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Shabbat and Festivals - Morning Service

Morning Blessings

birchot hashachar

ברכות השחר

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Israeli: ' marks a reduced vowel that Israeli speech drops (b'rachah); when the vowel is pronounced it is written e (lefanecha). - separates syllables that would otherwise run together.

How to read the transliterations

בִּרְכוֹת הַשַּׁחַר

Blessings of a New Day

We stand.

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם,
אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לַשֶּׂכְוִי בִינָה לְהַבְחִין בֵּין יוֹם וּבֵין לָיְלָה׃

Israeli

baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam,
asher Natan lasechvi vinah lehavchin bein yom uvein laylah.

English

Barukh atah Adonai, our God, ruler of time and space, who grants the bird to tell day from night,

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁעָשַׂנִי בְּצַלְמוֹ׃

Israeli

baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam, she-asani b'tzalmo.

English

who formed me in the divine image,

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם,
שֶׁעָשַׂנִי בֶּן־חוֹרִין׃

Israeli

baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam,
she-asani ben-chorin.

English

who created me free,

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁעָשַׂנִי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃

Israeli

baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam, she-asani Yisra-el.

English

who fashioned me a Jew,

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, פּוֹקֵחַ עִוְרִים׃

Israeli

baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam, pokeach ivrim.

English

who grants vision to the blind,

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, מַלְבִּישׁ עֲרֻמִּים׃

Israeli

baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam, malbish arumim.

English

who robes the naked.

Commentary

BLESSINGS FOR A NEW DAY בִּרְכוֹת הַשַּׁחַר. As reported in the Babylonian Talmud, most of the b’rakhot in this collection were originally recited at home as one went through the daily acts of waking and rising (Berakhot 60b). Each passage extols God as we begin the day: on arising from sleep, on hearing the birds sing, on dressing, on taking one’s first steps, and so on. Maimonides stated: “These b’rakhot are without a prescribed order; each is to be recited only on the appropriate occasion… and not as part of the synagogue service” (Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Tefillah 7:7, 9). Other authorities, however, beginning with the siddur of Rav Amram Gaon in the 9th century, recommended the public recitation of these b’rakhot. This has been the standard Ashkenazic practice to this day; the common Sephardic practice is to recite these b’rakhot privately and to begin the service with the morning psalms.

BARUKH בָּרוּךְ. Many commentators argue that the word barukh is not a passive verb meaning “blessed,” but rather an adjective descriptive of God: God is the wellspring of all blessings. (The similar-sounding Hebrew word b’reikhah means “pool of water.”) Thus the opening words of a b’rakhah are an acknowledgment that God is the source of all blessings (Meir ibn Gabbai).

WHO ENABLES THE BIRD TO DISTINGUISH אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לַשֶּׂכְוִי בִינָה. We are a part of the natural world, responding to the morning sunlight as does all of nature. This first blessing attributes understanding to the animal realm and points to humans taking instruction from them. The language is taken from the Book of Job (38:36), where God responds to Job out of the whirlwind, saying: “Who placed wisdom in the most hidden places? Who gave understanding to the bird? Who is wise enough to describe the heavens?” The word used for bird is sekhvi, and the Babylonian Talmud identifies it as a rooster (Rosh Hashanah 26a).

WHO MADE ME IN THE DIVINE IMAGE שֶׁעָשַׂנִי בְּצַלְמוֹ. This blessing and the next one (“who made me free”) are versions of blessings mentioned in the Tosefta (Berakhot 6:18) and in the Babylonian Talmud (Menaḥot 43b). They have been emended in Conservative prayerbooks on the basis of manuscript fragments, found in the Cairo Genizah.

WHO MADE ME A JEW שֶׁעָשַׂנִי יִשְׂרָאֵל. This positive formulation is the wording in the Babylonian Talmud (Menaḥot 43b).

WHO GIVES SIGHT TO THE BLIND פּוֹקֵחַ עִוְרִים. Said when opening the eyes. Many of these blessings are taken from the psalmist’s descriptions of God’s actions: “…sets prisoners free… restores sight to the blind… makes those who are bent stand straight…” (Psalm 146:7–8).

WHO CLOTHES THE NAKED מַלְבִּישׁ עֲרֻמִּים. God’s clothing of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21) was an act of kindness exhibited to these first humans, even as they were exiled from the Garden.

Who Gives Sight to the Blind When we thank God for giving sight to the blind, we express thankfulness not only for the literal gift of sight, but also for our capacity for insight, for our ability to be aware of the world around us, and for the capacity to understand ourselves and our world. Rabbi Benjamin said: We are all blind until the Holy One enlightens our eyes, as the Bible records regarding Hagar, “And God opened her eyes and she saw a well” (Genesis 21:19). —GENESIS RABBAH …

Imitating God Our prayers thanking God for the clothes we wear and for the ability to stand up and walk about are also a reminder of the imperative for us to provide clothing for the “naked,” to offer help to those who are in physical need, and to defend those who are unjustifiably “bound.” The ancient rabbis commented on the verse, “You shall follow Adonai your God…” (Deuteronomy 13:5)—just as God is kind and loving, so too you should be kind and loving; just as God performs acts of generosity, so should you; just as God is patient, so should you be, as it is written, “You shall make yourselves holy, for I, Adonai your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). —based on THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD …