Illustration credit: Chaim File

According to a midrash, Pharaoh was embarrassed that he had to go to the bathroom. He snuck out to “take care of business” every morning at the Nile, hoping no one would discover that he was just human, and not actually a god.

But Jewish practices show that we should not be ashamed of being human and having bodies that work the way they do! In fact, we have a special בְּרָכָה (berakhah, blessing) where we thank God for the way our bodies work, and in particular for the ability to go to the bathroom. This berakhah is called Asher Yatzar.

The text of Asher Yatzar comes from the Talmud (Berakhot 60b), and the mitzvah to say it whenever you go to the bathroom appears in the Shulhan Arukh (Orah Hayyim 6:1). Here’s one version of Asher Yatzar:

Blessed are You, God our Lord, Ruler of the world,

Who created people wisely

and created openings and hollow parts in people.

It’s obvious and known in Your Holy Presence

that if any of these would be opened or blocked at the wrong time

we wouldn’t be able to exist or stand before You.

Blessed are You, God, Who heals all flesh and Who performs wonders.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם

אֲשֶׁר יָצַר אֶת הָאָדָם בְּחָכְמָה

וּבָֽרָא בוֹ נְקָבִים נְקָבִים חֲלוּלִים חֲלוּלִים

גָּלוּי וְיָדֽוּעַ לִפְנֵי כִסֵּא כְבוֹדֶֽךָ

שֶׁאִם יִפָּתֵֽחַ אֶחָד מֵהֶם אוֹ יִסָּתֵם אֶחָד מֵהֶם

אִי אֶפְשַׁר לְהִתְקַיֵּם וְלַעֲמֹד לְפָנֶֽיךָ.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה רוֹפֵא כָל בָּשָׂר וּמַפְלִיא לַעֲשׂוֹת:

In the Gemara, there’s a מַחְלֹקֶת (mahloket, debate) about how to end Asher Yatzar. One opinion is to say רוֹפֵא כָל בָּשָׂר (rofeh khol basar, Who heals all flesh) and another opinion is to say מַפְלִיא לַעֲשׂוֹת (mafli la’asot, Who performs wonders). So the compromise is to say both!

The Rema adds another perspective about the concluding words, umafli la’asot. He explains that these words actually thank God for one more thing:

...בַּמֶּה שֶׁשּׁוֹמֵר רוּחַ הָאָדָם בְּקִרְבּוֹ, וְקוֹשֵׁר דָּבָר רוּחָנִי בְּדָבָר גַּשְׁמִי, וְהַכֹּל הוּא עַל יְדֵי שֶׁהוּא רוֹפֵא כָּל בָּשָׂר, כִּי אָז הָאָדָם בְּקַו הַבְּרִיאוּת וְנִשְׁמָתוֹ מִשְׁתַּמֶּרֶת בְּקִרְבּוֹ.

…God keeps each person’s spirit in them, tying a spiritual thing to something physical. This is what it means to thank God for being One Who heals all flesh: only when a body is functioning can it contain a soul within.

According to the Rema, Asher Yatzar draws our attention to the miracle of how our bodies work, and also the miracle that we have bodies at all! You might think that a soul, which is spiritual, and a body, which is physical, wouldn’t really go together. But God made us that way anyhow, so that’s a lot to be thankful for. And that also means that the body’s functions aren’t just good for the body—they’re good for the soul, too! So when we thank God for how our bodies work, there’s really a lot to be thankful for.