Questions tagged [blessing]
Questions about short prayers called b'rachos ("benedictions" or "blessings"), generally said to thank God for specific events.
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She'asa Nissim Lavoseinu | שעשה נסים לאבותינו - what did they say back then?
What was the second blessing mentioned by the Jews right after the miracle of Purim took place? If the second blessing on reading the Megillah mentions:
"בימים ההם בזמן הזה"
"... in those days at ...
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Shehechyanu levatala on Purim
Before the morning reading of Megillat Esther, the reader says 3 brachot including Shehechyanu (according to Ashkenazic practice). This applies, to some degree, and in some way to that morning's ...
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2answers
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Meaning of Zekher Livracha (ז"ל - Of blessed memory)
The literal translation of ז"ל is "of blessed memory"
What does it mean to bless memory? How does it help the soul?
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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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1answer
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Ritual hand washing
A question about netilat yadayim in the morning. Where does the custom with the bowl and cup come from?
In modern homes with clear running water, is there a problem reciting the bracha whilst washing ...
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1answer
376 views
Can a gentile pronounce a blessing for a Jew? Are there songs I can sing that will bring peace?
As a chaplain I sing Christian hymns for those who are dying and for the family after death, while still present with the one who died. There is also a final blessing. It brings a deep peace for the ...
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Why not say סברי before the blessing on wine at a wedding ceremony?
The Rema in O Ch 174(8) says
ויאמר סברי רבותי ר"ל סוברים אתם לצאת בברכה זו ולא יאמר ברשות רבותי
(מו) וכן כל מקום שמברכין על היין משום ברכת היין שבתוך הסעודה אין
אומרים ברשות אלא סברי מטעם ...
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Blessing Over Kiddush Covering Future Drinks
This past Shabbat, my Rabbi's father-in-law was over and they disagreed over whether or not to say a blessing.
After Shacharit, my Rabbi said kiddush over wine, ate mezonot, and then (as always) ...
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1answer
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Ramifications of eating (or forcing to eat) food one doesn’t like
Avos D’Rebbi Nassan 26:5 says (translation is from Artscroll, and brackets are from their footnotes):
הוא היה אומר האוכל אוכלין שאינם עולים על גופו עובר משום ג' לאוין שביזה את עצמו וביזה את האוכלין ...
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Why is א-להי נשמה not א-להי הנשמה?
In the morning blessing of א-להי נשמה the first few words read א-להי ,נשמה שנתת בי.
To me this literally translates as 'My G-d, soul that you put in me...'
It sounds strange.
Why not say, א-להי ,...
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1answer
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bracha on unflavoured seltzer if one's not thirsty
It's well known that a bracha isn't made on plain, unflavoured water if one isn't [that] thirsty, the question is: what about plain seltzer (e.g. refreshe from Vons)?
Is the addition of the bubbley ...
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What's the difference between making a blessing in vain and wearing a four-cornered garment without tzitzit vis-a-vis checking the tzitzit in advance?
R. Joseph Karo (Shulchan Aruch O.C. 8:9) codifies the following law:
קודם שיברך יעיין בחוטי הציצית אם הם כשרים כדי שלא יברך לבטלה
Prior to making the blessing [on the tzitzit] he should look ...
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1answer
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Three faceted blessing after public kiddush on Friday night
Fortunately I had the honour on multiple occasions to do public kiddush on Friday nights in different synagogues. A few of them were keen on asking me to recite the three faceted blessing after it, ...
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Blessing children via a shaliach
Can blessing the children friday night be done via a shaliach if a child is away from home for Shabbat?
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What is the blessing on cricket bread?
This recent article speaks of commercially available bread made from ground crickets. To clarify, crickets are ground into flour and used in some combination with wheat flour.
Now, to the best of my ...
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1answer
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Birkas Hamitzvah on food which is normally assur, but allowed due to pikuach nefesh
From Making a bracha on food which is normally assur, but allowed due to pikuach nefesh, if you eat normally forbidden foods because of pikuach nefesh, you make a bracha on them.
Does the same apply ...
