Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

Many people have the custom each morning to read "Hok Le'Yisrael" – a collection of texts that includes passages from the Tanach, Mishna, Halachic works, Zohar, and other sources. "Hok Le'Yisrael" follows a regimented schedule, with different pieces of texts being recited each day. Often, the people who read "Hok Le'Yisrael" do not understand the material they read. The question arises whether a person may read "Hok Le'Yisrael" in the morning before reciting Birkot Ha'Torah. Halacha requires reciting Birkot Ha'Torah before learning Torah for the first time in the morning, but does this apply even if one reads Torah literature without un...

In all languages besides Hebrew, the letters are simply the way words are formed for the purpose of communication. They have no other function and no other significance. The Hebrew alphabet, however, is laden with great spiritual power. Our Sages teach that Hashem created the world using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. When He proclaimed, "Yehi Or" ("There shall be light"), the letters that comprise these words brought light into existence. Likewise, the Gemara teaches that Besalel, the chief artisan who led the construction of the Mishkan, had the knowledge of how to combine different letters and form the...

Before one learns Torah in the morning, he must first recite Birkot Ha'Torah. The Gemara cites different opinions as to which particular subjects within the broad corpus of Torah may not be studied before the recitation of Birkot Ha'Torah. Rav Huna maintained that only the study of Tanach requires Birkot Ha'Torah; in his view, one may study anything else before reciting Birkot Ha'Torah in the morning. Rabbi Elazar ruled that both Tanach and Midrash require Birkot Ha'Torah, because the Midrash explains the verses of the Tanach. The next opinion brought is that of Rabbi Yohanan, who held that even the...

Halacha requires one to recite Birkot Ha'Torah each day before learning Torah. One who wishes to learn Torah upon waking in the morning may not do so until he first recites Birkot Ha'Torah. The question arises whether a person may learn Torah if he is unable to recite Birkot Ha'Torah, such as if he cannot read Hebrew, or if he does not have access to the text of the blessings, and he does not know them by heart. If an individual in this situation wishes to fulfill the precious Misva of Torah study, may he do so, or is he...

In the second of the three Berachot that comprise Birkot Ha'Torah – the series of blessings we recite each morning over Torah learning – we include a prayer that we and all our descendants should be devoted students of Torah. Some Rabbis teach that one should have special intention when reciting this prayer that his children and all his offspring should grow into Torah-committed adults. This second Beracha concludes, "Baruch Ata Hashem Ha'melamed Torah Le'amo Yisrael" – "Blessed are You, O G-d, who teaches Torah to His nation, Israel." This formulation reminds us that Hashem Himself teaches us Torah. Although we are, of course...

Every morning, we recite Birkot Ha'Torah – a series of blessings over Torah learning. This series consists of three different Berachot. The text of the first Beracha resembles that of other blessings recited over Misvot. We thank Hashem "Asher Kideshanu Be'misvotav Be'sivanu Al Dibre Torah" – who commanded us to study Torah. Just like we recite a Beracha over other Misvot – such as over the Misva of Sisit, the Misva of Tefillin, Netilat Yadayim, and many others – we likewise recite a Beracha over the Misva of Torah learning, which is the most important of all the Misvot that we perform. This first Beracha...

Virtually all the Berachot that we are required to recite were introduced by the Sages. One notable exception is Birkat Ha'mazon – the obligation to recite a series of blessings after eating bread, which is explicitly mentioned by the Torah: "You shall eat and be satiated, and you shall bless Hashem your G-d…" (Debarim 8:10). According to some Rishonim, however, there is also another exception – Birkot Ha'Torah, the special blessing recited over Torah study each day. The Gemara (Berachot 21a) infers the obligation to recite a Beracha over the Torah from the verse in Parashat Haazinu (Debarim 32:3), "Ki Shem Hashem Ekra, Habu Godel...

The Gemara in Masechet Nedarim (81a) famously attributes the destruction of the first Bet Ha'mikdash to the people's failure to recite Birkot Ha'Torah – the daily blessings over the Misva of Torah study. The prophet Yirmiyahu (9:11) rhetorically asks, "Al Ma Abeda Ha'aretz" – "On account of what was the land destroyed?" – and then relays to us Hashem's answer: "Al Ozbam Et Torati" – "on account of their abandoning My Torah." The Gemara clarifies that in truth, the people during the time of the first Bet Ha'mikdash learned Torah, but they were deemed guilty of "abandoning" the Torah in that they neglected to recite the requ...

