By Rabbi Dario Feiguin
The Berachah is a special form of tefilah characterized by a kind of fixed formula, to which specifics and details can be added as you wish. This formula is always expressed toward G-d in the second person, We offer our thanks, through the brachah, to G-d for everything that we enjoy in our lives.
The Berachah always begins with Baruch ata = Blessed are You. Sometimes -almost always- we add to the berachah at least one of the names by which we relate to G-d. This way, we say that a berachah has a "Shem" = "Name" when we add "Adonai". Then we say, "Baruch Ata Adonai."
Sometimes, in addition to "Shem," the berachah includes "Malchut" which means "Kingdom". In these cases, the formula includes the words "Elohenu Melech Haolam" = "Our G-d King of the World."
"Baruch Ata Adonai Elohenu Melech Haolam" is the first part of a Berachah. Occasionally, we add a phrase that reads: "Asher Kideshanu Bemitzvotav Vetzivanu" = "Who has sanctified us with His mitzvot and has commanded us." And here comes the second part, which has to do with what we are about to do, whether it is eating something or fulfilling any other mitzvah. For example, we say: "Hamotzi Lechem Min Ha'aretz", before eating bread, or "Lehit'atef Batzitzit" before covering ourselves with the Tallit.
The Berachot are said almost always before fulfilling a mitzvah, as a way of heightening our awareness of what we are about to do.
In the Talmud, in the treatise of Berachot, page 35, side A, it is said: "Asur lo laadam sheieheneh min haolam hazeh belo berachah" = "It is forbidden for a man to enjoy this world without brachah."
It is as if the act of the mitzvah itself were not enough. It should not be what I call religious behaviorism, simply going through the motions to fulfill the precepts in a mechanical way. The Mitzvah needs the Berachah to sanctify the action, to make it a conscious effort, special, distinctive and intentional.
This whole issue of the Berachot is developed in our oral tradition through the analysis of a verse from this week's Torah portion, Parashat Ekev. The text reads: "Veachalta vesavata uverachta" = "You will eat, you will be satisfied and be blessed."
A world without Berachot is a world in darkness. Being Jewish is also about learning to say Berachot, and in this manner growing closer to our human condition, as creatures of G-d.
Let us learn to say more Berachot, to give our lives a little bit more light.
B´nei Israel Congregation, Costa Rica
Berachot
The Berachah is a special form of tefilah characterized by a kind of fixed formula, to which specifics and details can be added as you wish. This formula is always expressed toward G-d in the second person, We offer our thanks, through the brachah, to G-d for everything that we enjoy in our lives.
The Berachah always begins with Baruch ata = Blessed are You. Sometimes -almost always- we add to the berachah at least one of the names by which we relate to G-d. This way, we say that a berachah has a "Shem" = "Name" when we add "Adonai". Then we say, "Baruch Ata Adonai."
Sometimes, in addition to "Shem," the berachah includes "Malchut" which means "Kingdom". In these cases, the formula includes the words "Elohenu Melech Haolam" = "Our G-d King of the World."
"Baruch Ata Adonai Elohenu Melech Haolam" is the first part of a Berachah. Occasionally, we add a phrase that reads: "Asher Kideshanu Bemitzvotav Vetzivanu" = "Who has sanctified us with His mitzvot and has commanded us." And here comes the second part, which has to do with what we are about to do, whether it is eating something or fulfilling any other mitzvah. For example, we say: "Hamotzi Lechem Min Ha'aretz", before eating bread, or "Lehit'atef Batzitzit" before covering ourselves with the Tallit.
The Berachot are said almost always before fulfilling a mitzvah, as a way of heightening our awareness of what we are about to do.
In the Talmud, in the treatise of Berachot, page 35, side A, it is said: "Asur lo laadam sheieheneh min haolam hazeh belo berachah" = "It is forbidden for a man to enjoy this world without brachah."
It is as if the act of the mitzvah itself were not enough. It should not be what I call religious behaviorism, simply going through the motions to fulfill the precepts in a mechanical way. The Mitzvah needs the Berachah to sanctify the action, to make it a conscious effort, special, distinctive and intentional.
This whole issue of the Berachot is developed in our oral tradition through the analysis of a verse from this week's Torah portion, Parashat Ekev. The text reads: "Veachalta vesavata uverachta" = "You will eat, you will be satisfied and be blessed."
A world without Berachot is a world in darkness. Being Jewish is also about learning to say Berachot, and in this manner growing closer to our human condition, as creatures of G-d.
Let us learn to say more Berachot, to give our lives a little bit more light.
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