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1answer
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Blessing one's spouse on Shabbas
Every Shabbas I bless my 3 children but I feel like it's incomplete. What about a blessing on for my wife?
I suppose many sing Eshet Chayil but I feel it is more directed to the Shabbas rather than ...
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1answer
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For how long has the Bracha on nerot Shabbat been around?
When did the Bracha on nerot Shabbat come into play? I know that the Mishna mentions generally the mitzva mid'rabanan to light a light on Shabbos. But when did klal yisrael begin saying the Bracha?
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For situations where the halacha is based on one's personal preferences, should one adapt his preference to be more “choshuv”
My specific example is with ice cream sandwiches.
According to the common holding that one says shehakol if the ice cream is the ikkur but mezonot if the biscuit is the ikkur, should one make an ...
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Reward for saying Asher Yatzar
Is saying Asher Yatzar, the blessing after using the bathroom, something that one will get rewarded for? Will one get rewarded for each time he said Asher Yatzar?
Please cite sources.
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Blessing on orange juice after eating an orange
Say someone ate an orange and now wants to drink orange juice. The regular blessing on orange juice is sheakol (see e.g., here) although there is some opinion it might be haeitz if the oranges were ...
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1answer
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Shiur Brocha Achrona 2 different foods
If I eat less than a k’zayis of cake; and less than a k’zayis of grapes; do I make a brocha Achrona? And if I do; is it Borei Nefushois, or Ahl Hamichya V’ahl hu’aitz?
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How sick does one have to be to qualify for a “Mi Shebberach”? [duplicate]
Are there guidelines about how sick you have to be to be included in the mi shebberach list read during the torah service? A cold? Bronchitis? The flu? Pneumonia? I'm not asking about private ...
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Discrimination in Yakov's blessings to his sons
Yaakov had learned "the hard way" what his discrimination of his sons leads to.
The Gemmorah (Shabbos 10b) rules that:
"... אמר רב לעולם אל ישנה אדם בנו בין הבנים שבשביל משקל שני סלעים מילת שנתן ...
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1answer
33 views
When was Birkat haTorah composed and added to the liturgy?
Do we know when Birkat haTorah was composed and added as an obligatory blessing to be said before learning Torah? Is it just something done by Anshei Knesset haGedolah or do we have any other ...
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1answer
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Halachic status of ישמך אלקים כאפרים וכמנשה
Yaakov blessed Ephraim and Menashe by stating that future generations would bless their children by saying "ישמך אלקים כאפרים וכמנשה" - "God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh" (Gen. 48:20). Was this ...
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Where is “Hefsek” defined first?
I am looking for the initial mention of the word "Hefsek" where it refers to a gap or interruption between saying a blessing and carrying it out. Shulchan Aruch, Orech Chaim, 167:6 discusses how ...
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What blessing does one make on non-kosher food? [duplicate]
Is a blessing made on non-kosher food that one is normally forbidden (אסור) to eat when one is in an exceptional circumstance? (like for example, starving and without other food) The food becomes ...
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2answers
639 views
If one makes a bracha on something not Kosher should he eat it to avoid saying G-d's name in vain or not?
If one makes a bracha on something not Kosher (meat and milk,chicken and milk, pork…) should he eat it to avoid saying G-d's name in vain or not?
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Why don't we add special Holiday sections to Al Hamichya on Purim or Chanukah? [duplicate]
Much like Birkat Hamazon, there are special Holiday sections added to Al Hamichya on all of the Yom Tov days that do not involve fasting. Unlike Birkhat Hamazon, however, Purim and Chanukah are not ...
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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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1answer
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Bracha after consuming food
If one eats pizza and is 100% certain he did not say the bracha for it, may he still say it? Explanation: Eating a piece of pizza, realizing you didn’t say the bracha, and saying the bracha before ...
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Can one use a clove-studded etrog for havdallah?
I have seen a few people encrust their "used" etrog with cloves and smell this during the havdallah service. Is this permissible?
The reason I think this is a problem:
The bracha on smelling the ...
