SAYING GRACE AND NINETY-NINE OTHER BLESSINGS THROUGHOUT THE DAY
by Rabbi Andrew Vogel*
For the sake of Adonai, the God of Israel: May the angel Michael be at my right side, and may the angel Gabriel be at my left side. May the angel Uriel be before me, the angel Raphael be behind me, and may the Presence of God be upon my head. —FROM THE LITURGY, SAID BEFORE RETIRING FOR THE NIGHT
THE BASICS OF BLESSING: EVERY DAY IS THANKSGIVING
There is a well-known scene in the musical Fiddler on the Roof, when Tevye and the other men of the village are discussing the czar of Russia. Someone suggests that a blessing be said on behalf of the czar. Another asks inquisitively, "Is there a blessing for the czar?" The town rabbi responds, "In Judaism there is a blessing for everything." He continues, "May the Lord bless and keep the czar... far away from us." Although no such blessing actually exists, the rabbi in the musical is correct: there is a blessing for almost everything in Judaism. There is a blessing for getting up in the morning, for going to sleep, for eating, for seeing wondrous things, for experiencing new things, for the occurrence of good things, for the unfortunate occurrence of bad things, for hearing the news of someone's death, for seeing someone you have not seen in a long time, for going to the bathroom, for studying Torah, for going on a journey, for fulfilling almost any religious commandment, and for just about everything else in life.
In the Talmud, one Rabbi instructs us to recite one hundred blessings throughout the day. His teaching is seen as a way for us to develop a posture of gratitude. Jewish tradition encourages a daily practice of reciting blessings of thanksgiving to God for the goodness in our lives each day.
There are two basic types of blessings: those that respond to awe, and those that seek to stimulate awe within us. Blessings that respond to awe are those said when we see or experience something awe-inspiring, such as the birth of a child: Barukh ata Adonai Eloheynu Melek ha-olam, ha-tov v'hameitiv, Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who is good, and does good. Blessings that seek to stimulate awe within us are those said over routine things, such as the blessing before eating bread: Barukh ata Adonai Eloheynu Melek ha-olam, ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz, Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth. The blessings over routine acts keep us mindful of God's role in the everyday aspects of life; otherwise we might be dulled into forgetting about God's part in things as basic as the food we routinely eat. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel tells us that blessings help us "to take notice of the wonder, to regain a sense of the mystery that animates all being."1
While the distinction between a blessing and a prayer is often very subtle, blessings are generally short, begin with the formula, "Barukh ata Adonai Eloheynu Melek ha-olam... Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe..." and are connected to specific acts or activities. Prayers are usually longer, may contain blessings within them (sometimes a blessing begins or ends a theme that is elaborated in the prayer), and do not require any connection to an act. As mentioned in the posts on Prayer, prayers are often requests we make of God.
THE ORIGINS OF BLESSING IN JEWISH TRADITION
Although there is some mention of blessings in the Torah, the Rabbis of the Talmud conceptualized the structure and content of blessings. Almost all the basic blessings can be found in the first tractate of the Talmud, appropriately called Berakhot (Blessings). In this tractate we read about both types of blessings, those that respond to awe and those that seek to inspire awe. Among those that seek to inspire awe are blessings to be said before eating. As noted in the Talmud, "Rabbi Hanina bar Papa says, 'Anyone who enjoys this world without saying blessing, it is as if that person robbed God" (Berakhot 35a). This seems like an odd thing to say; after all, how can you steal anything from God? According to Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman, professor of liturgy at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, the Reform movement's rabbinical seminary, the point is that everything belongs to God – all the food, all objects, each of us belongs in some sense to God. One psalm makes this clear, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof" (Psalm 115:16). We say a blessing before eating to transfer the food from God's ownership to human control. Therefore, the blessing reminds us to be conscious of partaking in something that is in God's realm. The blessing evokes God's awesomeness: The whole earth is full of God's glory.
The other type of blessing – a blessing that responds to awe – is also found in the tractate Berakhot. The Talmud records that a blessing must be said after participating in miracles, upon observing shooting stars, for seeing unusual-looking people—any moment that inspires awe is cause for a blessing. Surprisingly, a blessing is even said after hearing tragic news. According to the Talmud, "You say a blessing for evil, similar to that said over good" (Berakhot 54a). This is a deep theological statement compressed into one sentence. It reflects the basic belief of monotheism: God is ultimately responsible for our lives. Whenever we discern God's presence, whenever we are filled with awe, either for good or bad, we are obligated to praise God.
BLESSINGS THAT SEEK TO INSPIRE AWE
Morning Blessings
The Jewish practice of reciting blessings specifically in the morning and the evening originates in the Bible. The passage directly after the Shema states: "You shall speak of them... when you lie down and when you rise up" (Deuteronomy 6:5). The Rabbis interpreted this verse, in part, as a requirement for Jews to recite certain passages of the Bible when getting into bed at night, and to praise God upon waking up in the morning.
