questions about short prayers called b'rachos ("benedictions" or "blessings")
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69 views
Yaakov blessed the angel?
Vayishlach, perek 32, describes Yaakov's struggle with a "man" who many, including targum Yonasan (:25, :27, :29), explain is actually an angel. In pasuk 27 (as explained by Yonasan), Yaakov seeks a ...
4
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1answer
125 views
4
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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: ...
4
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0answers
54 views
Why do we make a blessing on the blossoming of fruit trees (birkat hailanot)?
What is the reason that we make a blessing on fruit trees which are about to blossom, known as birkat hailanot? Is there something unique about the potential blossoming of fruit trees versus any other ...
4
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0answers
60 views
Why does Yakov bless Ephraim and Menashe at the same time?
Why does Yakov bless Ephraim and Menashe at the same time? Why not bless them one after the other?
4
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0answers
45 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 ...
4
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0answers
156 views
Why ad meah v'esrim?
Why do we bless people with "ad meah v'esrim"? Aren't we supposed to believe moshiach will come by then, and there will be eternal life (according to some opinions)? Thus by giving a blessing for a ...
4
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0answers
106 views
HaMalach HaGoel Osi
Why does Yakov ask the malach (angel) (actually it sounds more like a statement of fact - "he will...") who protected him from evil to bless Ephraim and Menashe? Also, do we find that this actually ...
4
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0answers
66 views
an adult's responding to a child's sneeze with a blessing, or vice versa
The halacha states (Mishnah Brurah 230: 7) that one should respond to a sneeze with a blessing and the person who sneezed and was blessed should return with a blessing in kind. this is not done if you ...
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3answers
1k views
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, ...
3
votes
3answers
232 views
Rainbow, telling a friend
We know The rainbow is a bad Omen. Is one allowed to tell a friend when he sees one, in order to allow him to make a Bracha or should he hold back as it is a bad sign?
3
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4answers
478 views
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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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 ...
3
votes
3answers
57 views
How to say mizonos first on an ice cream cone
Normally when faced with eating two foods where one takes a "mizonos" blessing for grain products, and another takes an all-encompassing "shehakol" blessing, we try to eat the mizonos food first. How ...
3
votes
2answers
116 views
"Oseh ma'aseh braishis” on a rainbow. Is this a brocho levatoloh?
Someone made the brocho of “oseh ma'aseh braishis” on a rainbow. Is this a brocho levatoloh? What sources deal with this issue please? (I have posed the shaaloh to my Rav.)
3
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2answers
405 views
Birth Bracha Question
What Bracha do you make on the birth of a child? What Bracha is made on a Boy? What Bracha on a Girl? When is this Bracha Made?
3
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2answers
361 views
Meaning of 5th of the Sheva Brachos
One of the Sheva Brachos we say is:
שמח תשמח רעים האהובים, כשמחך יצירך בגן עדן מקדם. ברוך אתה ה', משמח חתן וכלה.
Grant perfect joy to these loving companions, as you did your creations in ...
3
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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 ...
3
votes
1answer
409 views
What is the source of the Birkat Habayit?
What is the source of the text of the Birkat Habayit:
I've seen them written on a hand, and some come with garlic, multi-colored beads, and some other strange objects.
Inspired by: ...
3
votes
1answer
170 views
Rainbow: Making a Bracha on a bad Omen
As discussed in some earlier questions Rainbows are a bad Omen yet we are Halachicly commanded to make a Bracha on it. The Gemara in Chagigah (16A) says you may not gaze at one so how do you make the ...
3
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1answer
265 views
What Bracha do you make on (Kasha) buckwheat?
What Bracha Rishona and Bracha Achrona do you make on (Kasha) buckwheat?
3
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1answer
268 views
3
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1answer
88 views
New Al Netilas Yadayim after washing after Defecating During Meal
Should one make a new bracha of al netilas yadayim upon washing his hands after defecating within a meal?
3
votes
1answer
105 views
boreh pri hagafen and hamotzi during the week
On Shabbat and holidays, we say kiddush before hamotzi (I think because hamotzi would normally cover the wine? Is that right?). During the week, what is the proper procedure? Is it to say hagafen and ...
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 ...
3
votes
1answer
101 views
The blessing of Shehechiyanu
Is Bircat Shehechiyanu a bircat shevach (a blessing of praise)? If it is, why sometimes do we make the beracha before the event (or in some cases an action representing an event, such as putting up a ...
3
votes
1answer
827 views
Wishes to a mourner in addition to “Hamokom Yenachem Eschem”
I have heard some people say in Yiddish after "Hamokom Yenachem Eschem B'Soch Shaar Aveilei Tzion V'Yerushalayim" ("May God comfort you alongside the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem"), "Zulst Mer Nisht ...
