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| Praised are You O'Lord
our God King of the
universe, who fashion man/woman with wisdom
and created within him/her many openings and
cavities. It is obvious and known before Your
Throne of Glory that if but one of them to be
ruptured or but one of them be blocked it would be
impossible to survive and to stand before You.
Praised are You O'Lord, Who heals all flesh and
acts wondrously. |
Barukh ata adonai Eloheinu Melekh
Hao'lam asher yatzar et ha'adam b'haha
uvara bo nikavim, halulim
halulim.
Galui v'ysdua lifnei
kisei kivodecha sh'im
yifateah ehad meyhem oh yisatem ehad meyhem
e efsahr lihitkayem v'lamod lifanecha.
Barukh ata adonai rofey kol besar u'mafli la'asot. |
This blessing can be found on page 6 of Siddur
Sim Shalom. Action associated with this
blessing:
This blessing is recited either upon conclusion of relieve oneself
each and every time over the course of a day, or could be said
as part the morning prayers in anticipation of such activity during
the day. One would wait until they have left the washroom before
reciting this blessing as it is inappropriate to pray in the restroom.
Ideas for thought during the recitation of this blessing:
We take much of what we do for granted. For those
who are able to see and hear these senses go almost without notice
when they are functioning properly. However, when something goes
wrong and a part of body does not work correctly, it can be upset
our lives entirely. If we stub our toe, even though the swelling
may be minimal, it may feel as though we have broken that extremity
and it will cause us pain to even put on a shoe. The pain may
hamper our ability to go about our regular daily activities.
This is obviously true for our digestive tracks
as well. If our delicate digestive system falls out of sync with
the rest of our bodies it can cause severe discomfort and in the
extreme fatal damage. God has created in humans intricate systems
that should astonish us. We should find what Abraham Joshua Heschel
called, "radical amazement" in the way our physical being works.
This blessing reminds us, that with the smallest alteration in
the way our bodies operate we would be unable to perform our daily
tasks, of which daily prayer is one.
Plato suggested there were two aspects to the human
existence, the body and the spirit. In Judaism we have understood
the experience of living in a similar way. Yet we also understand
the two can never be separated. If the body is functioning properly
it is easy to give it little thought, but if it is not then it
is hard to think of anything else.
There is no doubt but the author is has also constructed
a blessing that makes light of this serious subject by referring
to "God's throne of Glory." This statement reminds us of the need
to laugh in our lives. That laughter, too, has a recuperative
power, just as prayer does. This in now way diminishes the import
or the seriousness of the subject of this blessing which is reminiscent
us of the delicate balance and nature of the human physical being.
Copyright © 2001 Rabbi
Yohanan Stein. All rights reserved.
Contact Information
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Edison, NJ 08837
Phone: (732) 738-4301
Fax: (732) 738-4304
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Copyright © 2000 - 2003
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Last Updated: July 2003
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