GATEWAY TO SELECTED TEACHINGS

Table with all different types of food- fruit, veggies, bread, pastries, eggs, arranged in rainbow color

What is a Bracha? – Post 2

What is a Bracha? – Post 2

Simmons, Rabbi Shraga
January 2, 2023

Every bracha begins with the phrase ‘Baruch Ata Ado-noy‘ – ‘Blessed are You, God.’ This expresses our will that God should be blessed.

 

How can man bestow blessing upon God, Who is lacking nothing, Who created all existence, and has infinite ability and power?!

 

…commentators therefore explain ‘Baruch Ata Ado-noy‘ as a statement of recognition: ‘You, God, are the Source of all blessing.’ In this way, a bracha serves as a humbling reminder that it is not our ‘own strength that brought this prosperity’ (Devarim 8:17). Rather, we express our dependence on God, acknowledging that He is the source from which our good has come.’

 

This concept is reflected in the word bracha which shares a root with the word berech, meaning ‘knee.’ In reciting a bracha, we ‘bend our knees’ to God, so to speak, bowing in recognition of our need for, and in our appreciation of, His kindness.”