The series of Berachot which we are required to recite each morning include Birkot Ha'Torah – three blessings over the privilege of studying Torah. The unique importance of these Berachot is expressed by the Gemara in Masechet Nedarim (81). The Gemara observes that some Torah scholars have children who do not become Torah scholars, and it attributes this phenomenon to the fact that these scholars do not recite Birkot Ha'Torah. It seems that in their eagerness to begin learning, they proceed directly to their studies without first reciting the Beracha over the Misva of Torah study. This neglect of Birkot Ha'Torah has an...

The requirement to recite 100 Berachot each day refers to the period between sundown and sundown the following day. Hence, the Berachot recited in the evening count toward the next day's total with respect to this obligation. This gives rise to a number of interesting questions in situations where it is unclear how to classify a certain time-period. One such question involves Friday evenings in the summer, when many people recite Arbit and accept Shabbat early, before sundown (after the point of "Pelag Ha'minha"). Do those Berachot recited at Arbit – and the Berachot recited at the meal before sundown – count toward Frid...

On Shabbat (and Yom Tob), fulfilling the daily requirement of reciting 100 Berachot is more difficult than on weekdays, due to the fact that the Amida prayer on Shabbat consists of only seven Berachot (as opposed to the weekday Amida, which contains 19 Berachot). As discussed in previous installments, the Poskim have proposed several different strategies for reaching the required total of 100 Berachot. Amidst this discussion, the Poskim addressed the question of whether one may intentionally delay dessert during the Shabbat meals until after Birkat Ha'mazon in order to facilitate an additional Beracha. If dessert is eaten before Birkat Ha'mazon, one does...

The Shulhan Aruch (in Bet Yosef) presents a list of Berachot which a Jew recites as part of his daily routine, showing that at least on weekdays, one will generally reach the required sum of 100 daily Berachot without difficulty. In this list, he includes the nighttime Shema (which includes the Beracha of "Ha'mapil") as part of the total of the following day's Berachot – clearly indicating that the "day" with regard to this requirement begins in the evening. Meaning, when Halacha requires one to recite 100 Berachot each day, this means that one must recite 100 Berachot from after sunset until sunset the fo...

If a person hears a Beracha for the purpose of fulfilling an obligation, and he listens attentively and responds "Amen," then hearing this Beracha counts toward the required recitation of 100 blessings each day. Thus, for example, when a person hears Kiddush on Friday night to fulfill the Misva of Kiddush, those two Berachot – "Ha'gefen" and "Mekadesh Ha'Shabbat" – count as two of the 100 Berachot which he is obligated to recite each day. The same is true of the Misva over the Shofar blowing on Rosh Hashanah ("Li'shmoa Kol Shofar") and the Berachot recited over the Megilla reading on Purim ("Al Mikra Megi...

The requirement to recite 100 Berachot each day is easily fulfilled each weekday, as each of the three Amida prayers consists of 19 Berachot – such that just with the Amida alone, one already recites 57 Berachot. This is alluded to in the verse in Tehillim (55:18), "Ereb Va'boker Ve'sahorayim Asiha Ve'ehemeh" – "Evening, morning and afternoon, I pray and cry out." The word "Ve'ehemeh" in Gematria equals 57, hinting to the 57 Berachot we recite in the three Amida prayers, in the morning, afternoon and evening. In addition, we recite each morning the 18 Birkot Ha'shahar (morning blessings), the three blessings of the Torah (Birkot Ha'Torah), and Berachot on t...

The Gemara in Masechet Menahot (43) cites a verse in the Book of Debarim (10:12) in which Moshe Rabbenu turns to Beneh Yisrael and says, "Ma Hashem Elokecha Sho'el Me'imach" – "What does Hashem your G-d ask of you?" Moshe proceeds to explain that Hashem asks that we fear Him and obey His commands. The Gemara, however, comments that the word "Ma" in this verse may be read as "Me'a" – one hundred. This means that we are required to recite 100 Berachot each day, and this is what Hashem wants from us. It seems from the Gemara that source of this obligation is the word...

After reciting the lengthy Beracha of "Ha'ma'abir Hebleh Shena," which concludes with "Ha'gomel Hasadim Tobim Le'amo Yisrael," it is customary to then recite a "Yehi Rason" prayer. This is not a Beracha, but rather a beautiful prayer in which we beseech G-d to save us from many different kinds of misfortune and hardships. We begin by asking Hashem to protect us today and every day from "Azeh Panim" – brazen people, who can inflict harm upon us. We then ask for protection from "Azut Panim" – brazenness, meaning, that we ourselves should not act arrogantly and harshly toward other people. We proceed to a...