3
votes
2answers
141 views
Bracha on Kibud Av Va'eim
Why do we not make a Bracha (e.g. every morning) on the mitzvah of honoring one's parents?
3
votes
1answer
49 views
Bracha on Hallal Chol HaMoed Pesach (in regards to Sephardim)
I know that according to the psak of the Shulchan Aruch the Sephardim (among others -- The Gra, many Kehillas in Yerushalayim including Chassidei Karlin, Chassidei Biyan I think, and Chassidei Chabad ...
3
votes
1answer
42 views
birkas hagomel: based on the toda?
Is birkas hagomel based on the korban toda? B'rachos 54:2 seems to derive it from p'sukim without reference to the toda; Rambam puts one in Maase Hakorbanos and the other in B'rachos without any ...
3
votes
1answer
95 views
Why do Ashkenazim say a b'racha for each of the four cups?
Normally if you have wine and refill your glass during the meal you don't make a new borei p'ri hagafen. Why do we (at least Ashkenazim) say a new b'racha for each cup at the seder? I think I've ...
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
2answers
106 views
Bracha on Smoking
(Inspired by Double AA) Based on the Premise (which I may be wrong on) that there are pieces of the actual Tobacco leaves or whatever else is smoked in the inhaled part of the smoke hence there would ...
3
votes
2answers
167 views
Will I ever actually make “al mitzvat tzitzit” on a daily basis if I don a tallit gadol?
I wear a tallit katan at almost all times and I do, in fact, sleep in it. I spoke to a rabbi about whether I would actually ever make "al mitzvat tzitzit" and it seemed that the answer was no. Kitzur ...
3
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1answer
65 views
3
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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 ...
3
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1answer
78 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?
3
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1answer
88 views
women's saying a b'racha on s'firas haomer
Mishna B'rura 489:3 says women do not say a b'racha on s'firas haomer; Aruch Hashulchan 489:4 says they do. What is the practice of various Ashk'nazi communities (for example, chassidic (various ...
3
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1answer
100 views
Private Bircas Kohanim during Mussaf?
One Shabbos during the Chazan's repetition of the Mussaf Shemoneh Esrei, I noticed a guest who is a Kohen (who seemed to be of Sefaradic stock) wrapping his sons in his tallis, with his hands on their ...
3
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1answer
51 views
Can one say “Hazak u'Baruch” to both men and women? If not, is there a female equivalent?
When returning from an Aliyah la'Torah, I am commonly met with "Hazak u'Baruch". I have encountered this saying in other situations when someone does something praiseworthy.
Can one say "Hazak ...
3
votes
2answers
124 views
Correct response to tizku l'mitzvot
What is the correct response to someone saying, "tizku l'mitzvot" after you do a mitzvah, or something helpful? For example, after helping someone make an Eruv Chatzeirot they might say "tizku ...
3
votes
1answer
92 views
What does “שבת היא מלזעוק” refer to?
Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 287:
יכולים לנחם אבלים בשבת וכן יכולים לבקר את החולה ולא יאמר לו כדרך שאומר לו בחול אלא אומר לו שבת היא מלזעוק ורפואה קרובה לבא ורחמיו מרובים ושבתו בשלום הגה וי״א דאין ...
3
votes
1answer
45 views
Beracha Achronah on milk
We say a special Beracha Achronah on the seven species that Eretz Yisroel is praised in the Possuk Eretz Zeis Shemen etc.
My question is, since Eretz Yisroel is also praised with milk (albeit in ...
3
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1answer
115 views
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? ...
3
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2answers
107 views
Snuff Bracha or lack thereof
Is there or what is the Bracha on Tobacco Snuff especially now that they come with mint and buble gum flavor (at least in Israel)?
3
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1answer
37 views
Does a person need to see 2 trees to make birkat ha'ilanot is this preferable or is this completely unnecessary and carries with it no benefit?
Does a person need to see 2 trees to make birkat ha'ilanot is this preferable or is this completely unnecessary and carries with it no benefit?
3
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0answers
44 views
Answering “amen” to “Ahavas olam” in the evening but not in the morning
Mishna B'rura 91:16 cites a difference of opinion regarding whether one should respond "amen" to the shatz's (leader's) blessing immediately before "Sh'ma" or should, on the contrary, finish saying ...
3
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0answers
34 views
Should I only make one Berachah, or should I make one on each different food?
When I was in "Pirchei" boys' youth groups as a child, at snack time I was taught to make a "Mezonos" on my cake, "Shehakol" on my drink, and "Haetz" on my sliced fruit. Then, at the end, the group ...
3
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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, ...
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0answers
162 views
Brachos and Amen “parties”
What is the source for brachos and amen parties wherein a group of people sit together and take turns making various brachot and answering amen? Do these events violate any halachot?
