Traditions, for Birkat haGomel

Birkat haGomel is not a berakha that we say for Mitsvot; it is essentially a Birkat haShebah, a form of public expression of gratitude to HaShem.

Every community has its own traditions in the details of this berakha.

Let us see some of them.

MINORS: In many communities boys under 13 or girls under 12 do not recite haGomel. In some communities they do (Halakha Berura p.164 in the name of rabbi O. Yosef z”l, unlike what it says in Yalqut Yosef).

WOMEN: Women also say birkat haGomel, either in the Synagogue from the ‘azrat nashim (=the women’s balcony, Halakha Berura p.166) or in their homes, in the presence of ten men. According to Mishna Berura (Ashkenazi tradition) the husband can say haGomel for his wife. According to Bet Yosef (Sephardic tradition) the recitation of haGomel is not transferable, so a woman has to say haGomel by herself.

TWO TORA SCHOLARS: In principle, this berakha should be said in the presence of ten men from which two of them are Tora Scholars (=scholars that learn Halakhot). But if that is not possible, one can still say haGomel provided there is a Minyan. The tradition is to recite haGomel during or after the Tora reading which obviously requires the presence of ten men.

TIME: The ideal time to recite haGomel is within three days of the event for which one is saying haGomel. The “three days rule” takes precedence over other considerations. Illustration: If a person recovered from illness Sunday and goes to the Synagogue Monday he should say haGomel then, even if he was not called to the Tora, and he knows that he will be called to the Tora Thursday.

EXPIRATION: If haGomel was not recited during the first three days, one can still say haGomel at a later time. The shulhan ‘arukh (219:6) takes a lenient position and says that if one did not say haGomel during the first three days, one can still say it any time he wants (kol zeman sheyrtze). Some rabbis are of the opinion that when not recited on time, haGomel could be said only for the next thirty days. Some say for one year, and some say even after a year. In principle, one should say haGomel as soon as possible, while the memory of the event for which he is thanking HaShem for, is still fresh in his memory (Penine Halakha).

HAGOMEL FOR SOMEBODY ELSE: Although we explained that haGomel is not transferable, as with any other blessing, a person could be included in someone else’s performance, with the condition that the one who says haGomel has him in his mind when he recites the blessing. Illustration, if two, three or more people need to say haGomel, one of them could say haGomel for all of them, if he keeps them in his mind when he recites his berakha. Those who are included should be standing while listening and, in principle, they have to answer “Amen”.

Again, because there are so many traditions in the details of this berakha, in case of any doubt, one should ask his or her own rabbi and follow the local custom.

BIRKAT HAGOMEL: Understanding the “blessings”

A “Berakha” is a statement, a formula by which we bless God. First, we need to clarify what does it mean to “bless God” ? Usually, it is the one with a higher merit or the authority who grants the blessing to the needy. So, what does it mean that we “bless” God? In Hebrew “Blessing God”, unlike blessing another human being, simply means that we acknowledging God as the source of all our blessings.

For example: When we say a blessing before eating a fruit: barukh Ata HaShem… bore peri haets, we are saying, “I acknowledge, I declare, that YOU are the Creator of the fruits of the tree.

All the bearakhot share the words Barukh Ata haShem… which should never be translated as “Blessed BE You, HaShem”, as if we would be wishing God to have something He lacks ח”ו; but “Blessed ARE You, HaShem…” in the sense of “You ARE the source of …..”.

The berakhot are recited mainly for three different functions.

1. Birkot hanehenim, are the blessings we recite before we enjoy a material event, even simple, routinary occurrences . For example, before we eat, drink, or enjoy a pleasant aroma we say a berakha acknowledging God as the source of that material blessing.

2. Birkot haMitsvot, these are the blessings we recite when we perform one of God’s commandments. For example, before we fix the mezuza in the doorpost we “bless God” saying asher qiddeshanu bemitsvotav vetsivanu liqboa’ mezuza. “It is YOU HaShem the One Who sanctified us with His Mitsvot, and it was YOU the One Who ordered us to place a mezuza in our doorposts.” In other words, I’m declaring that the reason I’m doing this act is because I’m following YOUR commands.

