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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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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0answers
58 views
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 ...
2
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1answer
40 views
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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84 views
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 ...
2
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0answers
26 views
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 ...
2
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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
111 views
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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0answers
20 views
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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48 views
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
628 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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0answers
49 views
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
33 views
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 ...
3
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2answers
76 views
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 ?
2
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0answers
33 views
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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0answers
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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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0answers
28 views
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
61 views
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
537 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
52 views
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
57 views
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 ...
4
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1answer
111 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
4
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1answer
63 views
Is someone allowed to say a bracha while walking?
Are there any sources that allow/prohibit saying brachot while walking?
3
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2answers
96 views
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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0answers
60 views
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
49 views
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
110 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?
...
7
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1answer
592 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 ...
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0answers
29 views
When is “Borei Isvei Besamim” said?
I have always thought that the bracha בורא עשבי בשמים is limited to fragrant "herbs" that are used in cooking and perfumes. Thus, you would say it on smelling parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (and, ...
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2answers
108 views
Bracha on a bread-based dessert
Our local gourmet pizza establishment writes on the blackboard that "The Pizza is Hamotzi." Clear enough. (Maybe.) But then, they also serve a thing called "dessert pizza," which is their usual pizza ...
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1answer
685 views
Can a person who died count to a minyan?
There are many stories, such as an account that one year when there was a person missing for the minyan in Chevron for the Yamim Neoraim Avraham Avinu showed up to be the tenth, (an angel? with Rav ...
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1answer
35 views
Birchas Hachama and the world being created in Tishrei
Birchas Hachama is said once every 28 years. According to Wikipedia it is said when the sun has returned to ts original position when the world was created.
Jewish tradition says that when the Sun ...
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1answer
63 views
Blessing “אשר חלק מכבודו” on father or Rabbi?
The Gemmorah in Kiddushin (30b) brings the idea of the analogy between honoring Hashem and honoring one's father (and mother).
"ת"ר נאמר (שמות כ, יב) כבד את אביך ואת אמך ונאמר (משלי ג, ט) כבד את ה' ...
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31 views
Is one allowed to make Berachos after saying the bedtime Shema? [duplicate]
As recorded in the sources cited here, most Poskim say that one may not speak after saying the bedtime Shema, and some say even after saying Hamapil.
Let’s say that one hears thunder after saying ...
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1answer
53 views
Practical halacha on when to bentch gomel (not why) [duplicate]
What are the preferred or allowable to times to bentch gomel, assuming you have had an experience that warrants it.
For example. which of the following is preferred or allowed:
1. After completing an ...
2
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1answer
58 views
Is the bracha of shecheyanu for buying new items said when buying medical equipment which he hopes he will never need to use?
Is the bracha of shecheyanu for buying new items (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 223:6; Mishnah Berurah 223:13) said when buying medical equipment which he hopes he will never need to use?
If someone ...
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1answer
57 views
What are the angels doing in the blessing on light?
In the Yotzer Ohr prayer, we praise God for creating the light. It then moves on to an interlude about the ministering angels. What does that have to do with the light?
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1answer
47 views
Multiple people saying blessing over candles when one lights
Scenario: Erev Shabbat, the woman of the house lights the candles, and then the husband and children join on the blessing. Is this permissible? Is this a custom? If it is, what is the source of this ...
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1answer
62 views
Does learning / teaching Mussar, (Jewish ethics) without quoting Torah texts, require Birchas Hatorah? [duplicate]
Does learning or teaching Mussar (Jewish ethics) without quoting Torah texts, require Birchas Hatorah?
There are many types of Mussar, like someone telling another person what the Jewish ideology is ...
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0answers
67 views
Why is Baruch-Hu-Uvaruch-Shmo answered only in the brachos after the Haftorah, but not in the bracha before?
As far as I recall, the minhag in all Ashkenaz shuls which I have ever attended, was not to answer Baruch-Hu-Uvaruch-Shmo to the name of Hashem in the Bracha which is said before the Haftorah, but in ...
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1answer
37 views
If the Kesubah was read immediately following the birkas eirusin, before the kedushin took place, must the bracha be repeated?
If, at a wedding, the Kesubah (marriage contract) was read immediately following the birkas eirusin, before the kedushin took place, must the bracha be repeated, because of the hefsek (interruption) ...
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1answer
93 views
Why not cover yourself when saying a b'racha in a Mikveh?
From Adam and Chava people started to cover the nakedness of the body. But how come one can say a blessing in a Mikveh while being naked?
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1answer
139 views
Answering Amen to Shelo Asani Isha
(I realize there are some similar questions, but I believe not dupes...)
Asking for a friend:
If a woman is present while a man is saying Shelo Asani Isha, is there any reason she should not answer ...
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0answers
43 views
Looking for a source whether one should say “Shecholak Mechochmaso Lireav” when seeing a G-d fearing woman who has alot of Torah wisdom? [duplicate]
Does anyone here have a source which might show whether or not one should say the bracha שחלק מחכמתו ליראיו Shecholak Mechochmaso Lireav when seeing a G-d fearing woman who has alot of Torah wisdom?
...
2
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1answer
107 views
What bracha should one make on a Payday candy bar?
From this Wikipedia page:
PayDay is a candy bar consisting of salted peanuts rolled in caramel
surrounding a firm nougat-like center.
For those unfamiliar with it, you can see a picture of it on ...
4
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1answer
110 views
If one doesnt have a kippah should he make a bracha?
If one doesn't have a kippah (or anything to cover his head) should he eat without making a bracha or not make one at all?