The Rabbis of the Talmud expanded on the biblical instruction to recite specific passages from the Bible, including additional blessings, which they crafted. Some of these blessings are lengthy statements of thanks and petition; others are more concise, focused, one-line blessings. Some of these blessings are for acts as basic as placing our feet on firm ground, taking our first steps in the morning, and rubbing the sleep from our eyes. Other blessings express thanks to God for creating us in God's image, for making us as we are, and for allowing us to enjoy our precious freedom.
The form of the morning blessings, in Hebrew Birkot Ha-shachar (pron. bir-KOT ha-SHA-char, Hebrew: ברכות השחר, lit. 'morning blessings' or 'blessings [of] the dawn'), evolved over several centuries. The morning blessings include a blessing for returning to life after sleep, a blessing for the ability to use the bathroom, a blessing for the soul, a series of blessings extolling God's power, and the creedal Shema statement.
As you read through the morning blessings below, take note of the balance between blessings for the soul and blessings for the body: the first and third blessings thank God for the soul and its purity, while the others focus on the physical nature of our beings. The blessings evoke gratitude for both soul and body, calling on us to remain mindful of both aspects of ourselves and implicitly reminding us to care for both aspects of our being.
I give thanks to You, living and present Sovereign, for returning my soul to me with love; great is Your reliability.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has made each human being with wisdom, creating in us openings and cavities. You know full well that if one of them were to be incorrectly closed or opened, it would be impossible for us to exist in Your presence. We thank You, God, who heals all creatures, and performs wonders.
My God, the soul with which You endowed me is pure. You created it. You formed it. You breathed it into me. You preserve it within me. In the future, You will take it from me, and return it to me in the world to come. As long as my soul is within me, I thank You, Adonai my God, God of my ancestors, Ruler of all creatures, Master of all souls. We praise You, Adonai, in whose hands are the souls of all the living, and the spirit of all human beings.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, whose Presence fills the universe, who gives [the rooster] the ability to distinguish between day and night.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, whose Presence fills the universe, who made me a Jew.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, whose Presence fills the universe, who created me in God's image.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, whose Presence fills the universe, who opens the eyes of the blind.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, whose Presence fills the universe, who clothes the naked.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, whose Presence fills the universe, who releases the oppressed.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, whose Presence fills the universe, who straightens those who are bent over.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, whose Presence fills the universe, who makes the earth firm upon the waters.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, whose Presence fills the universe, who takes care of all my daily needs.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, whose Presence fills the universe, who guides our steps.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, whose Presence fills the universe, who girds Israel with strength.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, whose Presence fills the universe, who crowns Israel with glory.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, whose Presence fills the universe, who gives strength to those who are weary.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, whose Presence fills the universe, who removes the sleep from my eyes, and who clears away the slumber from my eyelids.
Hear O Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is one.
Evening Blessings
The evening blessings are called Shema She-al Hamitah (literally, "the Shema [that is recited] on the bed"). These blessings consist of the one line of the Shema followed by a blessing asking God to protect us while sleeping. The four archangels – Gabriel, Michael, Uriel, and Raphael – are also invoked for protection during the night. There is no standard version for these evening blessings—some prayer books include pages of psalms and praises for God, while others simply offer a core liturgy.
Here is a basic version of the evening blessings (similar to the one found in many Jewish prayer books). As you read through the blessings, you will notice that God is not praised in the evening as much as in the morning. In the evening, petitions are made to God for protection. We call on God and the angels to guard us on all sides. The evening blessings respond to our primal fear of the night, of the darkness, of our own inability to protect ourselves as we sleep. Out of the anxiety that darkness brings, we call upon God to shelter us in peace.
Hear O Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is one.
Lay us down, Adonai our God, with peace, and raise us up to life, You who are Sovereign. Spread over us the shelter of Your peace. Set us straight with Your good counsel before You, and save us for the sake of Your name [to protect Your reputation]. Hide us in the cover of Your shadow, for You are our Divine Guardian and Deliverer, and You are a merciful and gracious Ruler. Guard our going and our coming, for life and peace, for all eternity. Spread over us the shelter of Your peace. Praised are You, who spreads a peaceful shelter upon us, and upon all of Your people Israel, and upon Jerusalem.
