Reflections on Shacharit #2: Thanking G-d for Human Life
Depending on who you talk to, Birkot HaShachar can mean either all of the morning prayers before the Psalm section known as Pesukei D’Zimra, variously defined chunks of that section, or a single group of 15 blessings for awaking, rising, being a Jew, being free, etc. However you slice it, this section of the prayer service is meant to prime the pump, to get us acknowledging our dependence upon G-d for everything through the practice of offering blessings for even the things which, as a consequence of their everyday nature, seem mundane. Birkot HaShachar reminds us that everything is sacred.
There is a set of prayers early on in this section which fit together beautifully, and in doing so illustrate the multifaceted nature of our existence as human beings who happen to be Jewish. The first of the three offers thanks for our physical bodies, and Siddur Sim Shalom offers the following translation of the beautiful Hebrew:
Praised are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe who with wisdom fashioned the human body, creating openings, arteries, glands and organs, marvelous in structure, intricate in design. Should but one of them, by being blocked or opened, fail to function, it would be impossible to exist. Praised are You, Lord, healer of all flesh who sustains our bodies in wondrous ways.
We go through our days worrying about not having time, about financial issues, about the next big crisis at work, or keeping up with the Joneses, and in all of our busy preoccupation with things that ultimately don’t matter a whole lot, we often lose sight of the incredible miracle of every breath we take. Or, at the risk of offending some readers, every trip to the bathroom. This prayer is an effort to focus our attention on the amazing reality of just being alive, and all of the little activities that make this possible. We are centered in our physical bodies by the language of this prayer.
Immediately following the prayer for the body we offer blessings of thanks for Torah. The first, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav v’tsivanu l’asok b’divrei Torah, accepts that we are commanded to engage in the study of Torah. The siddur continues with a prayer asking for Torah to be made “sweet in the mouths” of the Jewish people, who will then learn to live and study it, thereby pleasing G-d, who “hamlameid Torah l’amo Yisrael,” teaches Torah to the Jewish people. We then conclude with the blessing familiar to those who know how to take an aliyah to the Torah: asher bakhar banu m’kol ha’amim v’natan lanu et torato. Baruch atah Hashem, notein HaTorah – “…who has chosen us from among the nations, and has given us Torah.”
As surely as we exist in a physical context contingent upon miraculous functions of the human body, as Jews we live our lives (ideally) engrossed in words of Torah, at least a little bit each day. “Etz chaim he l’ma chazikim ba, v’tomkheha m’ushar” – “She is a tree of life to those who grasp her, and those who keep her are blessed.” Torah is our life and the length of our days in its own estimation, and it is, more than anything else, what makes the Jewish People the Jewish People. Through the medium of our physical bodies we live in this world with the purpose of bringing peace through living Torah, and so it is an important part of who we are.
This section of the morning blessings ends with an acknowledgement of the renewal of our souls each day. Elohai neshamah sh’natata be, tehorah he - our souls are inherently pure, the breath and life of the Divine within us. However our physical bodies feel, however successful (or not) we have been in our efforts to study Torah regularly, we have this core that is holy. There are some days when this knowledge can really help a person stay sane! But seriously, the concept of teshuva, or turning from our wrongs and returning to our true selves – the person we have the potential to be – is intimately linked to the understanding that our souls are holy and pure. Our physical bodies act, ideally, according to Torah principles, and as a result the holiness shining within us is expressed in this world.
“You created it, formed it, breathed it into me, and within me You sustain it,” says this prayer of our souls. It goes on to express gratitude for this gift (again, per Siddur Sim Shalom): “So long as this soul is within me I acknowledge You, Lord my G-d, my ancestor’s G-d, Master of all creation, sovereign of all souls.” As with the first prayer of the day, Modeh/ah Ani, we acknowledge our utter dependence on G-d for our very lives.
After thanking G-d for our bodies, for Torah, and for our pure souls, we move on through the service. The next post in this series will take a look at the set of 15 benedictions from which this section of the prayer services derives its name.
Kol tuv & Shabbat Shalom!
Yair
I want to reread this before I do a serious comment but I just wanted to say nice post! I hope we can generate some discussion around this topic.
Stay tuned for more!
Nice post!
I’m a guy who just (to put it mildly) isn’t a natural when it comes to prayer, which in my books also includes the blessings. It’s something I struggle with big-time and although occasionally I seem to find myself in a half decent “prayer groove” it seldom lasts more than a couple of weeks. It’s not just about the Hebrew because the same thing happens to me, even when I just try to focus on the English versions of the prayers.
Anyhow, all of that to say, I think you’ve done a good job of highlighting the spiritual or pragmatic meaning behind these morning blessings. Namely that they are about generating a sense of appreciation and awe, for our existence. Including what is easily taken for granted by many of us and is all too often seen as in insignificant.
The one thing that struck me as I read your post was that I actually connect much more to these morning blessings, than I do to the “mitzvah fulfilling” Shema and Amidah prayers.
Like I’ve already mentioned, I’m enjoying the serious and look forward to reading your next post.