When did Jews adopt the custom of saying "Baruch Hashem"? The only people who said B"H in the Chumash were non-Jews: Noah, Malkitzedek, Avimelech, Eliezer, Lavan, and Yitro!
-
related judaism.stackexchange.com/q/61587/759– Double AA ♦Commented Mar 3, 2016 at 4:09
-
mishna Berachoth (9, 5) חַיָּב אָדָם לְבָרֵךְ עַל הָרָעָה כְּשֵׁם שֶׁהוּא מְבָרֵךְ עַל הַטּוֹבָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים ו) וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְיָ אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ. וכו'... בְּכָל מְאֹדֶךָ, בְּכָל מִדָּה וּמִדָּה שֶׁהוּא מוֹדֵד לְךָ הֱוֵי מוֹדֶה לוֹ בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד It seems that the custom comes from the verse in Kriath Shema.– koutyCommented Mar 3, 2016 at 4:47
-
@kouty The term מְבָרֵךְ of course, doesn't imply any specific phrasing. The Gemara does somewhat define a bracha as needing shem vemalchut. Thus, it's questionable if that formality is what is implied here. It doesn't seem that way, otherwise, we woul dhave some standardized bracha that we should say everytime something good happens. Unless Hatov Vehameitiv is implied by this statement.– DanFCommented Nov 30, 2017 at 23:16
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
The earliest source that I can find of a Jew saying Boruch Hashem is King David. (Shmuel1 25:32).
There are also many places in Tehilim (28:6, 31:22, 41:14, 72:18, 89:53, 106:48, 124:6, 135:21, 144:1) where it says Boruch Hashem.
Ezra 7:27 also uses the terminology Boruch Hashem.
answered Mar 3, 2016 at 14:48
-
Does David say "Baruch Hashem," or "Baruch [shem ה׳]"? Commented Mar 31, 2016 at 20:34
-
@NoachmiFrankfurt: I gave you the sources, look it up. Commented Mar 31, 2016 at 23:13
-
Gershon, I am asking not for myself, I can look it up, but to make a point of the fact that in Tanach, we use shem ה׳, but we say השם in contemporary usage, rather than ה׳. Commented Mar 31, 2016 at 23:46
-
Avraham supposedly "converted" people who followed him. While Judaism was certainly not formalized at that time, one might argue that Avraham was "Jewish", and thus, Eliezer might have been as well.– DanFCommented Nov 30, 2017 at 23:11
I believe the custom of saying this comes from Tractate Berachos in the Mishnah, Chapter 9 Mishnah 5: Berachos 9:5
Seems that since we should "greet eachother in the name of Hashem" we should also describe the way we are feeling using the name of Hashem. Another more simple explanation is that we should always be thankful we are alive, and thus when someone asks how we are, we answer "Baruch Hashem" (Blessed is Hashem) because we are thankful we are alive and not dead not matter how we're feeling (sick, well, etc.)
