100 Blessings a Day!

(13) and God will love you, and bless you, and multiply you; God will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your land, your corn and your wine and your oil, the increase of your kine and the young of your flock, in the land which God swore unto your fathers to give you.

(10) And you will eat and be satisfied, and bless the LORD your God for the good land which God has given you.

MISHNA: This mishna discusses the blessings recited over various foods. How does one recite a blessing over fruits? Over different fruits that grow on a tree one recites: Who creates fruit of the tree, with the exception of wine. Although wine is produced from fruit of the tree, due to its significance, its blessing differs from other fruits of the tree. Over wine one recites: Who creates fruit of the vine. Over fruits that grow from the earth, one recites: Who creates fruit of the ground, with the exception of bread. Bread, too, is significant and its blessing differs from other fruits of the ground, as over bread one recites: Who brings forth bread from the earth. Over herbs and leafy vegetables one recites: Who creates fruit of the ground. Rabbi Yehuda says that there is room to distinguish between fruits that grow from the earth, herbs, and leafy vegetables. Although they are all fruit of the ground, since they have different qualities, the blessing on the latter is: Who creates various kinds of herbs. GEMARA...The Gemara returns to the issue at hand, noting that in any case, it is difficult: What is unique about the common denominator between grapes and grain? That they possess an aspect of being offered upon the altar. Rather, it is derived from the obligation to recite a blessing upon the seven species. After the verse speaks of the seven species, it states: “And you will eat and be satisfied and then you shall bless.” This is a paradigm for all other foods, that they too require a blessing: Just as the seven species are items from which one derives benefit and require a blessing, any item from which one derives benefit, requires a blessing...

The Sages taught in a Tosefta: One is forbidden to derive benefit from this world, which is the property of God, without reciting a blessing beforehand. And anyone who derives benefit from this world without a blessing, it is as if he is guilty of misuse of a consecrated object. The Gemara adds: What is his remedy? He should go to a Sage.The Gemara is puzzled: He should go to a Sage; what will he do to him? How can the Sage help after he has already violated a prohibition? Rather, Rava said, this is how it should be understood: He should go to a Sage initially, in his youth, and the Sage will teach him blessings, so that he will not come to be guilty of this type of misuse of a consecrated object in the future. Similarly, Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: One who derives benefit from this world without a blessing, it is as if he enjoyed objects consecrated to the heavens, as it is stated: “The earth and all it contains is the Lord’s, the world and all those who live in it” (Psalms 24:1). Rabbi Levi expressed this concept differently. Rabbi Levi raised a contradiction: It is written: “The earth and all it contains is the Lord’s,” and it is written elsewhere: “The heavens are the Lord’s and the earth He has given over to mankind” (Psalms 115:16).

(1) One that sees a place where miracles were done for Israel should say, “Blessed [is the One] who did miracles for our ancestors in this place.”

[If one sees] a place that had idol worship uprooted from it, say, “Blessed [is the One] who uprooted idol worship from our land.”

(2) On comets, and on earthquakes, and on lightning and on thunder, and on storms say, “Blessed [be the One] whose strength and might fill the world.” On mountains, and on hills, and on seas, and on rivers, and on deserts say, “Blessed [is the One] who makes the works of the beginning (bereshit).” R’ Yehuda says, “One who sees the great sea says, ‘Blessed [is the One] who made the great sea,’ only if he sees it occasionally.”

On rain and on good news say, “Blessed is the One who is good and does good.”

And on bad news say, “Blessed [are You] the true judge.”

(3) When one builds a new house, and acquires new vessels, they say, “Blessed [is the One] that kept us alive [and sustained us and brought us to this time].”

(5) A person is obligated to bless upon the bad just as they blesse upon the good. As it says, “And you shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart and all your soul and with all that you have.” (Deut. 6:5) “With all your heart” – with your two inclinations, with the inclination of good and the inclination of evil. “And in all your soul” – even if He takes your soul. “And with all that you have” – with all your money.

Alternatively, “With all that you have” – with every measure that is measured for you thank Him very much.

It was taught in a baraita, Rabbi Meir used to say: A Person must bless one hundered blessings every day, as it says (Deuteronomy 10:12): "Now Israel what (mah) does God as of you" - don't read "mah" rather "meah".

All the blessings may be recited in any language, provided one recites [a translation of] the text ordained by the Sages. [A person who] changes that text fulfills his obligation nonetheless - since he mentioned God's name, His sovereignty, and the subject of the blessing - although he did so in a ordinary language.