Previously, we have explained that our rabbis established a blessing to be said when something happy happens to us. When we acquire something new, which brings us happiness we recite the blessing “Shehecheyanu” (see here ).

For example, if we buy or get as a gift a new suit, a new dress or any new clothing that we are happy to have, we say Shehecheyanu, acknowledging God as the ultimate source of our blessings and enjoyments.

The custom is to recite this berakha not when we buy the new clothes but when we wear them for the first time.

Similarly, when we eat a fruit from the new season we also recite the blessing Shehecheyanu to thank God Almighty for the beautiful world He created, and for the multitude of trees and fruits He fashioned, just for our enjoyment.

One of the spiritual benefits of this blessing is that it teaches us not to take small happiness for granted. To eat a fruit of the new season might seem a trivial ordinary act, but we Jewish people don’t miss an opportunity to remember God and to thank Him for His blessing toward us. The more spiritual a person is, the more awe and amazement he or she will feel for the small things he enjoys. The more materialistic a person is, the more difficult will be for him or her to enjoy or appreciate God’s daily gifts. A materialistic person, no matter how wealthy he is, gets his pleasure only in the pursuit of what he does not have.

The blessing Shehecheyanu teaches us to enjoy and appreciate what we NOW have.

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We Jews pray three times a day. Establishing a daily personal connection with our Creator. The rabbis of the Talmud established also a series of blessings, aiming at reminding us of HaShem’s presence constantly. Every time we eat, drink, sense a good smell or experience a happy occasion, etc. we recite a blessing to God. We convey in this way that God is not far away hidden in heavens, absent from our lives. On the contrary, His presence is overwhelming. And our major spiritual challenge in life is not to be distracted from His omnipresence.

Emuna (popularly translated as ‘faith’) does not consist just in our believe in God’s existence. Emuna consists mainly in our awareness of God’s presence. In a sense, Emuna could be measured by measuring our attention span: The less we are distracted from God’s existence, the higher our Emuna, and vice versa.

The blessings were established by the Rabbis, with this purpose in mind. To keep us aware, or to bring our minds back to remember God’s presence, virtually every hour of our lives.

The berakha we are learning today, Shehecheyanu, was established by the Rabbis to be said when something unusually joyous happen to us. By pronouncing this beautiful berakha we express our gratitude to God, declaring that He is the true source of our happiness.

Before we get into the details of the appropriate occasions to recite Shehecheyanu, let us understand what this berakha means.

“Blessed are You haShem our God, King of the universe,

Shehecheyanu: that You grant us the merit to be still alive

Vekiyemanu: that You have sustained us, giving us food, health, etc.

Vehigiyanu: allowing us to arrive…

Lazeman haze: to this moment [of happiness and joy]

May we always have the opportunity to thank haShem for happy occasions!

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