3. Birkot haShebah, are the blessings of praise. We also use the formula of a berakha barukh ata hashem to praise HaShem for the multitude of events, occurrences in the past and in the present, that we know of or that we experience every day. Again, we declare that YOU HaShem are the source of these events. And by reciting a blessing we train ourselves to perceive HaShem’s subtle and invisible intervention in our lives. Illustartion: All birkot hashahar, the blessing we say in the morning when we wake up, belong to this category. We bless haShem, for example, saying that He “restores life to the lifeless bodies”, in other words, when we wake up in the morning we realize, thanks to this berakha, that our inert bodies were inert and passive (see this) but now, HaShem has given us our souls back.

Although a berakha is technically a plain declaration (or for Maimonides a “sworn declaration”), many or probably most of the blessings could be also classified as statements of appreciation and gratitude.

There is one blessing in particular that is known as the blessing of gratitude per excellence. And that is birkat hagomel.

Next Monday, BH, we will begin to explain what are we saying in this beautiful berakha.

EMUNA: The name of HaShem

There are several names by which we refer to HaShem (=God). The most prominent name is A-M-O-N-A-Y (reading D for the M). As you can see, one should be very careful not to write down any of the names of HaShem (technically, there are seven such names as per MT, Yesode HaTora 6:2) in its original way because we do not want to risk that, inadvertently, one would erase HaShem’s name, which is an explicit prohibition in the Tora “lo ta’asun ken….” (Deut. 12:3-4).

The name A-M-O-N-A-Y is also known in Hebrew as the Shem HaMeforash, which means, the ineffable Name of God (“ineffable” means: too great or extreme to be expressed with words). In Latin the Shem haMeforash is known as the “tetragrammaton”, which means, the name of four (tetra) letters (gramma).

There is more to the Shem HaMeforash.

In the Tora every word is written without vowels. We know how to pronounce the words of our Tora thanks to the Mesora, the “Masoretic tradition”, which records and preserves the vocalization and punctuation (te’amim) of every word.

In the Mesora, the Shem haMeforash has three vowels. But these vowels do not indicate the original vocalization of the Shem haMeforash; rather, those three vowels indicate the way this Name should be read.

Confused?

Briefly, there are a few words in the Tanakh that for different reasons are written in one way and read in a different way. This event is known in the Mesora as keri ukhetib, which means: “Although this word is written in this way, you must read in this other way”. To signal this variation, the consonants of the written word are vocalized with the vowels of the word that should be read.

In the case of the Shem haMeforash, the most common case of keri ukhtib, the four consonants of God’s name are combined with the three vowels of the word A-M-O-N-A-Y: hataf Patah, holam haser and qamets. (It still might be confusing for the beginner to identify the first vowel, hataf patah, because the hataf patah of the word A-M-O-N-A-Y (ֲא), must be entered under a yod as a sheva ( ְי ).

In the times of the Bet-haMiqdash the Cohen Gadol (High Priest) pronounced the Shem haMeforash with its original vowels, a tradition that was known only to the High Priests. When the name of HaShem was uttered during Yom Kippur all the people of Israel would bow down and prostrate while saying out loud barukh shem kebod malkhuto le’olam va’ed, which means “May the Glorious Name of His Kingdom be blessed forever”. This beautiful praise also served to maintain undisclosed the original pronunciation of the Shem haMeforash.

MASHIB HARUAH: More on rain

As we have previously explained, our rabbis introduced two prayers for the rain in the ‘amida. One is barekh ‘alenu (the ninth berakha of the ‘amida), which is the blessing for our livelihood (parnasa). We ask God for “rain” and not for “customers” or “money” because in ancient times, when Israel was an agricultural society, everyone’s economy depended entirely on rain. We ask HaShem to bless us with dew and rain which should come in a way of blessing (librakha). We request HaShem to give us rain in its time and in its proper measure. As it is written in the Shema’ Israel be’ito yore umalqosh, give us “in its proper time the strong rainfall (the first rain, which is very strong and helps to soften the land we need to plow) and then the soft rain, which is needed once the vegetation starts to grow (if we would get the mild rain at the beginning of the season, it will not be enough to soften the land. And if we get the strong rainfall when the vegetation is growing, the rain will destroy the plants).

Now, the first time rain is mentioned in the ‘amida, is during the second berakha we don’t ask or request rain or anything else from God. We praise Him. We state that God is Omnipotent (=infinitely powerful) and that He uses His powers to sustain, maintain, support, cure, deliver, nurture, and revive His creatures.
This is the context in which we say “the prayer of praise for the rain” mashib haruah, umorid haGeshem, “[HaShem, You are the One] who makes the wind to blow, and the rain to fall”. In this context we are not asking for rain, we are expressing our appreciation for the fact that HaShem created rain. We perceive rain as part of tehiyat hametim, “God’s power to restore life” , because only thanks to the rain the dry-land revives, the plants grow again and the living creatures of the world stay alive.

