Birkot HaShachar Questions

When one awakens, he recites: My God, the soul You have placed within me is pure. You formed it within me, You breathed it into me, and You guard it while it is within me. One day You will take it from me and restore it within me in the time to come. As long as the soul is within me, I thank You, O Lord my God and God of my ancestors, Master of all worlds, Lord of all souls. Blessed are You, O Lord, who restores souls to lifeless bodies.

Upon hearing the sound of the rooster, one should recite: Blessed…Who gave the heart [sekhvi] understanding to distinguish between day and night. Upon opening his eyes, one should recite: Blessed…Who gives sight to the blind. Upon sitting up straight, one should recite: Blessed…Who sets captives free. Upon dressing, one should recite: Blessed…Who clothes the naked, as they would sleep unclothed. Upon standing up straight, one should recite: Blessed…Who raises those bowed down. Upon descending from one’s bed to the ground, one should recite: Blessed…Who spreads the earth above the waters, in thanksgiving for the creation of solid ground upon which to walk. Upon walking, one should recite: Blessed…Who makes firm the steps of man. Upon putting on his shoes, one should recite: Blessed…Who has provided me with all I need, as shoes are a basic necessity. Upon putting on his belt, one should recite: Blessed…Who girds Israel with strength. Upon spreading a shawl upon his head, one should recite: Blessed…Who crowns Israel with glory.

The mishna continues: One who is blind may recite the introductory prayers and blessing before Shema, and he may also translate the Torah reading into Aramaic. Rabbi Yehuda says: Anyone who has not seen the luminaries in his life may not recite the first of the blessings before Shema, which is the blessing over the luminaries. It is taught in a baraita that they said to Rabbi Yehuda: Many have seen enough with their mind to expound upon the Divine Chariot, although they have never actually seen it. Similarly, even one who has never seen the luminaries may recite the blessing.

And how does Rabbi Yehuda counter this argument? He can say that there, with regard to the Chariot, the matter depends upon the heart’s comprehension, and one can concentrate his mind and understand the Chariot even if he has never actually seen it. But here, with regard to the luminaries, the blessing is recited due to the benefit one derives from them, and one who is blind does not derive any benefit from them, and therefore he may not recite a blessing over them.

And the Rabbis maintain that even a blind man derives benefit from the luminaries, in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yosei, as it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei said: All of my life I was troubled by this verse, which I did not understand: “And you shall grope at noon as the blind man gropes in the darkness” (Deuteronomy 28:29). I was perplexed: What does it matter to a blind person whether it is dark or light? He cannot see in any event, so why does the verse speak about a blind man in the darkness?

I continued to ponder the matter until the following incident occurred to me. I was once walking in the absolute darkness of the night, and I saw a blind man who was walking on his way with a torch in his hands. I said to him: My son, why do you need this torch if you are blind? He said to me: As long as I have a torch in my hand, people see me and save me from the pits and the thorns and the thistles. Even a blind man derives at least indirect benefit from the light, and therefore he may recite the blessing over the heavenly luminaries.

When a person wakes from his sleep, he says "E-lohay neshamah." When he hears the voice of a cock, one blesses "He who gives understanding." When he gets dressed, he blesses "Who clothes the naked." When he passes his hand in front of his eyes, he blesses "Who gives sight to the blind." When he sits, "Who frees the bound." When he stands, "Who straightens the bowed." When he puts his feet on the ground, he blesses "Who stretches the earth over the water." When he puts on his shoes, "Who provides me with all of my needs." When he goes out, he blesses "Who prepares the steps of man." When he puts on a belt, "Who girds Israel with strength." Rem"a: Or if he wears a sash that is sufficient to separate his heart and groin areas (Beit Yosef in the name of the Ravad) When he puts a hat or turban on his head, he blesses "Who crowns Israel with glory." When he washes his hands, he blesses "regarding the washing of hands." When he washes his face, he blesses "who removes the sleep from my eyes etc." and "may it be Your will etc." until "blessed are You Hashem who bestows loving-kindness on His people Israel." One does not answer 'Amen' after "who removes sleep from my eyes" until he has finished with "bestows loving-kindness on His people Israel," because it is all one single blessing.

Nowadays - because the hands are not [ritually] clean and because the ignorant do not know them [referring to the blessings above] - we have become accustomed to arrange them [the blessings] at the synagogue; we answer 'amen' after them and with that fulfill the obligation.

[Regarding] all of these blessings, if one is not obligated in one of them - for example, if one did not hear the sound of the rooster, or one did not go out, or he did not get dressed, or did not put on a belt - one says that blessing without mentioning the Name. Rem"a: And there are those who say that even though one is not obligated in them, one blesses them [all], for the blessing is not just about oneself, but rather we bless that the Holy One Blessed be He created [for] the needs of the world. And so is the practice, and we do not change [it]. [Tur and Tosafot haRosh chapter "the one who sees" and Ran, first chapter of Pesachim and Kol Bo]

When one hears the crow of a rooster, he recites: Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who gives the rooster understanding to distinguish between day and night.When he puts on his clothes, he recites: Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who clothes the naked.When he puts his cloth on his head, he recites: Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who crowns Israel in glory.When he passes his hands over his eyes, he recites: [Blessed...] who opens the eyes of the blind.When he sits up in his bed, he recites: [Blessed...] who unties those bound.When he lowers his feet from the bed and rests them on the ground, he recites: [Blessed...] who spreads the earth over the waters.When he stands up, he recites: [Blessed...] who straightens the bowed.When he washes his hands, he recites: [Blessed...] who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us regarding the washing of hands.When he washes his face, he recites: Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who removes the bonds of sleep from my eyes and slumber from my eyelids. May it be Your will, God, my Lord and Lord of my fathers, that You accustom me to the performance of [Your] commandments and do not accustom me to sins or transgressions. Cause the positive inclination to rule over me and not the evil inclination. Strengthen me in Your commandments and grant my portion in Your Torah. Allow me to find favor, lovingkindness, and mercy in Your eyes and the eyes of all who see me and bestow upon me benevolent kindnesses. Blessed are You, God, who bestows benevolent kindnesses.

When one fastens his belt, he recites: [Blessed...universe,] who girds Israel with strength.When he puts on his shoes, he recites: [Blessed...universe,] for You have provided me with all my needs.When he walks to depart on his way, he recites: [Blessed... universe,] who prepares the steps of man.[Also,] every day, a person should recite:Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has not made me a non-Jew.Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has not made me a woman.Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, who has not made me a servant.

These eighteen blessings do not have a particular order. Rather, one recites each of them in response to the condition for which the blessing was instituted, at the appropriate time.What is implied? One who fastens his belt while still in his bed recites [the blessing] "who girds Israel with strength." One who hears the voice of the rooster recites [the blessing] "who gives understanding to the rooster."Any blessing in which one is not obligated should not be recited.

What is implied? One who sleeps in his outer garment should not recite the blessing "who clothes the naked" upon rising.One who walks barefoot does not recite the blessing, "for You have provided me with all my needs."On Yom Kippur and the ninth of Av, when one does not wash, one does not recite the blessing al netilat yadayim, nor the blessing "who removes the bonds of sleep...."One who does not relieve himself does not recite the blessing, "who created man in wisdom...." The same applies regarding the remainder of the blessings.

It is the custom of the people in the majority of our cities to recite these blessings one after another in the synagogue, whether or not they are obligated in them.This is a mistake and it is not proper to follow this practice. One should not recite a blessing unless he is obligated to.