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2answers
41 views
Sources for receiving blessing through Mitzvot
I am searching for sources for the concept that a Jew keeping the Mitzvot will ultimately bring blessing to / not keeping the Mitzvot will bring destruction to:
A) himself/herself
B) the Jewish ...
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2answers
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ברכות switch between 2nd and 3rd person
Why in a ברכה for a commandment (for example, hand washing, Tefillin etc.) do we switch between 'You' ברוך אתה and 'His' במצותיו ?
Why don't we say במצותיך ?
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Davening near a cemetery
As suggested by DoubleAA on this similar but more unusual question.
If you go to a cemetery and haven't been to one recently, you say a bracha:
ברוך אתה ה' אלקינו מלך העולם אשר יצר אתכם בדין וזן ...
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Rainbow on Rosh Hashana
The bracha on a rainbow is the subject of a disagreement on Brachos 59a. The Gemara brings זוכר הברית unattributed, Rabbi Yishmael the son of Rabbi Yochanan ben Beroka says נאמן בבריתו וקים במאמרו, ...
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Hypothetical Halacha — Is “Leishayv Basukkah” an interruption of a brocha on Shmini Ateres (if said by mistake)?
This case happened to me over the past Shemini Atzeres, and even though it's over now, I was still curious about the halacha.
I was so used to saying Laysheiv Basukkah the entire Sukkos, so on the ...
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Bracha while hiking in a scented forest
Lets' say one is a hiking in a forest which emits a combination of scents coming from mangoes as well as pine trees or other non-fruit trees. The scents are mixed.
What blessing should one make?
".. ...
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1answer
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why do kohanim make a bracha on birkat kohanim if they are safek kohanim?
If Kohanim nowadays are safek kohanim how can they make a bracha on Birkat kohanim isn't the rule "safek brachot le'hakel"?
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4answers
546 views
What blessing is recited before eating hearts of palm?
What blessing is recited before eating hearts of palm and what are the reasons behind the different opinions?
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1answer
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Blessing for lulav and esrog [duplicate]
Why do we recite the blessing with the words al netilat lulav and not al netilat etrog (or using both), or al daled minim?
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1answer
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Does an Ashkenazi lady say a bracha on netilat lulav on the first day of Sukkot if the lulav is borrowed?
An Ashkenazi woman wants to shake the 4 species on the first day of Sukkot. Her husband doesn't have a lulav. She goes to a friend who has a lulav, and without his knowledge (and active transfer of ...
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1answer
183 views
What Bracha do you make on an acai bowl?
What Bracha do you make on an acai bowl?
These bowls usually contain yogurt, berries, and granola.
Here is a link for reference: Acai Bowl
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1answer
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Is someone allowed to say a bracha while walking?
Are there any sources that allow/prohibit saying brachot while walking?
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Gemar Hatima Tova vs. Hatima Tova vs. Gemar Tov
When do we wish Gemar Hatima Tova , Hatima Tova and Gemar Tov? What are the differences between the three? Does it relate to the High Holiday schedule?
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Text of final blessing following haftarah of Yom Kippur
In my (nusach ashkenaz) machzor for Yom Kippur, the final blessing after the haftarah of shacharit concludes:
ודברך אמת וקיים לעד. ברוך אתה ה' מלך מוחל וסולח לעוונותינו וכו'
And Your word ...
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1answer
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Saying the Wrong Bracha at First
Let’s say, one just did Netilat yadaim and then makes the bracha and says “Al Mitzvat Tzizit” accidentally, but then corrects himself and says “Al Netilat Yadaim”, does this count as a bracha made in ...
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2answers
111 views
Agreement of nouns and adjective in Rosh HaShana greeting
If addressing more than one person, would one say Ktivot V'chatimot Tovot in place of the common "k'tiva vachatima tova" to achieve agreement between the adjective and its nouns? Why or why not?
...
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1answer
594 views
Can the blessing She-ha-kol be used for ALL foods before eating them?
There are several blessings we say before eating, depending on the food (ha-motzi, ha-etz, ha-adamah, ha-gefen, mezonot), but we say she-ha-kol for foods not in these categories. Would there be ...
