Praying With Passion

Birchot HaShachar (part three)

BARUCH ATA HASHEM ELOKEINU MELECH HAOLAM…POKEACH IVRIM…MALBISH ARUMIM…MATIR ASURIM…ZOKEF KEFUFIM

Translation:
Blessed are You, HaShem our God, King of the Universe,
...who gives sight to the blind.
...who clothes the naked.
...who releases the bound.
...who straightens the bent.
Theme: An essential concept of the prayer
Waking Up With Hashem
The Birchot HaShachar have the ability to reawaken in us each day a profound awareness of Hashem’s constant care and faith that He continually provides us with all we need to live.
Insight: Deeper understanding…
How To Make Emunah Real
From the moment we awaken, we are constantly using gifts from Hashem. Each time we benefit from these gifts, we have the opportunity to build our relationship with Him. The key is to remember Who gave these gifts. By thinking of the Giver and offering thanks, we build a bond with the Giver.
An analogy would be a loving grand- father who lives far away from his grandchildren. To let the children know that he cares about them, the grandfather sends them gifts. The parents know that the bond will only be built if it is developed from both sides, and therefore, they encourage the children to thank their grandfather. In this way, the attachment between them grows.
Likewise, each morning blessing gives us a chance to acknowledge the Giver, creating a strong cable that connects us to G-d. The cable is strengthened throughout the day as we use these gifts again and again - if, as we use them, we remember to think of the Giver.
Through this process, we develop a faith that is not shaken. As the saying goes: “Seeing is believing.” Philosophy, thinking and logic can impart faith to a person, but it is only an intellectual faith - EMUNAH SICHLIS. While this intellectual faith is essential, it could be shaken by competing intellectual ideas. What we see and feel with our own eyes and hearts, however, cannot be countered. This is EMUNAH CHUSHIS - a sensory awareness imprinted on one’s consciousness through direct experience. The b’rachot are a concrete, verbal expression of this awareness. By saying the b’rachot, we acknowledge the tangible, physical manifestations of G-d’s goodness as they impact our lives.
Visualize: Images that bring the prayer to life
Awaiting Hashem’s Kindness
Imagine that rather than starting each day “fully loaded” and ready to go, you needed to be re-equipped each morning with the faculties and abilities required for productive daily life. There you are, lying in bed, surrounded by complete darkness, waiting for G-d to return your eyesight to you. When will He bestow it? At last, light and shadows come into view, then colors, and finally, it all snaps into focus and you can see! POKEI’ACH IVRIM!
You want to get up out of bed, but you are immobile. Your limbs are frozen in place. You become restless and uncomfortable, waiting for the bonds of paralysis to be released. Finally, G-d sends a surge of strength and energy into your muscles and you can move! MATIR ASURIM!
It’s time to get out of bed. There is so much you need to accomplish this day. But as you try to stand up, you realize that your back is still stuck in the curled-up position of sleep. Like a beggar, you stand with your eyes cast on the floor in front of you as you wait for G-d to set you straight. At last, you feel the flexibility return to your spine and you stand up to face the day.
ZOKEIF K’FUFIM!
Now, it is time to leave your home and go to shul to pray. You stand before your closet wearing your pajamas, wondering how you will protect yourself against the cold. The closet is empty - no clothing, no jacket, nothing. You are essentially stuck in your bedroom, unable to encounter the rest of the world until suddenly, G-d presents you with a suit of clothes and a warm coat. Now life can begin!
MALBISH ARUMIM!
Take It With You:
Your personal connection to the prayer
Blessings Anyone Can See
Some of the prayers you pray every day call for a deeper level of understanding in order to say the words with real meaning. What does it mean, for instance, to pray for the Final Redemption? Or for the revival of the dead? Or even for real peace - a phenomenon we have never experienced?
The Birchot HaShachar discussed here, however, are the nuts and bolts of a person’s daily life. If you are blessed with sight, mobility and clothes to wear, you do not need profound commentaries to explain how these blessings benefit you each and every minute of the day. The benefits are simple and tangible - and they are from G-d… the perfect spark to start your day.

• Other Praying With Passion
• P'sukei d'Zimra: Hal'luya Ki Tov Building Jerusalem
• P'sukei d'Zimra: Hal'luya Ki Tov - Building Jerusalem
• P'sukei d'Zimra: Hodu The Power of Holiness