For the sake of Adonai, the God of Israel: May the angel Michael be at my right side, may the angel Gabriel be at my left side. May the angel Uriel be before me, the angel Raphael be behind me, and may the Presence of God be upon my head.In the ancient world, nighttime inspired fear, as a time of great vulnerability. The Rabbis taught that sleep was "one-sixtieth of death." In one midrash, they imagined that on the first day of Adam's life, after he had experienced only the beauty of sunshine and light all day, Adam grew afraid, seeing the sun set and disappear for the first time. As darkness approached, Adam feared that he would be enveloped by it; he had trusted all day in God, who had created him, but when the shadows started to fall, he began to lose his faith, afraid he would be abandoned or killed. But, the midrash tells us, God heard Adam's worried cries and protected him, teaching him to cope with darkness by lighting fire.2
It is no mere coincidence that the Rabbis who imagined this scene chose Adam as the story's main character, as if to say that fear of nighttime is a universal human experience, shared by all. As children, most of us dreaded the monsters of the night, dark closets, and basements. Perhaps we felt anxious at the prospect of being abandoned, or afraid of the unknown. This fear is not limited to children; on some psychological level all adults are afraid of being deserted, or are uneasy with uncertainty. It is human nature to feel safe and secure in what is known and seen and unchanging, and to feel fear in times of darkness. The ancient authors of the evening blessings sought out God in these moments, asking for God's protection and reaffirming their faith in the face of their fear.
In addition to the Shema's unwavering statement of faith, the hashkiveinu (pronounced HASH-kee-VEI-noo) prayer (literally, "Cause us to lie down") is recited as part of the bedtime Shema ritual. This prayer asks God to "lie us down in peace, and raise us up, O Sovereign, to life." Here's again, in a variant, with the Hebrew transliteration:
Hashkiveinu ADONAI eloheinu l'shalom, v'ha-amideinu malkeinu l'ḥayim. Ufros aleinu sukat sh'lomecha, V'tak'neinu b'eitza tova mil'fanecha, V'hoshieinu l'ma-an sh'mecha. V'hagein ba-adeinu, v'haseir mei-aleinu, oyeiv, dever, v'cherev, v'ra-av, v'yagon; V'haseir satan mil'faneinu umei-aḥareinu, Uv'tzeil k'nafecha tastireinu – Ki Eil shom'reinu (umatzileinu ata; Ki Eil melech chanun v'rachum ata. Ushmor tzeiteinu uvo-einu – l'ḥayim) ul'shalom mei-ata v'ad olam. (Ufros aleinu sukat sh'lomecha.) Baruch ata ADONAI, haporeis sukat shalom aleinu, V'al kol amo Yisrael v'al Y'rushalayim. |
Lay us down, LORD God, in peace, and raise us up again, our King, to [new] life. Spread over us Your tabernacle [of peace], And guide us with Your good counsel. Save us for Your name's sake. Shield us from every enemy, plague, sword, famine, and sorrow. Remove the adversary from before and behind us. Shelter us in the shadow of Your wings, Guard (our going out and our coming in, and grant us life) and peace, now and always. Blessed are You, LORD, who spreads Your tabernacle of peace over us, And over all His people Israel and over Jerusalem. |
The blessing may therefore have slight differences, depending which nusach (regional liturgical rite) one follows. Note that parenthesized segments are missing from the following original Hebrew:
הַשְׁכִּיבֵנוּ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ לְשָׁלוֹם וְהַעֲמִידֵנוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ לְחַיִּים.
וּפְרוֹשׂ עָלֵינוּ סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמֶךָ וְתַקְּנֵנוּ בְּעֵצָה טוֹבָה מִלְּפָנֶיךָ וְהוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ לְמַעַן שְׁמֶךָ וְהָגֵן בַּעֲדֵנוּ. וְהָסֵר מֵעָלֵינוּ אוֹיֵב דֶּבֶר וְחֶרֶב וְרָעָב וְיָגוֹן וְהָסֵר שָׂטָן מִלְּפָנֵינוּ וּמֵאַחֲרֵינוּ וּבְצֵל כְּנָפֶיךָ תַּסְתִּירֵנוּ כִּי אֵל שׁוֹמְרֵנוּ וּלְשָׁלוֹם מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ הַפּוֹרֵשׂ סֻכַּת שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל יְרוּשָׁלָיִם. |
It can be understood first as a prayer seeking assurance that we will be safe during the night until morning, and also as a prayer addressing the ancient Rabbis' fear of dying during sleep. They felt that the mysterious nature of sleep was connected to the mystery of death. Thus, these teachers asked God simply to let us wake up. The words of the prayer may also be read as a petition asking God to revive us in the world to come if we do die during the night. Through their ambiguous word choice in this prayer, the Rabbis connected nighttime with death, and addressed our fears of both through a prayer for peace.
The prayer concludes by asking God to "spread over us a sukkah of peace." A sukkah is a wooden outdoor booth constructed for the week of the fall holiday of Sukkot, a temporary shelter in which Jews are directed to dwell for seven days. But the Rabbis of the midrash imagined that the sukkah in which God sheltered the Israelites as they wandered through the desert was not made of wood but rather of six clouds of glory, which represent God's Divine Presence. When we recite this prayer at bedtime, we ask God to shelter us with the same sukkah as we sleep, to surround and protect us with God's Divine Presence on all sides.
