In Judaism, a berakhah, bracha, brokhe (Hebrew: ברכה; pl. ברכות, berakhot, brokhos; "bounty," "blessing") is a blessing, usually recited at a specific moment during a ceremony or other activity. The function of a berakhah is to acknowledge God as the source of all blessing.[1] Berakhot typically start with the words Barukh attah, Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha-olam,/ Borukh atoh, Adoynoy Eloyheinu, melekh ho-oylom, (Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe...)
There are three major categories of berakhah:
One who hears another recite a berakhah answers with amen; but one who is engaged in prayer may at certain points be forbidden from other speech, including responding amen. With few exceptions, one does not respond amen to his or her own berakha, although other prayers—such as the kaddish—include "amen" in their text.
Contents |
Judaism teaches that food ultimately belongs to the one great Provider, God, and that to partake of it legitimately one must express gratitude to God by reciting the appropriate blessing beforehand.[2] There are 6 types of blessings said before eating different foods: Ha-Motzi/Hamoytsi Mezonot/Mezoynes Ha-gefen/Hagofen Ha-`etz/ho-eytz Ha-’adama/Ho-adomo and She-ha-kol.[3]
Additionally, there are 5 blessings said after eating different foods: Birkat Hamazon, Al Hamichya, Al Hagaphen, Al Ha’eitz and Borei Nefashos. These blessings, however, are only required if a certain predefined amount (Ke'zayit for a solid food, and Revi'it for a liquid) is consumed within a predefined time period (different for solids and liquids).
In certain cases it is doubtful whether a blessing should be said. For example, when someone doesn't remember whether he has already recited the proper blessing or not. One cannot argue to recite the blessing "just to be sure", because it is forbidden to say a "berakhah levatalah" (an unnecessary blessing) so as not to transgress the grave prohibition of taking God's name in vain. The ruling in such cases is to say the blessing in a D'Oraita case, and to not say it in a D'Rabbanan case.
The most common context in which an amen is required by halakhah is after one hears a blessing recited.[4] In fact, it is prohibited to willfully refrain from responding amen when it is indicated.[5] The source of this requirement is the verse in Deuteronomy 32:3:
This mandate refers to the mention of the Tetragrammaton, which was only pronounced at certain specific times within the confines of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Whoever heard this special name of God mentioned was obliged to respond with Barukh shem kvod malkhuto l'olam va'ed (ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד, "Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for all eternity").[6] With the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, however, pronouncing the Tetragrammaton was prohibited,[7] and was replaced with the pronunciation Adonai. Although this term bears significant holiness (and is in fact one of the seven names of God) and may not be pronounced without purpose, it may be pronounced when appropriate in prayer and blessings. The aforementioned response for the Tetragrammaton, however, is not warranted when one hears Adonai pronounced.
The Talmudic Sages therefore mandated that one must answer amen at the completion of a blessing outside of the Temple, comparable to the barukh shem that was used in the Holy Temple.[8] However, while "barukh shem is an expression of praise and honour, amen is an affirmation of belief."[9] The Talmud teaches that the word Amen is an acronym for אל מלך נאמן (’El melekh ne’eman, "God, trustworthy King.")[10] The word amen itself is etymologically related to the Hebrew word emunah (אמונה, "faith") asserting that one is affirming the fundamental beliefs of Judaism.[11]
Although amen, in Judaism, is most commonly stated as a response to a blessing that incorporates God's name, amen is more generally an affirmation of any declaration. Accordingly, it is customary in some communities to respond amen after each harachaman in Grace after meals[12] and after a mi'shebeirach. When reciting amen, it is important that the response is not louder than the blessing itself.[13] When trying to encourage others to respond amen, however, one may raise ones voice to stir others to respond in kind.[14]
When responding amen, it must be pronounced in a proper manner, consistent with its significance in Jewish law. There are a number of ways to respond amen that are discouraged as being either disrespectful or careless. The articulation of the alef (א, first letter of amen in Hebrew) and its proper vowelization must be clear. If the kametz vowel is rushed and mispronounced as a the vowelization of a shva, the amen is termed an amen chatufa, as chatufa is synonym for the shva.[15] Another type of amen chatufa is one that is recited prior to the completion of the blessing it is being recited to follow; this comes from the Hebrew word chatuf (חטוף, "snatched").[16] The impatient rush to respond amen before the blessing has even been completed is prohibited.[17] If insufficient stress is placed on the nun (נ, the last letter of amen in Hebrew) and the mem (מ, the middle letter) drowns it out, this is termed an amen ketufa (אמן קטופה, "a cut amen").[18] One must also not recite amen too quickly; one should allocate enough time for the amen as necessary to say ’El melekh ne’eman.[15] Saying an amen ketzara (אמן קצרה, "short amen") recited too quickly shows a lack of patience.
Although it is not prohibited to say the word amen in vain, the Talmudic Sages indicated particular circumstances in which it is improper to answer amen.[19] An amen yetoma (אמן יתומה, "orphaned amen") is one such example of an improperly recited amen. There is a dispute among the halachic authorities as to exactly what constitutes an orphaned amen.
One may not respond amen to a beracha le-vatala (ברכה לבטלה, "blessing made for nought").[24] Thus, one should not respond amen to a blessing made by someone who is merely reciting the blessing for educational purposes (i.e. to learn how to recite it).[25]
Because one cannot attest to one's own blessing any more than he or she already has by reciting it, responding amen to one's own blessing is redundant and one may not do so.[26] If the blessing is being recited on food, one who responds amen to one's own blessing will either cause a hefseik (הפסק, "[prohibited] interruption")[27] or likely pronounce an amen yetoma, depending on whether one responds immediately or waits until after one swallows some food or drink, respectively.
An exception to this rule is a situation in which an individual is reciting a series of blessings; in such a case, some authorities permit the individual to respond amen to the last blessing in order to signal the ending of the series.[26] While there are many examples of series of blessings within the Jewish prayer services, Ashkenazi tradition dictates that amen is not recited at the conclusion of a series of blessings. The one exception to this is in Grace after Meals after the third blessing of Boneh Yerushalayim; in order to signify that the first three blessings are biblically mandated, as opposed to the fourth rabbinically-mandated blessing, the Talmud[28] mandates that one recite amen at its closing.[29]
When responding amen will constitute a hefseik (הפסק, "[prohibited] interruption"), one should not respond amen. An example of this type of situation would be within the evening kiddush on Jewish holidays, when the blessing of sheheheyanu is added within the kiddush prayer.
By listening intently and responding amen to each blessing of the kiddush prayer, all those present can effectively fulfill their obligation to recite kiddush, even though only one person is actually reciting it, via the principle of shomea k'oneh (שומע כעונה, "One who hears is the equivalent of one who recites").
While men either recite the sheheheyanu blessing in kiddush or dispense their obligation by listening to someone else recite it, women generally recite their sheheheyanu during candle lighting. Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank notes that anyone who lit candles should refrain from responding amen to the sheheheyanu blessing during kiddush because it would effectively be an interruption in their fulfillment of reciting kiddush, as they have already recited their sheheheyanu blessing.