We begin with a moment of remembrance and dedication...
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu laasok b’divrei Torah.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who hallows us with mitzvot, commanding us to engage with words of Torah.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, shehecheyanu, v'kiy'manu, v'higiyanu laz'man hazeh
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season
The blessing of Shehecheyanu is recited in thanks or commemoration of:
- Generally, when doing or experiencing something that occurs infrequently from which one derives pleasure or benefit.
- The beginning of a holiday, including Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simhat Torah and Hanukkah, but not holidays commemorating sad events, such as Tisha B'av.
- The first performance of certain mitzvot in a year, including sitting in a sukkah, eating matzah at the Passover Seder, reading the megillah, or lighting the candles on Hanukkah.
- Eating a new fruit for the first time since Rosh Hashanah.
- Seeing a friend who has not been seen in thirty days.
- Acquiring a new home or other significant possessions.
- The birth of a child (but not at the circumcision).
- A pidyon haben ceremony.
- During a ritual immersion in a mikveh as part of a conversion.
- On arrival in Israel.
Nulman, Macy (1993). Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer. NJ. p. 91.
וְאָמַר רַבָּה: כִּי הֲוֵינָא בֵּי רַב הוּנָא, אִיבַּעְיָא לַן: מַהוּ לוֹמַר זְמַן בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה וּבְיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים? כֵּיוָן דְּמִזְּמַן לִזְמַן אָתֵי — אָמְרִינַן, אוֹ דִילְמָא כֵּיוָן דְּלֹא אִיקְּרוּ רְגָלִים לָא אָמְרִינַן. לָא הֲוָה בִּידֵיהּ.
Rabba said: When I was in the house of study of Rav Huna, we raised the following dilemma: What is the halakha with regard to saying the blessing for time, i.e., Who has given us life [sheheḥeyanu], on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur? The two sides of the dilemma are as follows: Do we say that since these Festivals come at fixed times of the year, we recite the blessing: Who has given us life, just as we would for any other joyous event that occurs at fixed intervals? Or do we say, perhaps, that since these Festivals are not called pilgrim Festivals [regalim], we do not recite: Who has given us life, as the joy that they bring is insufficient? Rav Huna did not have an answer at hand.
What was Rav Huna's dilemma?
What special connection is there between the Shehecheyanu prayer and Yom Kippur?
How do blessings connect us with ourselves, with our world and with the Divine?
בְּרָכָה f. (b. h.; ברך) 1) blessing, bestowal of prosperity, good wishes, choice, plenty. Keth. 5ᵃ הואיל … ב׳ לדגים because on it the blessing was given to the fish (Gen. I, 22, to be fruitful). Y. ib. I, beg. 24ᵈ אין כתיב ב׳ וכ׳ the blessing (Gen. II, 3) refers not to man but to the day.—Erub. 63ᵇ, a. fr. תבא עליו ב׳ blessing rest upon him (he acts rightly). Keth. 103ᵃ; B. Bath. 144ᵇ בִּרְכַת הבית ברובה the blessing of a house consists in the number of inmates (every member of a household contributes to its comfort); Tosef. Keth. XII, 3 ב׳ הבית מרובה. B. Mets. 42ᵃ אין הב׳ מצוייה וכ׳ blessing (unexpected supply, miraculous increase) will not take place in things which are weighed &c.; Taan. 8ᵇ; a. fr.—Pes. 50ᵇ, a. fr. אינו רואה סימן ב׳ לעולם will never see a sign of prosperity; a. fr. —2) benediction, prayer to be recited on certain occasions. Ber. 35ᵃ man must not taste anything בלא ב׳ without a blessing. Ib. 40ᵇ כל ב׳ שאין וכ׳ a benediction in which the Name of the Lord is not invoked, is no benediction; a. fr.—Pl. בְּרָכוֹת. 1) blessings, benedictions. Ib. 45ᵇ; a. v. fr.—Sabb. 115ᵇ
בְּרֵיכָה, בְּרֵכָה f. (b. h.; ברך) pond, lake. Mikv. VI, 11 אחד משלש … לב׳ one three hundred and twentieth part of the bathing pond. Gen. R. s. 39 (ref. to בְּרָכָה Gen. XII, 12) קרי ביה ב׳ וכ׳ read b’rekhah, a pond, as the pond cleanses the unclean (by immersion) &c.; Num. R. s. 11; a. fr.—Pl. בְּרֵיכוֹת, בְּרֵכ׳. Makhsh. II, 3.—Cmp. נִבְרֶכֶת.
What relationship might there be between blessings and a pond, particularly one used for ritual immersion? How do we become "clean" through blessings? How do we use blessings to "immerse" ourselves in the world?
רבי חזקיה ר' כהן בשם רב עתיד אדם ליתן דין וחשבון על כל שראת עינו ולא אכל. ר' לעזר חשש להדא שמועתא ומצמיח ליה פריטין ואכיל בהון מכל מילה חדא בשתא:
Rabbi Hezkiya, Rabbi Cohen in the name of Rav: In the future, a person will give a judgement and an accounting over everything that his eye saw and he did not eat. Rabbi Elazar paid attention to this teaching and gathered small coins (that did not require change and could be spent immediately), in order to [purchase and] eat every kind [of produce] with them once a year.
Why was this teaching so important to Rabbi Elazar? What is the significance of "once a year"? How does that distinction tie in with our discussion of the importance of saying "Shehecheyanu" on Yom Kippur?
Returning to our list of things for which one recites "Shehecheyanu," what other practices might we introduce to our lives in order to increase our opportunities to recite this blessing?
עַל הַגְּשָׁמִים, וְעַל בְּשׂוֹרוֹת טוֹבוֹת אוֹמֵר: ״בָּרוּךְ הַטּוֹב וְהַמֵּטִיב״. עַל בְּשׂוֹרוֹת רָעוֹת אוֹמֵר: ״בָּרוּךְ דַּיַּין הָאֱמֶת״. בָּנָה בַּיִת חָדָשׁ, וְקָנָה כֵּלִים חֲדָשִׁים, אוֹמֵר: ״בָּרוּךְ … שֶׁהֶחֱיָינוּ וְקִיְּימָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה״. מְבָרֵךְ עַל הָרָעָה מֵעֵין עַל הַטּוֹבָה, וְעַל הַטּוֹבָה מֵעֵין עַל הָרָעָה.
For rain and other good tidings, one recites the special blessing: Blessed…Who is good and Who does good. Even for bad tidings, one recites a special blessing: Blessed…the true Judge. Similarly, when one built a new house or purchased new vessels, he recites: Blessed…Who has given us life, sustained us, and brought us to this time. The mishna articulates a general principle: One recites a blessing for the bad that befalls him just as he does for the good. In other words, one recites the appropriate blessing for the trouble that he is experiencing at present despite the fact that it may conceal some positive element in the future. Similarly, one must recite a blessing for the good that befalls him just as for the bad.
How does reciting blessings for the bad which befalls us transform our connection to these incidents?
How might we all find more ways of bringing blessing into our "barns"/homes?
Sources and articles for further exploration...