The final section of the nighttime blessings also asks God to surround us with divine protection. It invokes four specific angels by name. (Judaism clearly affirms the presence of angels and their work in the world.) This prayer, which begins with BeShem Adonai (literally, "In the name of God"), asks the angels to stand guard in positions around us, with Michael at our right, Gabriel to our left, Uriel in front of us, and Raphael behind us. Why invoke these angels? The archangel Michael, according to the midrash and some later Jewish mystical traditions, is the angel of God who serves as the prime defender of the Jewish people. Gabriel, the second most powerful angel, according to the imaginations of the Rabbis of the midrash, accompanies him in the bedtime prayer and stands at our left side. Asking Michael to be at our right side and Gabriel at our left is like asking the armies of General George S. Patton and General Douglas MacArthur to escort us personally through the night.
Uriel and Raphael are more minor angels in Judaism's "angelology," yet they are chosen for specific reasons. The name Uriel means "light of God"; we ask this angel to shine divine rays before us in the dark of night to keep us safe. Raphael, the angel of healing, is perceived by the Zohar, the major Jewish mystical work, as the one who dominates the morning hours, bringing hope and relief to the sick and suffering. The healing that Raphael brings us is spiritual as well as physical. If we take this prayer literally, God's angels will protect us on all our four sides during the night.
Some see each angel as a metaphor for what all of us need emotionally, physically, and spiritually: strength, courage, insight, and health. Invoking the angels in the prayer helps us acknowledge our own limitations as we consider the day just ended and the night ahead. Many of us do not believe in angelic figures as they have been represented in Western art—as chubby, cherubic babies with wings. Yet many of us do place our faith in a God whose multiple attributes can strengthen us in times of weakness, give us courage in moments of doubt, heal us when we are hurting, and provide light for us in the darkest hours.
Jewish tradition requires different blessings to be said before eating different types of food. The blessings recited before eating food reflect our awareness of divine participation in our well-being. We could have only one blessing to be recited before eating – something such as, "God, thanks for the food" – but such an approach would reduce all food to one common category, something to be consumed by us. It would ignore the variety, diversity, and grandeur of nature. Instead, Judaism offers several specific blessings to be recited before eating: one for bread (which may encompass the others); one for other baked goods; one for vegetables and all foods that grow from the ground; one for vegetables and all foods that grow from the ground; one for fruits and all foods that grow on trees; one for liquids, candies, and other categories not included in the previous ones.
These blessings remind us, the consumers, about the diverse and sensitive environment in which we live. They subtly encourage us to attend to the many needs of the world: if we like the variety of foods we are eating, we need to tend to the earth, to enable it to sustain this abundant produce. In Judaism, blessings before eating express our appreciation for having food as well as our wonder at the majesty of nature and technology and our gratitude for the ideal blending of the two. We are even more acutely aware of this when fruit that was once only available seasonally is now in stores throughout the year. Transportation and refrigeration enable us to eat any kind of food any time of the year. Needing to select the appropriate blessing before we eat helps us remain mindful of the labor, the ingenuity, the efforts, the luxury, and the costs of such diversity and availability.
Here are the blessings before eating:
For fruits and produce from trees: Praised are You,
Judaism is one of the few religions that has blessings both before and after the meal, as if to say that it is not sufficient to give thanks for the food when you are hungry or needy, but also when you are sated. If the blessings before the meal speak of our place in nature and our connection to the land and to God, the blessings after the meal speak of our place in history, and our connection specifically to the Land of Israel and to God.
The Birkat Hamazon (Hebrew: בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוׂן, Grace after the Meal) is rather long and can be found in most Jewish prayer books. It is made up of four blessings. The first three blessings are regarded as required by scriptural law:
Why is there an emphasis on the Land of Israel in the blessings after the meal? The Torah says, "You shall eat and you shall be satisfied, and you shall bless Adonai you God for the goodly land that God gave you" (Deuteronomy 8:10). Before the meal, our hunger focuses us on our common human instincts and sustaining life itself—we are creatures dependent on the earth; humans in covenant with God eager to satisfy our earthly, creaturely needs. But with the gift of a satisfying meal, our attention turns to the purpose of life. We eat to survive, but for what purpose? What meaning do our lives have?
Every time we eat a meal, we are reminded that we belong to a people, to a land, and to God. In the company of friends and family or by ourselves, we declare that nourishment is not just a gift. It is a calling. We may eat alone or in small groups, but we live in community, bound to our history and our future. Every act of eating is an act of communion and rededication to the mission of the Jewish people.