Rain is critically important for our survival. And praising God for “rain” should be nothing short of natural and spontaneous. In our days, however, we do not really appreciate rain. This morning, for example, is raining in New York city, and you don’t see people are excited and thankful to HaShem about it. On the contrary. I would say that 99% of people are actually annoyed by the rain.

What kind of praise then, would one say for something that feels an annoyance more than a blessing?

Tomorrow, BH we will explore some of the wonders of the mechanism of precipitation which should help us to gaining a more positive outlook at the miracle of rain, and hopefully be able to praise HaShem for one of His main blessings to mankind.

Shemini Atseret and Simhat Tora

SHEMINI ATSERET

The day after the seventh day of Sukkot (also known as hosha’na rabba) we celebrate another Holiday: “Shemini Atseret” which technically, is a different and independent Holiday from Sukkot.

During Shemini Atzeret we do not have anymore the Mitsva of Lulab and Etrog.

As for the Sukka, in Israel during shemini atzeret the sukka should not be used. The meals should take place at home. If one would use the Sukka in Israel on Shemini Atseret it would incur into the prohibition of adding an additional Mitsva (lo tosif!).

In the Diaspora, however, because of the ancient calendar system, we still use the Sukka during the first day of Shemini Atseret, but without reciting any blessing.

As we explained yesterday, the end of Sukkot indicates the beginning of the new rain season. This is why from the Musaf prayer of Shemini Atseret, we change the words morid hatal (You make the dew descend) for the prayer of the rain mashib haruah uMorid haGeshem, “You make the wind blow, and the rain descend.”

It is important to notice that at this specific point we are still not asking HaShem for rain. We begin by praising God for His wisdom and power to produce precipitation. By saying mashib haruah we are acknowledging God as the source of rain, and by extension, as the ultimate source of our livelihood.

SIMHAT TORA

In Israel the holiday of Shemini Atseret is also Simhat Tora.
Outside Erets Israel, as with any other holiday (=Yom Tob), we celebrate the holiday for two days. The second day of Shemini Atseret is also known as Simhat Tora, when we celebrate the end of the annual cycle of Tora reading, and the uninterrupted beginning the new reading cycle, from Bereshit.

We sing and dance around the Tora, expressing our joy for being part of the people chosen by God to follow His Tora.

We should celebrate Simhat Tora with this real happiness: “During Yom Tob a person should not drink too much… because drunkenness and frivolity is NOT part of the Mitsva of happiness, but foolishness and licentiousness… and we were commanded to attain a level of happiness that is part of worshipping HaShem… and one cannot worship HaShem by frivolity and drunkenness” (MT Yom Tob, 6:19).

As haRambam explained, a Jew does not need to get drunk to feel happy and/or to express this happiness. People who need to get drunk in order to feel happy do that because they want to “forget” who they are, turning off their senses and escaping the reality of their lives. We are AM ISRAEL, the chosen people. And even when personally we might be living difficult times, we still derive immense happiness from the fact that we have the privilege to belong to the people of God.
Maimonides explains that our greatest joy derives from knowing that we have the privilege to serve God, as God wants to be served: “The greatest way to worshiping God is by being happy because we are doing the commandments of God, and being happy because we love our God” (MT H. Sukka veLulab, 8:15).

Don’t forget to do ‘erub tabshilin

This year 5775 Shemini Atseret falls on a Thursday (beginning Wednesday Oct. 15th at night) and Friday, followed by Shabbat. And although most of the cooking for these three days will be done before Sukkot begins, some of the cooking might be done also during Friday Oct. 17 in preparation for Shabbat (Oct. 18th).

As we know, cooking is allowed on Jewish Holidays (Yom Tob) as we learn from Shemot 12:16 “…You shall not do any work on these days [=Yom Tob], except preparing food for everyone to eat, this is the only thing it may be done for you” . However, our rabbis explained that it is only allowed to cook during Yom Tob whatever will be consumed during that Yom Tob, but we cannot prepare or cook on Yom Tob food that will be consumed after that particular day. Thus, when a Holiday occurs on Friday we cannot cook from Yom Tob to Shabbat. Unless an ‘erub tabshilin is prepared.

