Questions tagged [blessing]
Questions about short prayers called b'rachos ("benedictions" or "blessings"), generally said to praise/thank God for specific events.
1,286
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Signing off the bracha of 'magen Avraham' with just Avraham
In Parshas Lech Lecha 12:2, the pasuk famously reads:
וְאֶֽעֶשְׂךָ֙ לְג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל וַאֲבָ֣רֶכְךָ֔ וַאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ וֶהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה׃
I will make of you a great nation, And I will bless you; ...
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Is a bracha me’akev to the mitzvah?
Many mitzvahs require a bracha beforehand. If one were to not make the bracha, is the mitzvah valid bedi’eved or does the fact that the bracha wasn’t made means the mitzvah wasn’t done?
For example:
...
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1answer
92 views
Blessing Shehechyanu long before eating in second evening of Rosh Hashana
Usually, we bless Shehechyanu very close to eating a new fruit. As far as I remember, there are 2 opinions: one to bless before the blessing on the fruit itself, while the other opinion claims that ...
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1answer
62 views
Drinking pomegranate juice before Rosh Hashana, does it cancel pomegranate's Shehechayanu blessing?
If I drink pomegranate juice before Rosh Hashana, does it cancel my whole pomegranate's Shehechayanu blessing? Do I have to bless Shehechayanu before drinking pomegranate juice?
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52 views
Prayer before a general anaesthetic
Every night, prior to bed, people recite the Shema. Affixed to that recitation is a variety of psukim and brokhes, requesting of Hashem that He ensure that we will sleep well, without any disturbance, ...
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1answer
82 views
Nothing missing in the world?
The Shulchan Aruch OC (226:1) writes that
בא"י אמ"ה שלא חיסר בעולמו כלום וברא בו בריות טובות ואילנות טובות
ליהנות בהם בני אדם - "Blessed Are you....who has not left anything
lacking ...
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1answer
183 views
In what time period must Pas Habaa Bikisnin be eaten?
If enough Pas Habaa Bikisnin (e.g. cake or crackers) is eaten at once (according to some opinions as little as four beitzim Mishna Berura 168:24) then the blessing is Hamotzi instead of mezonot.
In ...
4
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1answer
296 views
Why does the bracha-maker eat a piece of challah first?
I'm wondering if anyone knows the origins of why the one who makes the bracha on challah on Shabbat takes a piece for himself first. I'm most curious if this actually shows up in sources, or if it's a ...
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1answer
70 views
Is there an old text of Mein Shalosh?
I’ve seen essentially three different versions of Mein Shalosh, or more specifically, the Al Hamichya.
Some versions add “v’al HaKalkalah” as the final words , some add it as both the final words and ...
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1answer
47 views
Beracha on Partial Rainbow
The Biur Halacha (229:1) writes
הרואה הקשת וכו' - לא נתבאר אם בעינן דוקא שיראהו בתמונת קשת דהוא כחצי
גורן עגולה או אפילו מקצת ממנו די - It's not explained whether you need
to specifically see the ...
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1answer
71 views
May one answer Amen before washing their hands?
If one woke up and heard a Bracha, and has yet to wash their hands, may one answer amen to the bracha?
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2answers
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What bracha to make if ate mezonos and grapes but only bentched for mezonos?
Do we say Al Hamichiya again for the grapes or because sofek bracha lehakel, we omit the one for the grapes?
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2answers
58 views
Is it forbidden to speak between the Bracha (NOT Hamotzi) and eating?
If one speaks between making a blessing on food–other than Hamotzi–must he/she repeat the blessing? By way of example, one says the haeitz blessing but then someone comes asking for tzedaka or a child ...
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50 views
What bracha should be made on a smoothie with oats?
I know that typically on a smoothie one makes a shehakol, as in most beverages, however since oats are one of the 5 species of grain that are considered primary, and therefore in most cases are ...
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1answer
135 views
Why do we not say a bracha before sex? [duplicate]
There is a mitzvah to populate the world, pru urvu. For most mitzvot, there is a bracha we say before we do it. So why do we not say a bracha before sex? Also, whenever one benefits from anything, he ...
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4answers
537 views
Should one say a bracha upon seeing a person with albinism?
Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 60:13-14 states that one should say the bracha of Mishaneh Habrios when seeing, among other things, an exceptionally dark-skinned or light-skinned person. The notes in the ...