BLESSINGS THAT RESPOND TO MOMENTS OF AWE
There is a remarkable blessing in the Jewish tradition that reminds us of how precious constant contact with our friends is. If we do not see or communicate with a friend for over thirty days, Jewish tradition calls us to greet that friend the next time we see him or her with this blessing, "Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who brings the dead back to life." The Rabbis believed that when we lose touch with a friend, we lose a little bit of ourselves, too. To renew contact is to renew more than the relationship: it is to reawaken the part of us that no one but our friend animates. For each friend enlivens a specific constellation of our spiritual impulses, our desires, our strengths, our hopes, and our memories. Dormant relationships are not necessarily endangered, but they cannot grow, and neither can that part of us that the friendship evokes. Reciting this blessing reminds both friends how long it has been between visits, how valued is their time together, and what a loss it is to be out of touch.
Miracles of Time and Place
Just as we reconnect with a person, Jewish tradition recognizes that we can reconnect with a place. Places stimulate memories that arouse feelings. That is why, for example, we celebrate anniversaries at the place we first met our loved one, or where we got engaged. Some of us have experienced the miracle of being rescued. Perhaps someone inexplicably appeared to help you in a moment of danger. Or perhaps it was not mysterious, but just as miraculous; for example, a physician removing a diseased organ, replacing a weakened valve, or saving you from infection. Jewish tradition encourages us to mark that place where an act of rescue happened, so when we come upon it again we recite: "Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who caused a miracle to happen here to me."
A Blessing for Everything
Judaism has a surprising variety of blessings for all types of experiences. Some of them are quite beautiful:
In conversation, upon independently awakening to an insight that reflects one from a sage or colleague: Praised are You, Adonai our
Health and Recovery
Between life and death are moments of illness or accident. The Mi Sheberakh (pronounced MEE she-BEI-rach), the classic prayer for health, is recited in synagogue in front of the Torah scroll on behalf of a loved one, in the presence of a prayer quorum (minyan). But that is not the only opportunity we have to recite personal petitions for health. The Amidah (the central prayer of every fixed Jewish prayer service, said three times a day with or without a congregation) includes a general prayer for healing: "Heal us, God, and we will be healed; save us and we will be saved." Jewish tradition also encourages us to add a personal petition for the recovery of a loved one in the midst of this statutory prayer: "May it be Your will, God, that You quickly send a full recovery from Your domain in the heavens to ________ here. May it be a healing of body and a healing of spirit, for them, and all Israel who suffer." You can recite this petition any time of day or night.
A Prayer for Traveling
Knowing how unsettled we and our loved ones can be at the prospect of a long-distance journey, Jewish tradition offers words of comfort to say when leaving home. While crafted for the traveler, these words can ease the way for the traveller and the homebound alike.
The traditional traveler's prayer (tefilat ha-derekh, Heb. תפילת הדרך, "prayer of the way") reads as follows:
While Christianity does not place the same emphasis on saying prescribed blessings as Judaism does, there are still some similar traditions. For example, both faiths mandate a blessing before eating. According to Dr Lawrence A. Hoffman, editor of the My People's Prayer Book: Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries series (published by Jewish Lights), Christian and Jewish blessings recited before eating have an affinity that goes beyond the mere fact that they both mention bread. The Lord's Prayer includes the plea, "Give us this day our daily bread." Church leaders said that this refers not to ordinary bread but rather bread of the Kingdom. That is, bread of the world to come, when the world will be redeemed. Similarly, the Talmud says that the bread mentioned in the Jewish blessing, "Blessed are You... who brings forth bread from the earth," is not just ordinary bread. Rather, it is the bread from the world to come when God will really bring forth bread. Interestingly, both the church leaders and the Rabbis of the Talmud see the blessings said before eating as a portent of future redemption.6
At a broader level, Judaism and Christianity share a basic outlook of thanksgiving. Both traditions view God as the Creator of all, and thus understand that we must thank the root of creation for everything we receive, the blessings in our lives. While the forms of thanksgiving differ between the two religions, the essence of why Christians and Jews say blessings at all is the same: thankfulness brings us closer to the Holy One.
___________________
* Parts of this post were based on and inspired by the work of Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin.
1. Abraham Joshua Heschel, Man's Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism (Macmillan, 1954), 5.
2. Bereshit Rabbah 12:6.
3. This version taken from Wikipedia at article "Hashkiveinu".
4. This section taken from Wikipedia at article "Birkat Hamazon".
5. This version taken from Wikipedia at article "Tefilat HaDerech".
6. Lawrence Hoffman, "Jewish and Christian Liturgy," in Christianity in Jewish Terms, ed. Tikva Frymer-Kensky (Westview Press, 2000), 179.
