Questions tagged [blessing]
Questions about short prayers called b'rachos ("benedictions" or "blessings"), generally said to praise/thank God for specific events.
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All the many, many details
I understand a number of reasons why the Jewish community keeps so many rules to the level of minutiae. But why SUCH a level of intricacy in some of these laws?
I looked through a large book on the ...
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Should I say "amen" to a malformed bracha?
If I hear somebody substantially mispronounce a bracha, should I say amen anyway (recognizing the intent) or remain silent? I'm not talking about nuances like pronouncing 'ayin or distinguishing ...
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Making a Bracha on pleasurable things
A couple lines up from the bottom of the first daf of Keitzad Mevarchin, the Gemarah gives its reason for making Brachas. Its answer (my translation) is "It is forbidden for a person to get pleasure ...
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Who Commanded Us, and For What?
Whenever a Jew performs an activity that is mandated by the Torah, s/he recites the blessing that acknowledges God, "אשר קדשנו במצוותיו" (who sanctified us with his commandments), and who commanded us ...
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Minimum amount of food for Beracha Rishona
I've heard much discussion about minimal amounts of food to qualify as eating (eg. this discussion about how much Matza to eat at the Seder).
How much would one need to eat in order to say a Beracha ...
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Is there an exhaustive list of astronomical/environmental events for which there are blessings?
Inspired by:
What Bracha should you say on a Hurricane?
What Blessing Does One Make on a Solar Eclipse?
Bracha for the transit of Venus?
What b'racha do you say on seeing the Aurora Borealis (if ...
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Amen for Recorded Brochos
Many times I listen to recorded Shiurim (lectures) where the speaker says a Brocho (usually Shehakol on a drink). Should one answer Amen to such Brochos?
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Brochos on Desserts
Time to get it straight once and for all. When do you / do you not make a Brocho on dessert in a meal (where you washed)?
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what does baruch atah Hashem mean?
most times, the beginning of a beracha is Baruch Atah Adonai, etc.
which is usually translated as Blessed are You God, etc.
what does it mean to say that God is blessed? (on the surface it implies ...
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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 ...
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Does a married woman have to cover her hair to make a bracha?
When making a bracha with shem u'malchut, one should not have erva (nakedness) exposed. For married women, their hair is considered to be erva. So does a woman who is married have to cover her hair ...
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Will a "lower" Berachah made MiSafek exempt a different food that requires that Berachah (and vice versa)?
Let's say you aren't sure which Berachah to make on a food before you eat it. Generally the rule of thumb is that you make the most specific Berachah that you know will capture the essence of that ...
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Do we say a mitzvah bracha before reading Kohelet? What about other (non-Purim) megillot?
I had been under the impression that for all five of the megillot you say a bracha before the reading, and this is the practice I've observed. When preparing for Shabbat chol hamoed Sukkot this year ...
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Continuing to drink a Beverage after Birchas HaMazon?
Perhaps this is a simple matter that I should be embarrassed not to know (which I am even if it isn't because I need to learn hilchos b'rachos better and always forget to look this question up) but.......
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"Amen" to informal blessings and wishes
There are various strict rules regulating the manner and timing of saying "Amen" following a blesing. In fact, the Gemara (Berachot 47a) lists some pretty severe punishments for people who violate ...
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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 (...
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Bracha achrona stipulation
The question here Continuing to drink a Beverage after Birchas HaMazon? is a good question. Unfortunately it's been deflected with a bracha she'eino tzricha svara.
Here's a different case. Someone is ...
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Washing hands for eating pizza
How many slices are required to make you responsible to wash on Pizza?
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Should you say HaGomel after a flight?
Should someone say the HaGomel blessing after taking an airplane flight? I seem to remember this being the practice, but honestly the average commercial airplane flight these days is 10 times safer ...
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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 ...
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Why aren't Purim and Channuka considered a violation of לֹא תֹסִפוּ?
It says in Devarim 4:2:
לֹא תֹסִפוּ עַל הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם וְלֹא תִגְרְעוּ מִמֶּנּוּ לִשְׁמֹר אֶת מִצְוֹת יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם
Translated:
Do ...
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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?
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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)?
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"שליט״א" only for certain people
Living people sometimes have "שליט״א" added after their respective names. This means, roughly, "may he live a good, long life". That seems like a nice blessing for anyone; yet, in my experience, only ...
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Do married men stop saying a bracha on their *tallit katan*?
This question concerns the Ashkenazic practice.
I was always told that the tallit katan (worn under clothing, every day, starting in preschool years) got the bracha of al mitzvat tzitzit, but the ...
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What Bracha did they make on the Mahn?
Did the Jews make a Bracha on eating the Mahn? Which Bracha did they make?