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1answer
92 views
Bracha for "Zero Net Carb" Bread
A company called "Thin Slim Foods" makes a product called "Zero Net Carb Bread" under the Kosher Miami hechsher. It has the form and texture of bread and is made from ingredients ...
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0answers
25 views
Conditions for reciting על מקרא מגילה and שהחיינו on non-Esther megillot
Many today have the practice (usually following the Gra — see Maaseh Rav 175) of blessing על מקרא מגילה when reading Shir HaShirim, Ruth, Eicha, and Ḳohelet from a kosher scroll on Pesaḥ, Shavuot, ...
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88 views
What has 7 Brachos before the act [closed]
What has 7 Brachos before the act? Examples I can think of are; Matza, Nesuin... Is there anything else that we make 7 Brachos on before we do it?
Ps: This question will help me resolve a Mahril ...
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29 views
Asher Yatzar during the night? [duplicate]
If you wake up in the middle of the night and go to the bathroom, should you say Asher Yatzar afterwards or wait until the morning?
(I always assumed you should make the beracha immediately afterwards ...
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0answers
42 views
Why the change in phrase with the morning blessings?
In the morning blessings, there is a small but seemingly important variation in word usage across three blessings.
In the blessing about the distinction between day and night, G-d is described by the ...
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0answers
28 views
What is the optimal way to make berachot on food when working from home? [duplicate]
When working from home, what is the optimal way to handle food berachos?
A. Make only one beracha in the morning that will cover all the foods of that type to be eaten during that day at breakfast, ...
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27 views
Shechiyanu regarding video chat [duplicate]
I know that if someone sees someone he hasn't seen in 30 days, he must say shehechiyanu. I have two questions regarding this.
Firstly, If I haven't seen someone for 30 days, and I see them via video ...
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1answer
372 views
What is the source of this text?
At the end of Elokai Nitzor we say:
"עֲשֵׂה לְמַֽעַן שְׁמֶֽךָ עֲשֵׂה לְמַֽעַן יְמִינֶֽךָ עֲשֵׂה לְמַֽעַן קְדֻשָּׁתֶֽךָ עֲשֵׂה לְמַֽעַן תּוֹרָתֶֽךָ"
Is there a source for these sentences? The ...
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0answers
38 views
Saying brocho in modern restroom [duplicate]
I've been going through the Mishna Berura on saying shma in restrooms (מ״ב סימנים פ״א-פ״ז so far) and I'm rather curious what the halacha is relating to modern restrooms. (This question only discussed ...
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1answer
59 views
Can “asher yotzar” be called part of Birkas HaTorah?
My chavrusa suggested that the blessings of “al netilas yodoyim” and “asher yotzar” are part of Birkas HaTorah. Is there any evidence for this please? The implication would be that even if a person ...
9
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1answer
111 views
How ancient is the origin of the liturgical phrase "Baruch atah ... melech ha-olam"?
I'm interested in who introduced (and/or when) the standard liturgical formula for bruchas, that is, that they start with
(a) 'ברוך אתא ה
(b) that, followed by אלוקנו מלך העלום
(c) in the case of ...
2
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1answer
52 views
How can we make berachos after drinking during the Pesach Seder?
The Shulchan Aruch OC (99:1) writes
שתה יין כדי רביעית אל יתפלל עד שיסיר יינו ואם שתה יותר אם הוא יכול
לדבר לפני המלך אם התפלל תפלתו תפלה ואם אינו יכול לדבר לפני המלך אם
התפלל תפלתו תועבה וצריך לחזור ...
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2answers
143 views
Why don't we make a bracha on bentching?
Bircas Hamazon is a mitzva from the Torah, so why don't we make a bracha on this mitzva?
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1answer
139 views
If I make a bracha on food and it falls out of my hand, do I need a new bracha on the rest of the food?
Let's say I am planning on eating some nuts. I hold one in my hand and make the bracha. Then, before I can eat it, it falls out of my hand and gets ruined.
If I right away take another nut from the ...
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1answer
285 views
Why two kzaysim of matza?
I saw that one eats a kzayis from the whole matza, and a kzayis from the broken matza. One reason given is because one is supposed to eat from the matza that hamotzi was said on and also eat from the ...
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1answer
66 views
Non Kohen Blessing a Kohen
Is it permissible for a non Kohen such as an Israelite or a Levi to give any type of blessing to a Kohen?
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41 views
Why say bircat hamazon instead of plainly thanking HaShem for the food?