The final section of the nighttime blessings also asks God to surround us with divine protection. It invokes four specific angels by name. (Judaism clearly affirms the presence of angels and their work in the world.) This prayer, which begins with BeShem Adonai (literally, "In the name of God"), asks the angels to stand guard in positions around us, with Michael at our right, Gabriel to our left, Uriel in front of us, and Raphael behind us. Why invoke these angels? The archangel Michael, according to the midrash and some later Jewish mystical traditions, is the angel of God who serves as the prime defender of the Jewish people. Gabriel, the second most powerful angel, according to the imaginations of the Rabbis of the midrash, accompanies him in the bedtime prayer and stands at our left side. Asking Michael to be at our right side and Gabriel at our left is like asking the armies of General George S. Patton and General Douglas MacArthur to escort us personally through the night.
Uriel and Raphael are more minor angels in Judaism's "angelology," yet they are chosen for specific reasons. The name Uriel means "light of God"; we ask this angel to shine divine rays before us in the dark of night to keep us safe. Raphael, the angel of healing, is perceived by the Zohar, the major Jewish mystical work, as the one who dominates the morning hours, bringing hope and relief to the sick and suffering. The healing that Raphael brings us is spiritual as well as physical. If we take this prayer literally, God's angels will protect us on all our four sides during the night.
Some see each angel as a metaphor for what all of us need emotionally, physically, and spiritually: strength, courage, insight, and health. Invoking the angels in the prayer helps us acknowledge our own limitations as we consider the day just ended and the night ahead. Many of us do not believe in angelic figures as they have been represented in Western art—as chubby, cherubic babies with wings. Yet many of us do place our faith in a God whose multiple attributes can strengthen us in times of weakness, give us courage in moments of doubt, heal us when we are hurting, and provide light for us in the darkest hours.
Blessings before Eating
These blessings remind us, the consumers, about the diverse and sensitive environment in which we live. They subtly encourage us to attend to the many needs of the world: if we like the variety of foods we are eating, we need to tend to the earth, to enable it to sustain this abundant produce. In Judaism, blessings before eating express our appreciation for having food as well as our wonder at the majesty of nature and technology and our gratitude for the ideal blending of the two. We are even more acutely aware of this when fruit that was once only available seasonally is now in stores throughout the year. Transportation and refrigeration enable us to eat any kind of food any time of the year. Needing to select the appropriate blessing before we eat helps us remain mindful of the labor, the ingenuity, the efforts, the luxury, and the costs of such diversity and availability.
Here are the blessings before eating:
For bread: Praised are You, Adonai our God,
Sovereign of the universe, who
brings forth bread from the earth.
For other baked goods: Praised are you,
Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe,
who creates all sorts of grains.
For wine: Praised are You, Adonai our God,
Sovereign of the universe, who
creates the fruit of the vine.
For drinks, candies, and the like: Praised are You,
Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe,
whose word brings all life into existence.
For fruits and produce from trees: Praised are You,
Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe,
who creates the fruit of the tree.
For vegetables and produce that grows from the ground:
Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the
universe, who creates the fruit of the earth.
Blessings after the Meal
The Birkat Hamazon (Hebrew: בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוׂן, Grace after the Meal) is rather long and can be found in most Jewish prayer books. It is made up of four blessings. The first three blessings are regarded as required by scriptural law:
- The food: A blessing of thanks for the food was traditionally composed by Moses (Berakhot 48b) in gratitude for the manna which the Jews ate in the wilderness during the Exodus from Egypt.
- The land: A blessing of thanks for the Land of Israel, is attributed to Joshua after he led the Jewish people into Israel.
- Jerusalem: Concerns Jerusalem, is ascribed to David, who established it as the capital of Israel and Solomon, who built the Temple in Jerusalem.
- God's goodness: A blessing of thanks for God's goodness, written by Rabban Gamliel in Yavneh. The obligation to recite this blessing is generally regarded as a rabbinic obligation.
Why is there an emphasis on the Land of Israel in the blessings after the meal? The Torah says, "You shall eat and you shall be satisfied, and you shall bless Adonai you God for the goodly land that God gave you" (Deuteronomy 8:10). Before the meal, our hunger focuses us on our common human instincts and sustaining life itself—we are creatures dependent on the earth; humans in covenant with God eager to satisfy our earthly, creaturely needs. But with the gift of a satisfying meal, our attention turns to the purpose of life. We eat to survive, but for what purpose? What meaning do our lives have?
Every time we eat a meal, we are reminded that we belong to a people, to a land, and to God. In the company of friends and family or by ourselves, we declare that nourishment is not just a gift. It is a calling. We may eat alone or in small groups, but we live in community, bound to our history and our future. Every act of eating is an act of communion and rededication to the mission of the Jewish people.