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Beracha on Intravenous
There Gemara Berachot 35 says "anyone who enjoys from this world without a Beracha is stealing."
Does one make a Beracha on intravenous feeding?
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When do we say Baruch Hu Uvaruch Shemo?
I'm somewhat confused on when Baruch Hu Uvaruch Shemo (ברוך הוא וברוך שמו) should be said after Hashem's name in a B'racha (I'm taking for granted that it is only said in the context of a bracha, but ...
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No Blessing on marital relations?
Yebamoth 61b discusses the positive commandment of being fruitful and multiplying. As far as I am aware, one makes no blessing before intercourse. Why not?
Please cite sources!
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Why do you make a Bracha on seeing a monkey?
Why do you make the Bracha Mishaneh Habriyos on seeing a monkey?
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Why Does Hashem Bless Us Like Efraim And Menashe?
I know there are lots of reasons why, but what is the main reason Hashem made it so that we get blessed like them?
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What is the ruling for a bracha's usage being extended across different food forms?
There's a tricky halacha with brachos that I couldn't figure out.
It goes something like this: If you make a bracha on one food item without having others in mind, if more of the food item remains in ...
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Beracha on lighting yom tov candles : before or after?
There are two minhagim concerning the time the beracha should be said on lighting yom tov candles for a woman, before or after (like shabbos neros).
I've read arguments like these :
before, because ...
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Is there a blessing on anointing? [duplicate]
Based on this question and the ensuant discussion, I would like to know if a person makes a blessing upon anointing himself for pleasure. If not, why not?
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Mezzuzahs- putting them up, and saying brachot
Is there an "issur" regarding not putting up a mezuzzah? Is there such thing as having 30 days until the issue kicks in? Also, can you say the bracha each time you put one up? Or, if two different ...
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Why do we make blessings on mitzvot d'rabbanan at the second seder?
As far as I know mitzvot such as eating marror or saying hallel at the Pesach seder are only rabbinic (the marror was biblical previously but I am told that is no longer so). If this is the case and ...
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תהלת ה' ידבר פי - what's the origin?
In between the 'Shir HaMaalot' that precedes birchat hamazon and the the blessings themselves, there are a few psukim beginning תהלת ה' ידבר פי . Some people add these, and some don't. What's the ...
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A rabbi asked me to light candles before weekday Mincha/Ma'ariv. Is this customary? Is there a bracha?
Last night, I was pulled in off the street to help an unfamiliar shul make a minyan for Mincha/Ma'ariv. The rabbi greeted me, and when he learned I do not speak Hebrew, he gave me a very nice blessing ...
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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?
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What Blessing Does One Make on a Solar Eclipse?
What Blessing Does One Make on a Solar Eclipse? I will be in Nevada next week and would like to make a blessing over the May 21 Solar Eclipse. Thanks!
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Bringing wallet with benscher into bathroom
If someone has one of the small "pocket benschers" that slide into his wallet, is it a problem for him to walk into the bathroom with his wallet in his pocket?
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How to say go-al Yisroel before Shacharis Amida
When the leader gets to just before the Shacharis Amida, how should he say the blessing
go-al Yisroel: aloud or saying the word Yisroel so the end of it cannot be heard?
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Berachos over food mixtures
My breakfast regularly presents me with a beracha conundrum. It usually consists of a bowl of bran flakes (mezonos), often sprinkled with raisins (etz) and/or sunflower seeds (adama), and ...
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Why do we say Pesach seder brachot both nights?
During the Pesach seder, but not during the rest of Pesach, we say b'rachot for the mitzvot of matzah and maror. (I mean the "asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav" b'rachot.) So it seems that we are only ...
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Why no addition to me'ein shalosh for Purim (and Chanukka)?
We add a paragraph to birkat hamzon for Purim (and for Chanukka). Why is there no phrase added to the me'ein shalosh (the bracha acharona) for Purim (and Chanukka)?
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Modeh Ani - When to say the blessing
When is the proper time to say the Modeh Ani blessing? Sometimes people wake up at 4 or 5 am to use the bathroom and then go back to sleep. Is it correct to say the blessing only when waking up for ...
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Source for pairing l'chaim with alcohol?
What is the source or reason that a l'chaim is often said over a drink of alcohol instead of any other beverage, or over other foods, or even over no food at all?
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Bracha levatalah vs waiting between meat and milk
If I make a ברכה on a Hershey bar, and before I eat the food, I realize I am Fleishig, what do I do? (assuming I have no other food around?)
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Bracha on thunder and lightning - how often?
If you are in a rainstorm with thunder and lightning - you make the Brachos for them. What happens if the storm ends and then a few hours later (same day) it is raining again. Do you make another ...
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