Praying With Passion

Birchot HaShachar (part four)

BARUCH ATA HASHEM ELOKEINU MELECH HAOLAM ROKA HA’ARETZ AL HAMAYIM.

Translation: Blessed are You, HaShem our God, King of the Universe, Who spreads the earth above the waters.
Theme: An essential concept of the prayer
Revealing Hashem’s Goodness
One of the purposes of making brachot is to request that Hashem’s goodness and blessing be revealed to the world.
Insight: Deeper meanings…
Recognizing the Source
ROKA HAARETZ AL HAMAYIM The nature of water is that it tends to spread and flood everything in its path. In His great compassion, G-d overrode water’s nature, confining it to its designated place and leaving dry land for man, plants and animals to inhabit. One need only view images of the devastation brought by a tidal wave or tsunami to understand what happens when, for just a few hours, G-d releases His hold on the waters (so to speak).
Birchot HaShachar are not analogous to the blessings recited before deriving a benefit such as food. Therefore, they are recited even by those who are not deriving the benefit (i.e. a blind person and the blessing for sight). But if the primary reason to make blessings, as the Gemara teaches, is to receive permission from G-d before deriving benefit, why must one recite the Birchot HaShachar even when no benefit is derived?
Rav Chaim Friedlander, Mashgiach of the Ponevezh Yeshiva, explains, citing the words of Rabbeinu Bachaya:
...Everyone who [makes a] blessing ... is testifying to [G-d’s] supervision, Who supplies sustenance enabling us to survive. And in that merit (if one recites a blessing before consuming food) the grain and fruit are blessed and are plentiful.”
Every blessing includes two aspects: (a) we request that Hashem’s goodness and blessing be revealed; (b) we acknowledge that everything is His and that He is the source of everything. The result of that recognition is that Hashem infuses His supervision of the world with goodness and blessing.
Sefer HaChinuch explains that reciting a blessing enables us to fulfill G-d’s desire to do good for His creation. By stirring one’s awareness of G-d as the Source of all good, the act of reciting a blessing generates the merit for the world to continue receiving G-d’s bounty.
Visualize: Images that bring the prayer to life
A Limitless, Gushing Spring
Many years ago in a remote area, there was a farm, and on the farm grew peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and corn. The corn fed the chickens, which laid eggs and provided poultry. A few goats gave the family ample milk. The farmer and his family lived well from the produce of their successful farm, feeding themselves and selling the rest to cover their other expenses.
The entire enterprise depended on a spring which flowed underground. The water from that spring enabled the crops to grow and the family and animals to live. Were the spring to dry up, the farm and all that thrived there would be completely unsustainable. In just a few weeks, it would be dust and decay. But this spring was a rushing, gushing, seemingly endless supply of life-giving water, and therefore, the family felt its future was secure.
Like this underground spring, G-d is a boundless, overflowing source of sustenance for us. Everything we rely upon draws its existence from Him. When we recite the words in the blessings, we trace our sustenance back to its Source and acknowledge that there would be nothing if G-d did not provide it.
Try this: When you say the words in any bless- ing, imagine the clear, gushing waters of the Source of the blessing - our Creator. Imagine the crops thirstily drinking in the water, growing strong and lush. Imagine the bounty spawned by that rushing spring, and feel the sense of fullness, satiation and abundance.
Focus on a word: ELOKEINU - Our G-d.
Our G-d is Omnipotent and Almighty, a powerful Master Who monitors and oversees each and every one of us on a personal basis. We accept upon ourselves Hashem’s dominion and render ourselves as insignificant before Him. We announce that we are ready to serve Him (according to our individual capabilities). (Shulchan Aruch, Orech Chayim 5:1, Nefesh HaChaim 3:11, Michtav M’Eliyahu, vol. 4, p. 63)
Editor’s 2cents:
For native English speakers, it is a good idea to use a Siddur with a good English translation when davening. Even if you have a good Hebrew, there are always words you would like to check.
Some people find it distracting to keep looking between the Hebrew and English sides of a Siddur with both. In that case, it is probably a good idea to spend some time with the translation (good footnotes help immensely too) in between davenings.

• 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