BLESSINGS THAT RESPOND TO MOMENTS OF AWE
One of the most popular fixed blessings in the Shehecheyanu ((Hebrew: שהחינו, pronounced she-HEH-chee-YAH-noo, "Who has given us life"), a unique, unparalleled blessing about being aware of and delighting in the moment. The blessing says: "Praised are You Adonai our God Sovereign of the universe, who has given us life, sustained us, and brought us to this very moment [of joy]." This blessing is said at bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies, commencements, retirements, dedications, and other important milestone events. But it can also be said to sanctify the quiet, extraordinary moments of life: when a child takes the first step, when we cut the tags off our new clothes, when our child gets a driver's license, when parents celebrate their fiftieth anniversary. This is a blessing that awakens us to the moment's splendor.
Birth and Death
Throughout our lives, we hear news of births and deaths, graduations and retirements, weddings and divorces. The Jewish religion helps us to process this news, to place it in the context of the broad stream of life. The Rabbis crafted two different responses to such news in the form of fixed blessings.
Upon hearing the news of a death, Jews are instructed to say: "Praised are You, God, the Judge of truth." When we are angry or confused or lost, this blessing shows us the way. It reminds us of what can and cannot be controlled. It affirms faith at a time when faith seems hard to sustain. It reminds us that we cannot fully understand the mysteries of life. When we place our faith, trust, and hope in a power larger than ourselves, we can relax our fists, release the urge to control, and let go of the drive to fix everything—an ability we never had anyway.
Likewise, upon hearing good news, we are told to say, "Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, the One who is good and who brings goodness." These words place individual feelings of gratitude in a greater context. In the context of Jewish community, we neither mourn alone nor rejoice alone. These blessings, crafted by the Jewish tradition, remind us as individuals that others care about our feelings, and how we should respond to them. But they also remind us that others celebrate and hurt—that our experiences, while unique to us, are not unique to humanity. None of us is alone in the particularity of our feelings. To recite these blessings helps us to remember who we are and whose we are.
FriendshipBirth and Death
Throughout our lives, we hear news of births and deaths, graduations and retirements, weddings and divorces. The Jewish religion helps us to process this news, to place it in the context of the broad stream of life. The Rabbis crafted two different responses to such news in the form of fixed blessings.
Upon hearing the news of a death, Jews are instructed to say: "Praised are You, God, the Judge of truth." When we are angry or confused or lost, this blessing shows us the way. It reminds us of what can and cannot be controlled. It affirms faith at a time when faith seems hard to sustain. It reminds us that we cannot fully understand the mysteries of life. When we place our faith, trust, and hope in a power larger than ourselves, we can relax our fists, release the urge to control, and let go of the drive to fix everything—an ability we never had anyway.
Likewise, upon hearing good news, we are told to say, "Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, the One who is good and who brings goodness." These words place individual feelings of gratitude in a greater context. In the context of Jewish community, we neither mourn alone nor rejoice alone. These blessings, crafted by the Jewish tradition, remind us as individuals that others care about our feelings, and how we should respond to them. But they also remind us that others celebrate and hurt—that our experiences, while unique to us, are not unique to humanity. None of us is alone in the particularity of our feelings. To recite these blessings helps us to remember who we are and whose we are.
There is a remarkable blessing in the Jewish tradition that reminds us of how precious constant contact with our friends is. If we do not see or communicate with a friend for over thirty days, Jewish tradition calls us to greet that friend the next time we see him or her with this blessing, "Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who brings the dead back to life." The Rabbis believed that when we lose touch with a friend, we lose a little bit of ourselves, too. To renew contact is to renew more than the relationship: it is to reawaken the part of us that no one but our friend animates. For each friend enlivens a specific constellation of our spiritual impulses, our desires, our strengths, our hopes, and our memories. Dormant relationships are not necessarily endangered, but they cannot grow, and neither can that part of us that the friendship evokes. Reciting this blessing reminds both friends how long it has been between visits, how valued is their time together, and what a loss it is to be out of touch.
Miracles of Time and Place
Just as we reconnect with a person, Jewish tradition recognizes that we can reconnect with a place. Places stimulate memories that arouse feelings. That is why, for example, we celebrate anniversaries at the place we first met our loved one, or where we got engaged. Some of us have experienced the miracle of being rescued. Perhaps someone inexplicably appeared to help you in a moment of danger. Or perhaps it was not mysterious, but just as miraculous; for example, a physician removing a diseased organ, replacing a weakened valve, or saving you from infection. Jewish tradition encourages us to mark that place where an act of rescue happened, so when we come upon it again we recite: "Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who caused a miracle to happen here to me."
A Blessing for Everything
Judaism has a surprising variety of blessings for all types of experiences. Some of them are quite beautiful:
Upon seeing something of extraordinary beauty: Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has placed such beauty in Your world.
Upon seeing lightning: Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who does the work of creation.
