views
Humming as an interruption during Birkat Kohanim
Is the humming by the kohanim during birkat kohanim considered a hefsek of their bracha? Please be clear what halachik reasoning allows or disallows this humming.
5
votes
3answers
200 views
Status of feet while making a bracha or davening
In todays day and age where we no longer have homes with dirt floors:
do you still need to cover your feet when making a bracha or davening?
If so are socks enough?
does it depend on the custom of ...
8
votes
3answers
194 views
“Baruch shekivanti…”
There is a phrase of self-compliment people use when they find that they have independently arrived at the same conclusion as someone great. It begins with the words "ברוך שכיוונתי", translated ...
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0answers
24 views
What to do if I want to Bentch, but I also want to keep drinking? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Continuing to drink a Beverage after Birchas HaMazon?
What should I do if I want to Bentch - for any number of reasons - but I want to continue drinking?
Should I:
...
3
votes
1answer
64 views
Making food brachot for others
On Shabbat and Yom Tov, usually one person makes ha'motzi and everyone else at the table says amen and eats some bread. As far as I am aware, during the week, nobody ever eats food without making ...
3
votes
1answer
119 views
What is the effect on me of saying amen?
I understand that if I hear another person make a bracha (and perhaps even if I don't actually hear it), I may? must? respond "amen". I also understand that saying "amen" can allow me to be yotzei ...
2
votes
0answers
31 views
Should I say all blessings aloud?
I find that most people have tendency to say most blessings (on food, going to the bathroom etc.) quietly to themselves. This may preclude others from having a chance to answer amen afterwards. Is the ...
6
votes
0answers
103 views
The blessing for 600,000 Jews
The Gemara (Berakhot 58b) mentions that upon seeing 600,000 Jews one says the blessing "Baruch...Chacham HaRazim" (Who knows all secrets), and this is halacha (Sh.A. O.C. 224:5).
Does any know of any ...
3
votes
1answer
110 views
Rosh HaShana greeting - L'Shana Tova Tikosaivu - V'chain L'Mar
Rama Orach Chaim 582:9 says in the name of the Tur that the Minhag is to wish one another on the evening of Rosh HaShana L'Shana Tova Tikosaiv. Is there a source that says that people should answer ...
4
votes
0answers
44 views
Answering Amen to quiet Berachoth
According to this answer citing RaM"A (124:11), you can answer Amen to any Berachah even if you don't hear it, so long as you know which one is being said. Does this apply only to Tefillah BeTzibur ...
5
votes
2answers
101 views
Washing for bread with bandages covering the hands
If someone has bandages completely covering both hands, what does he do before eating bread?
Normally with a bandage covering part of the hard, I've heard that you wash the rest, but in this case ...
13
votes
3answers
180 views
Why are there two different forms of the mitzvah brachot (“l-” and “al”)?
Some mitzvah brachot are of the form ...vitzivanu "l'X" ("to X", infinitive verb), and others are of the form "al X" ("upon X", gerundive verb). I particularly noticed this during Sukkot with two ...
9
votes
2answers
213 views
Why don't we follow the Shulchan Aruch's nusach of the blessing on a rainbow?
Background:
The Talmud (Berachot 59A) and the Rambam (Berachot 10:17), and Tur 229 tell us the blessing of the Rainbow is as follows:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֶלוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם זוֹכֵר ...
3
votes
0answers
60 views
Berachah LeVatalah (blessing in vain) retroactively
Can a Berachah be made LeVatalah retroactively?
What if you eat something that is spoiled, not realizing it until a bite or two in? You would not make a Berachah on spoiled food. But if you did, ...
2
votes
0answers
64 views
Drinking from a drinking fountain throughout the day
This question deals with someone who has a cup of a drink and carries it around all day long, possibly refilling it, etc. I am wondering, for someone who drinks from a drinking fountain every time he ...
4
votes
1answer
94 views
What b'rachot do you say (and when) if you drink intermittently all day?