‘erub tabshilin consists in 1.preparing prior to Yom Tob some cooked and baked food, 2. declaring that we are preparing this food for Shabbat (there is a special blessing and text to say when we put together the ‘erub. See below ) 3. storing that food for Shabbat and 4. eating that food during Shabbat. Thus, when we begin cooking for Shabbat before the Holiday begins, our rabbis authorized to continue the preparation of food from Yom Tob to Shabbat.

In practical terms: Wednesday October 15th, before sunset we should put aside a plate with some cooked and baked foods and keep this food for Sabbath. This plate is what we call the ‘erub. Since some food is already prepared for Shabbat before the Holiday, the cooking that will take place during the Holiday will be considered an addition or in more accurate terms an extension (the word ‘erub in this context means “extension”) to the food that has already been prepared before the Holiday began. Althought the rabbis forbade to cook from Yom Tob to Shabbat, they authorized to cook in order to add more food to a meal that has already been prepared for shabbat.

The following Berakha is recited while holding the plate with the foods (=’erub) in one’s hands:

“Baruch Ata A- donay E-lohenu Melekh ha’Olam Asher Qiddeshanu beMitsvotav veTsivanu AL MITSVAT ERUB”

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּֽנוּ עַל מִצְוַת עֵרוּב

Then we read the following text in which we declare that by preparing this ‘erub we are allowed to do all necessary work and cooking from Yom Tob to Shabbat.

בַּדֵין עֵרוּבָא יְהֵא שָׁרֵא לָֽנָא לַאֲפוּיֵי וּלְבַשּׁוּלֵי וּלְאַטְמוּנֵי וּלְאַדְלוּקֵי שְׁרָגָא וּלְתַקָּנָא וּלְמֶעְבַּד כָּל צָרְכָּֽנָא, מִיּוֹמָא טָבָא לְשַׁבְּתָא

Then we place the ‘erub in the refrigerator and we keep it until Shabbat. For the concept of ‘erub to make sense we must eat that food at some point during Shabbat (October 17th at night and October 18th).

The general practice is to prepare the ‘erub with a cooked egg and one loaf of bread. Many people will also add meat, rice and other types of cooked foods.

SUKKOT, The commandment to be happy

ושמחת בחגך אתה ובנך ובתך ועבדך ואמתך והגר והיתום והאלמנה אשר בשעריך

דב’ 16:13-15

Besides living in the Sukka and taking the four species, in Sukkot we have another Mitsva called “simha”, happiness.

Yes, we are commanded to be and behave in a happy way, every Yom Tob and particularly in Sukkot.

Although, we are used to the idea that happiness is a result of success, and that success consists in having more, gaining more, etc. the Jewish vision of happiness is a little different. If success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you got. In Yom Tob we learn to be happy with what we have, regardless of what we have or how much we have.

We are also happy to belong to Am Israel, by knowing that HaShem protected us in the desert and that we are still under His permanent care.

Part of this Mitsva consists in the enjoyment of material happiness. In Yom Tob we share many festive meals with our family, (wine and meat are a must in any Yom Tob’s menu). We eat and drink, we honor the day and we make it pleasurable, as we do with Shabbat (Shulhan ‘arukh OH 529:1).

In honor of Yom Tob, we also need to dress well, or according to the Shulhan ‘arukh, we should dress better than Shabbat. (idem.)

The hakhamim also specified that each individual enjoys material happiness in a different way. They said that before yom Tob begins the parents should get for their children “…roasted nuts and walnuts (=the equivalent today of candies and small toys); the husband has to buy clothing and jewelry to his wife, at the level he can afford.

We are also obligated to share our happiness with those who don’t have enough. We should provide food for the stranger, the orphans, the widows and other poor people” (SH. ‘A 529:2).

Maimonides elaborated on this last point: ” One who locks the doors of his courtyard [to the needy] and eats and drinks together with his children and wife, and does not feed and give drink to the poor and needy, is not feeling the joy of a mitsva, but the joy of his own stomach . . .” (MT Yom Tob 6:18)

This simha also requires moderation (even if you are not going to drive). “During yom Tob [this includes Simhat Tora. Y.B.] a person should not drink too much… because drunkenness and frivolity is NOT part of the Mitsva of happiness, but foolishness and licentiousness… and we were commanded to attain a level of happiness that is part of worshipping HaShem… and one cannot worship HaShem by frivolity and drunkenness” (Idem., 6:19)

“The greatest way to worshiping God is by being happy because we are doing the commandments of God, and being happy because we love our God” (MT H. Sukka veLulab, 8:15).

