{"id":6263,"date":"2010-01-16T01:00:20","date_gmt":"2010-01-15T23:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=6263"},"modified":"2018-05-24T11:39:53","modified_gmt":"2018-05-24T08:39:53","slug":"02-16-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-16-01\/","title":{"rendered":"01 – The Significance of the Berachot"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chachamim<\/i> instituted the recital of three berachot<\/i> with Keriat Shema<\/i> of Shacharit<\/i>, two before the Shema<\/i> and one after it (Mishnah<\/i>, Berachot<\/i> 11a). These berachot<\/i> add to the content of Keriat Shema<\/i>, including praise and thanksgiving to Hashem for creating and ruling over the world.<\/p>\n

In Keriat Shema<\/i> we say \u201cHashem Echad<\/i>\u201d (\u201cHashem is One\u201d), denoting that He is the single entity that constitutes and fills the whole world with His oneness. In the first berachah<\/i> of Keriat Shema<\/i>, we expand on this foundation. By praising Him for the light that is renewed daily, we extol Hashem, \u201cWho constantly renews the events of creation every day.\u201d In order to emphasize His all-encompassing domain, we mention that He also created the darkness. At night, in the parallel berachah<\/i>, together with the praise that He is \u201cMa\u2019ariv aravim<\/i>\u201d (\u201cthe One Who brings on evening\u201d), we add that he is \u201cBorei yom valaylah<\/i>\u201d (\u201cthe Creator of day and night\u201d). Hence, in the first berachah<\/i>, our belief in God\u2019s unity is given more expanded expression.<\/p>\n

Opening with the words \u201cShema Yisrael<\/i>\u201d (\u201cHear O Israel\u201d) expresses our belief that God\u2019s unity is revealed to the world via the nation of Israel, which was expressly created for that purpose. This idea is expanded upon in the second berachah<\/i>, in which we thank Hashem for the love that He feels for us and for giving us the Torah. We pray that we merit understanding the Torah and fulfill it with love, thereby revealing Hashem\u2019s Name in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cHashem Elokeinu<\/i>\u201d (\u201cHashem our God\u201d) means that Hashem is omnipotent and rules over the world according to His will. His control of the world, with all its forces and components, was revealed most clearly in the exodus from Egypt, which is mentioned at the end of Keriat Shema<\/i>. This, too, is revealed through the nation of Israel. In the third berachah<\/i> we expand on this foundation and praise Hashem, \u201cYou are the first and You are the last, and aside from You we have no king, redeemer, or savior. From Egypt You redeemed us\u2026\u201d Additionally, we mention the slaying of the firstborn in Egypt and the splitting of the Sea. We then conclude, \u201cBlessed are You, Hashem, Who redeems Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

We see, therefore, that all three berachot<\/i> are a continuation of, and an expansion on, the foundations of faith that are found in Keriat Shema<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Although the proper order that the Chachamim<\/i> established is to say Keriat Shema<\/i> with its berachot<\/i>, nevertheless, one\u2019s neglect to recite one of them does not prevent him from fulfilling the mitzvah of the other. If a person recites Shema<\/i> without its berachot<\/i> he still fulfills the mitzvah of Keriat Shema,<\/i> and if he recites the berachot<\/i> without saying Keriat Shema<\/i> he still fulfills the mitzvah of reciting the berachot<\/i>. Similarly, one\u2019s neglect to recite one berachah<\/i> does not hamper the recital of the others. Therefore, if a person recites one of the berachot<\/i>, he fulfills his obligation over the blessing which he recites. All the more so, reciting the berachot<\/i> in the wrong order does not prevent one from fulfilling his obligation to say them, so if someone mistakenly recites the second berachah<\/i> before the first, he still fulfills his obligation. However, l’chatchilah<\/i>, one must recite all the berachot<\/i> together in the order that the Chachamim<\/i> established.[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

\n
\n
[1]<\/a>. The first berachah<\/i>, \u201cYotzer HaMe\u2019orot<\/i>,\u201d opens with the word \u201cBaruch<\/i>\u201d and the berachot<\/i> that follow, although they are long, do not begin with \u201cBaruch<\/i>\u201d since they are considered to be a continuation of the first berachah<\/i>. The fact that l’chatchilah<\/i> they must be recited together with Keriat Shema<\/i> is agreed upon by all opinions. According to the Gra<\/i> and those of similar opinion, this matter is simple. It seems that even the reasoning behind the ruling of the Ra\u2019ah<\/i> and the Shulchan Aruch<\/i>, who write that one should fulfill his obligation of Keriat Shema<\/i> by having kavanah<\/i> when reciting Keriat Shema<\/i> of the Korbanot<\/i>, is that by the time the congregation prays, it is too late, and there is concern that the time to recite Keriat Shema<\/i> will pass. However, were there no such case, all opinions agree that it is best to fulfill the obligation of Keriat Shema<\/i> with its berachot<\/i>.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Likewise, this can be learned from the law that a person who is uncertain as to whether or not he recited Keriat Shema <\/i>and its berachot<\/i> must also repeat the berachot<\/i>. At first glance this is problematic, for when there is doubt concerning berachot<\/i> we are lenient and we refrain from reciting them (safek berachot l\u2019hakel<\/i>). However, since the berachot<\/i> are part of the fulfillment of the mitzvah of Keriat Shema<\/i>, the law regarding the berachot<\/i> follows Keriat Shema<\/i>, see Mishnah Berurah<\/i> 67:4, based on the Rashba<\/i>. This can also be inferred from the law regarding a person whose profession is Torah learning, for although he is exempt from prayer, he is obligated to recite Keriat Shema<\/i> and its berachot<\/i> (Mishnah Berurah<\/i> 106:6).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Chachamim instituted the recital of three berachot with Keriat Shema of Shacharit, two before the Shema and one after it (Mishnah, Berachot 11a). These berachot add to the content of Keriat Shema, including praise and thanksgiving to Hashem for creating and ruling over the world. In Keriat Shema we say \u201cHashem Echad\u201d (\u201cHashem is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-16-birkot-keriat-shema"],"yoast_head":"\n01 - The Significance of the Berachot - Peninei Halakha<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/02-16-01\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"01 - The Significance of the Berachot - Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Chachamim instituted the recital of three berachot with Keriat Shema of Shacharit, two before the Shema and one after it (Mishnah, Berachot 11a). 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