A niece asked me why do we need to say bircat hamazon which is lengthy and with words we don’t understand instead of just saying in English something along the long the lines of “thank you HaShem for ...
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2answers
77 views
Do we withdraw our hands from bread?
The Shulchan Aruch 177:2 rules that one who removes the bread from the table must make a new beracha on whatever he eats for the rest of the meal:
ודברים הבאים לאחר סעודה קודם ברכת המזון שהיה מנהג ...
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2answers
132 views
Continuing a meal once chametz is prohibited
One starts a bread meal on the morning of erev pesach. One finishes eating all of the bread (and removes all crumbs etc.) before the end of the day's fourth hour, but wants to continue the meal by ...
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0answers
38 views
Where are the sources for 2 different ends for Al Hamichya?
Sometimes the bracha of Al Hamichya ends with the words "v'al hakalkalah", like it is shown here.
Sometimes those two words are left out, like shown here.
What are the reasons for this ...
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How frequently does one need to recite Shehakol when drinking? [duplicate]
It was widely reported in yesterday's news that one of President Trump's impeachment lawyers covered his head with his hand and recited a bracha every time he took a sip from his water bottle. It has ...
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3answers
188 views
Chuppah, Kiddushin in ברכת אירוסין
Why do we say על ידי חופה וקידושין, mentioning chuppah first when kiddushin takes place before chuppah (nisuin)?
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What bracha for a mixture of apple and grape juice?
If one is drinking a mixture of apple and grape juice, what bracha does one recite -- shehakol or hagafen? If it matters, I am interested in all three of the following situations:
Mostly apple juice ...
7
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1answer
354 views
When to say shehecheyanu on a new fruit?
Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 225:3 records that the custom is to recite the shehecheyanu blessing on a new fruit when one eats it.
At what point precisely does one say shehecheyanu? Before reciting ...
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1answer
106 views
Why do we recite Zimmun after Al Naharos Bavel; Shir Hamaalos?
Zimmun is the introduction to Birkas Hamazon. We invite those present to join in the bentching (ex. “Rabosai mir velen bentchen”). Why do we do this after we have already begun the recitation of ...
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1answer
235 views
What blessings would one say upon receiving the COVID19 vaccine?
I have some gaps in my Jewish knowledge, but it seems prudent to recite Shehechiyanu upon receiving the first shot, as it is a momentous occasion. Not just momentous for your own health, but the ...
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0answers
66 views
A beracha on the "Great conjunction"?
Tonight (or earlier tonight in Israel) the planets Jupiter and Saturn come so close that one might think that they are a single star. Is this occasion to say the beracha of עושה מעשה בראשית? It is not ...
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58 views
If one forgot that they already said a bracha and then said it again does it count as a bracha levatala?
A person was eating dates and said borei pri hoaytz before starting, ate a few dates, said borei pri hoaytz again and then continued to eat.
Does the second borei pri hoaytz count as a bracha levatala?...
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0answers
30 views
A deaf person and taking terumah
In Mishna 2 of Perek 1 of Terumah, it is stated that a deaf person who can speak but not hear should not separate Terumah, but if he does the Terumah is valid. The commentators state that this is ...
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0answers
26 views
Is the bracha for wild and cultivated blueberries both Haetz? [duplicate]
I found out through work that wild blueberries grow on very low bushes and was curious if it impacts the bracha. Do they still qualify for haetz blessing?
Their height, "The two primary species ...
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0answers
54 views
Ideal moment for saying Asher Yatzar
We have seen that even today, despite modern water closets, we should avoid saying the blessing Asher Yatzar in the bathroom after relieving ourselves. We have also seen that we may have some ...
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1answer
97 views
Why won't a wrongful blessing be void?
In Parashat Toldot, Isaac wrongfully blesses Yaakov instead of Esav. In the Halachah IIRC, most things made wrongfully are illegal and are void, like monetary contracts or marriages.
I don't really ...
5
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1answer
482 views
Wheat crackers that are ha'adama
Paskesz (a brand that makes lots of kosher Jewish food in the USA), makes wheat crackers. The crackers are 99% wheat (per the ingredients label). While most wheat crackers require the blessing of ...
0
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1answer
63 views
Did Abraham and Sarah say a blessing on hearing a good news about their future heir?
IIRC, one says a Brachah of "Hatov veha-Meitiv" on hearing good news (source needed).
When the angels came to inform Abraham and Sara of giving birth to Isaac in exactly one year, did they ...