SUKKOT, and the fantastic four species

“And, you shall take on the first day [of Sukkot] a fruit of a citric tree (etrog), branches of palm-trees (lulab), a branch of myrtle (hadas) and willows of the brook (‘araba), and you shall rejoice before HaShem, your God, for seven days”. (Lev. 23).

THE MITSVA: We are commanded to take the above mentioned four species during the festival of of Sukkot. We take four plants: three branches, and one fruit. One lulab, two ‘arabot, three hadasim and one etrog are taken together each time. This Mitsva is called “the four species” (ארבעת המינים) or simply, the Mitsva of lulab.

We should hold the lulab, the hadasim, and the ‘arabot in our right hand and the etrog in our left hand. Then, we perform the Mitsva of netilat lulab, which literally means “lifting” the lulab. The four species must be held in the direction that they grow.

On the first day of Sukkot, we must be careful to perform the Mitsva with our own lulab and etrog. During the other days the four species may be borrowed from somebody else.

The Mitzva of the four species is not performed on Shabbat, even when the first day of Sukkot falls on Shabbat.

THE NA’ANU’IM: The Ashkenazi custom is to ‘shake’ (rattle) the lulab while the Sephardic custom is to ‘move it up’ (lena’anea’) in six different directions. The Sephardic custom is to move the four species in the following order: south, north, east, up, down and west. This order was established by Hakhme haQabbala.

In this video we see Rabbi Mordekhay Eliyahu z”l doing the na’anu’im, as the Sephardic tradition holds.

The Fast of Gedalia

Today, Sunday September 28, 2014, is the fast of Gedalia, a fast-day instituted by the Rabbis to remember the assassination of Gedalia Ben Ahiqam, the governor of Israel during the days of Nebukhadnetzar, King of Babylonia. The fast is observed on the 3rd of Tishri, the day after Rosh haShana. This year, because Rosh haShana was followed by Shabbat, we fast today, the 4th of Tishri.

When Nebukhadnetzar destroyed the Temple (586 BCE) and exiled the Jews to Babylonia, he allowed a few Jews (mainly poor farmers) to remain in Israel and work the land. He appointed Gedalia Ben Ahiqam as their governor. Many of the exiled Jews were planning to return shortly from Babylon to Israel to work the land under the auspices of the king of Babylonia, hoping that eventually the Babylonian King (or his successor) would allow all the Jews to reestablish again in their land.

A man from Davidic descendant, Yishma’el Ben Netania, was opposed to the appointment of Gedalia, because he did not belong to the Davidic dynasty. Simultaneously, Ba’alis, the King of Amon (=today Jordan) knew that a Babylonian appointed governor, Gedalia, would mean an easier access for the Babylonian to conquer Amon. Ba’alis then encouraged Yishma’el Ben Netania to assassinate Gedalia. In the beginning of the seventh month (Tishri) Yishma’el and a group of men came to Gedalia in the town of Mitzpa where they were cordially welcomed with the honors due to descendent of Davidic dynasty. Gedalia had been warned of his guests murderous intent, but he refused to believe his informants, convinced that a Jew would never kill another Jew, and compromise their hopes for redemption. However, Yishma’el and his men murdered Gedalia together with the Jews who had joined him in Mitzpa, and a numbers of Babylonians whom Nebukhadnetzar had left with Gedalia. Fearing the reaction of the Babylonian king, the few Jews that were left in Israel to work the land fled to Egypt. And Israel remained virtually without Jews. Thus, the exile of the people of Israel from its land reached its highest peak, and the hopes for returning to the land vanished.

In remembrance of this tragedy our Sages instituted the Fast of Gedalia.

The fast is observed today from daybreak till nightfall (from 5.38 am to 7.04 pm, NYT)

Who is exempted from fasting today?

Minors: boys under 13 and girls under 12 years old are completely exempt from fasting.

Nursing women: According to the Sephardic Minhag, after giving birth women are exempted from fasting for 24 months, even if they are not actually nursing their baby.

Pregnant women are exempt from fasting today.

A person who feels ill, or who experiences symptoms of flu or fever, or a person with a chronic disease, such as diabetes, should not fast today.

Elders should consult with their physicians if the fast will not affect their health. If it will, they are exempted (and in some cases, prohibited) from fasting