Upon hearing thunder: Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, whose power and might fill the whole world.
Upon seeing the ocean: Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who made the great sea.
In conversation, upon independently awakening to an insight that reflects one from a sage or colleague: Praised are You, Adonai our
God, Sovereign of the universe, for enabling me to share in the wisdom of sages.
Upon seeing someone distinguished in worldly knowledge, discovery, or invention: Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has given of Your wisdom to those who are flesh and blood.
Health and Recovery
Between life and death are moments of illness or accident. The Mi Sheberakh (pronounced MEE she-BEI-rach), the classic prayer for health, is recited in synagogue in front of the Torah scroll on behalf of a loved one, in the presence of a prayer quorum (minyan). But that is not the only opportunity we have to recite personal petitions for health. The Amidah (the central prayer of every fixed Jewish prayer service, said three times a day with or without a congregation) includes a general prayer for healing: "Heal us, God, and we will be healed; save us and we will be saved." Jewish tradition also encourages us to add a personal petition for the recovery of a loved one in the midst of this statutory prayer: "May it be Your will, God, that You quickly send a full recovery from Your domain in the heavens to ________ here. May it be a healing of body and a healing of spirit, for them, and all Israel who suffer." You can recite this petition any time of day or night.
A Prayer for Traveling
Knowing how unsettled we and our loved ones can be at the prospect of a long-distance journey, Jewish tradition offers words of comfort to say when leaving home. While crafted for the traveler, these words can ease the way for the traveller and the homebound alike.
The traditional traveler's prayer (tefilat ha-derekh, Heb. תפילת הדרך, "prayer of the way") reads as follows:
Y'hi ratzon milfanekha A-donai E-loheinu ve-lohei avoteinu she-tolikhenu l'shalom v'tatz'idenu l'shalom v'tadrikhenu l'shalom, v'tagi'enu limhoz heftzenu l'hayim ul-simha ul-shalom. V'tatzilenu mi-kaf kol oyev v'orev v'listim v'hayot ra'ot ba-derekh, u-mi-kol minei pur'aniyot ha-mitrag'shot la-vo la-olam. V'tishlah b'rakha b'khol ma'a'se yadeinu v'tit'nenu l'hen ul-hesed ul-rahamim b'einekha uv-einei khol ro'einu. V'tishma kol tahanuneinu ki E-l sho'me'a t'fila v'tahanun ata. Barukh ata A-donai sho'me'a t'fila.
May it be Your will, Lord, our God and the God of our ancestors, that You lead us toward peace, guide our footsteps toward peace, and make us reach our desired destination for life, gladness, and peace. May You rescue us from the hand of every foe and ambush, from robbers and wild beasts on the trip, and from all manner of punishments that assemble to come to earth. May You send blessing in our handiwork, and grant us grace, kindness, and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see us. May You hear the sound of our humble request because You are God Who hears prayer requests. Blessed are You, Lord, Who hears prayer.
CHRISTIAN PARALLELS TO JEWISH BLESSINGS
While Christianity does not place the same emphasis on saying prescribed blessings as Judaism does, there are still some similar traditions. For example, both faiths mandate a blessing before eating. According to Dr Lawrence A. Hoffman, editor of the My People's Prayer Book: Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries series (published by Jewish Lights), Christian and Jewish blessings recited before eating have an affinity that goes beyond the mere fact that they both mention bread. The Lord's Prayer includes the plea, "Give us this day our daily bread." Church leaders said that this refers not to ordinary bread but rather bread of the Kingdom. That is, bread of the world to come, when the world will be redeemed. Similarly, the Talmud says that the bread mentioned in the Jewish blessing, "Blessed are You... who brings forth bread from the earth," is not just ordinary bread. Rather, it is the bread from the world to come when God will really bring forth bread. Interestingly, both the church leaders and the Rabbis of the Talmud see the blessings said before eating as a portent of future redemption.6
At a broader level, Judaism and Christianity share a basic outlook of thanksgiving. Both traditions view God as the Creator of all, and thus understand that we must thank the root of creation for everything we receive, the blessings in our lives. While the forms of thanksgiving differ between the two religions, the essence of why Christians and Jews say blessings at all is the same: thankfulness brings us closer to the Holy One.
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* Parts of this post were based on and inspired by the work of Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin.
1. Abraham Joshua Heschel, Man's Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism (Macmillan, 1954), 5.
2. Bereshit Rabbah 12:6.
3. This version taken from Wikipedia at article "Hashkiveinu".
4. This section taken from Wikipedia at article "Birkat Hamazon".
5. This version taken from Wikipedia at article "Tefilat HaDerech".
6. Lawrence Hoffman, "Jewish and Christian Liturgy," in Christianity in Jewish Terms, ed. Tikva Frymer-Kensky (Westview Press, 2000), 179.
