Laws of Blessings (Adv.)
Crash Course in Jewish Blessings
9 min read
10 min read
How to ensure that brachot are said with the correct spiritual intent.
We saw in class #1 how important and uplifting it is to say a bracha. It is our frequent opportunity to connect with God, and to recognize the vast goodness in our lives. As such, every utterance of God's name, and every bracha we say, should be done with concentration and attention.1
In this class, we will explore some of the guidelines for how to ensure that our brachot are said with the correct spiritual intent.
It is axiomatic that when speaking to the Creator of the world, you should give your full attention. Therefore:
You should avoid saying a bracha while involved in another activity.2 For example, if you are sweeping the floor and want to enjoy a delicious green apple, you should momentarily stop the cleaning, pause and then recite the bracha. (Don't worry, the house will still end up spick and span.)
Once you have begun saying a bracha, do not become distracted in the middle. For example, if your friend walks into the room while you are saying a bracha, don't gesture toward him. Rather, stay focused on the bracha from beginning to end.3 (Similarly, when others are is in the middle of saying a bracha, we should be careful not to speak to them.)
Roger sits down to a heaping plate of French fries, and is in the middle of his bracha Ha'adama, when the phone rings. He should not snap his fingers to indicate that his brother should answer the phone.4
What if you are not involved in a particular activity, but are simply walking around – e.g. in a park or in your house? Here again, it is best to stop and focus before reciting the bracha. In descending order of preference, you should:
Before saying a bracha, you should already know what specific bracha you are going to say.8
Esther sat down to eat a snack of pretzels and almonds. She uttered the words, "Baruch Ata Ado-noy, Eloheinu Melech Ha'olam..." and then – deciding to first eat the pretzels – concluded with "borei minei mezonot."
Not only is this improper, but it can easily lead to mistakes – i.e. if a person absent-mindedly begins a bracha, it might happen that he says "borei pri ha'adama" before realizing that he's holding a glass of water.
What should one do in the event of such a mistake? Upon completing the bracha, you have basically three seconds to correct it – i.e. to say the proper suffix, in this case "she'hakol nih'yeh bid'varo."9
Beyond this, before beginning to say a bracha, you should know which particular piece of food you are going to eat. For example, if you have a bowl of apples in front of you, you should already have picked out the (first) apple you want to eat, before starting to say the bracha.10
Another aspect of "honoring a bracha" is that before saying the bracha, you should already have the item in your hand11 – i.e. the drink should already be poured, or the orange already peeled.12 This will enable you to concentrate more fully on the bracha you are about to say.13
At the very least, the food must be in front of you (or immediately accessible) when the bracha is made. If not, the bracha is invalid and must be repeated.14
Now let's take this one step further: When saying a bracha, the food should be held in your right hand,15 which is considered the "more important" hand.16 When saying Hamotzee, all 10 fingers should be holding the bread, corresponding to the 10 mitzvot involved in producing bread.17
Upon saying the bracha, you should immediately swallow18 some of the food without any interruption. This includes refraining from answering "amen" to someone else's bracha, or to any other communal prayer.19 If even one word is spoken between the bracha and the eating, then the bracha is invalidated and must be repeated.20
Furthermore, one should preferably not pause more than three seconds between the bracha and the eating.21 This is another good reason why before saying the bracha, you should already have the item in your hand.
Let's say you want to eat an apple by cutting off slices with a knife. On one hand, waiting till after the bracha to slice a piece will involve a delay. On the other hand, we learned in class #16 that there is a special priority to saying a bracha on a whole food (shalem). What should you do?
The answer is that it depends: In the case of the apple, you could say the bracha first and then cut off a slice, because the delay is part and parcel of the act of eating.22 However, if you are eating something like a date or apricot, which may need to be checked for bugs before eating, you should slice it open and check before saying the bracha. (After checking, you could then stick the two halves together to create a semblance of shalem while saying the bracha.)
In class #2, we spoke extensively about the need to focus on the meaning and pronunciation of any bracha. It is worth repeating here the important guidelines for saying the Divine Names:
Adonoy refers to God as the Master and Owner of all creation. The last syllable is pronounced like the 'oy' in boy; one should not pronounce it as Ado-niye (long 'i'), which means "my master" (lowercase) and is not a name of God.23
Eloheinu refers to God as the source and embodiment of all power.
YHVH refers to God's transcendence of any limitations, including time and space.24 Due to the holiness of this name, it is forbidden to read it.25 Therefore, it is pronounced as "Adonoy," and when reciting this name, one should have in mind the meaning of both YHVH and "Adonoy" (Name #1 above).26
Now let's discuss more particulars of how a bracha is to be said.
A bracha should be recited loud enough that you are able to hear the words you are saying.27 If you cannot hear yourself, the bracha is still valid providing it was actually enunciated.28
This can be a challenge for people who may feel self-conscious when eating in a public area. But this is so essential that if a bracha is only mouthed or recited mentally, it is not valid.29
Although it is sufficient to recite a bracha in a whisper (as long as you can hear yourself), it is better to say it aloud, as this is extremely helpful in focusing one's concentration.30
Not only is it important to hear the words of your bracha, it is also imperative that each word be pronounced properly. Unfortunately, you may have seen people grabbing an apple on the way out the door and muttering: "Boruchata dnohemechlam bo-pretz." Yet as we learned in class #2, if key words of a bracha are missing, it is invalid. When words are mumbled, slurred or mispronounced, it is the same as leaving them out. Additionally, pronouncing a bracha (and certainly God's name) in such a careless way shows disrespect to Whom the bracha is addressed.31
A bracha is a special opportunity to connect with God and to show our appreciation for all He does. When we say the words slowly, aloud, and with concentration on their meaning, the bracha will do its job of uplifting us in a truly meaningful way.
So in summary:
Best way | say the bracha slowly and out loud |
Good way | whisper it |
Valid post facto | enunciate it |
Not fully valid | think it |
In Psalms 71:8, King David said to God: "May my mouth be filled with Your praise." We see from here that when saying any bracha, one's mouth should be "filled only with praise of God" – i.e. it should be completely empty of anything else.32
Rachel is chewing on a cracker, and now wants to take a drink. She should first swallow what's in her mouth before saying Shehakol.
This concludes class #24. In our next class, we'll continue the topic of "honor for brachot" by discussing the requirement to say brachot in a clean environment.