I know people who drink water, tea, or coffee intermittently all day long, not just as part of a meal. In that situation, when would you say what b'rachot? Assume you made shehakol before the first ...
2
votes
1answer
64 views
What to do if you realize while Bentching that you want more to eat or drink?
What do you do if you realize while you are Bentching that you want more to eat or drink? Let's say you realize you are thirsty, or you are Bentching early, and the host brings out the next course and ...
5
votes
3answers
137 views
How can people effectively bless when blessing is God's domain?
How do people have the power to bless? Yitzchak's blessings for his sons pretty much came true, and similarly later when Yaakov blesses his children and earlier (in the inverse) Noach curses Canaan. ...
7
votes
2answers
203 views
Saying 100 Berachoth in a day
What is the source for the idea that one should say 100 Berachoth in a day, and how serious of an obligation is this? Is it mandatory, is it laudatory, or is it merely a nice idea?
5
votes
3answers
149 views
When does counting 100 Brochos per day start and end?
There's a Halacha/Mitzvah to say at-least 100 Brochos a day.
My question is: what does the term "day" mean in this regard. Does a day start at night, and end the following night (as is the case in ...
1
vote
0answers
76 views
What is the bracha for gnocchi? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the beracha on gnocchi?
I'm not sure whether gnocchi have mezonos. Does anybody know? Also, if not, would they be haadama or shehakol?
4
votes
1answer
133 views
Should one say amen to an unnecessary bracha made by a child on the autism spectrum?
If a very verbal (often too verbal) 12 year old child on the autism spectrum has trouble speaking appropriately and particularly likes to say a bracha when he wants to and not necessarily when it's ...
2
votes
2answers
74 views
Hierarchy in ברכות השחר?
Of course there is a set order in the Siddur, but is there a hierarchy in ברכות השחר? If, for example, someone did not wash his hands or use the bathroom when he woke up, can he say Elokai Neshamah or ...
7
votes
3answers
461 views
What bracha do you make on smoothies?
If I put grapes, apples, strawberrys, watermelons, and other fruits and vegetables, as ingredients, in a smoothie, what bracha do I make, because its filled with foods of different brachos?
2
votes
0answers
30 views
Is the brochah made on gum for the base or the flavoring?
When the brochah shehakol is made on gum, is the brochah being made on the gum base, or the flavoring? (I'm assuming one makes a brochah on gum, but maybe not: see ...
2
votes
0answers
53 views
Changing the 'Omer sign
If a Shul has an 'Omer sign that is manually changed, may someone change it before making the Berachah on the night's count?
If not, and if the solution is to change it before Bein HaShemashoth, can ...
9
votes
2answers
208 views
Shalom Aleichem in Kiddush Levanah
Why do we say Shalom Aliechem in Kiddush Levanah? And what should one do if there are no other people around (or not enough people around)?
10
votes
3answers
187 views
How long can you say Asher Yotzar if you forgot?
If you forgot to say Asher Yotzar and remember a while later, is there a time limit as to when you are allowed to say it?
5
votes
1answer
108 views
Having dessert “in mind”
This has always confused me. One is not supposed to make unnecessary Berachoth, so one should "have in mind" to eat all of the foods that will be served in the meal when one begins the meal and makes ...
6
votes
1answer
94 views
Is Chazaq Chazaq v'nitchazeq חזק חזק ונתחזק an interruption for the reader?
Is it considered a hefsek for the Ba'al Kore to say חזק חזק ונתחזק, and, if it's not an interruption, is there a different problem because he is saying something which is not written in the Torah?
3
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2answers
782 views
If someone has BO and can't smell themselves, may they say blessings?
At hashkafah.com, the user named "critic" asks:
If someone has body odor (BO) and they can't smell themselves, would they be able to make a bracha?
Also, may they say words of Torah?
[Edit: I ...
4
votes
1answer
64 views
Mentioning Chanukah in Al Hamichyah
When Al Hamichyah is recited on a holiday or on the sabbath, it has a short passage inserted relevant to the day. However, there's no addition to Al Hamichyah for when it's recited on Chanukah: ...