We recite in the morning a special Beracha thanking Hashem for enabling us to wake up refreshed and reinvigorated after a night's sleep – "Ha'ma'abir Hebleh Shena Me'enai U'tnufa Me'af'apai." We then proceed immediately to the "Vi'yhi Rason" prayer, which concludes, "Baruch Ata Hashem Ha'gomel Hasadim Tobim Le'amo Yisrael." The Beracha of "Ha'ma'abir Hebleh Shena" and the subsequent "Vi'yhi Rason" prayer are considered a single, lengthy blessing. Therefore, somebody who hears another person reciting the Beracha of "Ha'ma'abir Hebleh Shena" does not answer "Amen" when that person completes the words "Al Af'apai," because this blessing continues with "Vi'yhi Rason." One answers "Am...

The Beracha of "She'lo Asani Abed," which we recite each morning, expresses our gratitude to G-d for making us free, that we are not an "Ebed" – "servant." This refers to an "Ebed Kena'ani" – a gentile servant purchased by a Jewish owner, who undergoes a partial conversion whereby he becomes obligated in the same Misvot that are binding upon a woman. After we recite the Beracha of "She'lo Asani Goy," thanking Hashem for not making us a gentile, who has no Misva obligations whatsoever, we thank Hashem also for not making us an "Ebed," who is obligated in only some Misvot. Furt...

One of the Berachot we are required to recite each morning is "She'lo Asani Goy," in which we thank Hashem for making us Jews. We have the great privilege of having been chosen to build a special relationship with G-d, and so the Sages instituted a Beracha to express our gratitude for the gift of being part of G-d's chosen people. There is considerable discussion and debate among the Poskim as to whether this text of the Beracha is indeed the correct text. The Zecher Yehosef (Rav Yosef Zecharya Stern, 1831-1903) noted that the term "Goy" – which means "nation" – is used...

The Rabbis instituted the recitation each morning of the Beracha "Oter Yisrael Be'tif'ara" – "who crowns Israel with glory," which refers to our wearing a hat on our heads. Rav David Abudarham (Spain, 14 th century) understood that this Beracha is recited specifically over turbans, which were commonly worn in Arab lands. Turbans resemble a crown, and thus the term "Oter" – "crowns" – is appropriate for this kind of hat. According to this view, the Beracha is recited only by those who wear turbans, and not in countries where people are not accustomed to wearing this special kind of hat. Others, however, follow the vi...

The Gemara teaches that one recites each morning the blessing of "Ozer Yisrael Bi'gbura" – "who girds Israel with strength" – upon putting on an "Abnet." Most commentaries explain this term to mean a belt (like the belt worn by the Kohanim in the Bet Ha'mikdash, which is called "Abnet"), and indeed, the word "Ozer" means "gird," referring to putting on a belt. Others, however, including the Peri Hadash (Rav Hizkiya Da Silva, 1659-1698) and Rav David Abudarham (Spain, 14 th century), explain that this Beracha speaks of putting on pants. According to both understandings, this Beracha thanks Hashem for allowing us to make...

One of morning blessings we are required to recite each day is "She'asa Li Kol Sorki" – "who Has made for me all that I need." This Beracha expresses gratitude for the ability to wear shoes, as it is only because we have shoes that we can go about and do all that we need to do. On a personal note, I gained greater appreciation for this Beracha after a bizarre experience I had during a trip to Mexico City. I was invited by the Syrian-Jewish community there to come as a guest speaker, and I stayed in a hotel. In th...

One of the Berachot that we recite each morning as part of the Birkot Ha'shahar series of blessings is "Roka Ha'aretz Al Ha'mayim." This text is based on a verse in Tehillim (136:6) in which King David gives praise to G-d for the wonder of the earth being spread over the water. Water lies underneath the earth, and since earth is much heavier than water, the earth should sink into the water, making the world uninhabitable. If we throw a mound of earth into water, it will of course sink to the bottom of the water, and yet, miraculously, the earth...

One of the morning blessings (Birkot Ha'shahar) which we recite each day is "Ha'mechin Mis'adeh Gaber" – "…who prepares the steps of man." Some commentators explain that this Beracha praises Hashem for allowing us to walk upright, on two legs, as opposed to animals, who walk on four legs, their bodies hunched. Others understand this Beracha to mean that Hashem guides and directs each and every one of our steps, bringing us at all times to precisely where we need to be. We never take a "wrong turn," and we never end up in the "wrong place." Wherever we find ourselves at a...

One of the Berachot we recite each morning as part of Birkot Ha'shahar is "Malbish Arumim," with which we express gratitude to Hashem for the gift of clothing. The clothing that we wear protects us from the elements, and maintains our dignity. As such, it is a precious gift that we must never take for granted, and the Sages therefore instituted a special blessing to thank G-d for the garments that we are privileged to wear in the morning. The literal meaning of the words "Malbish Arumim" is "who clothes the naked." Grammatically, the letter Mem has a "Dagesh" (a...