Birkot hashachar or Birkot haShachar ( he, ברכות השחר, , morning blessings' or 'blessings fthe dawn) are a series of blessings that are recited at the beginning of Jewish morning services. The blessings represent thanks to

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

for a renewal of the day. The order of the blessings is not defined by

halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

and may vary in each

siddur A siddur ( he, סִדּוּר ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, '' ...

, but is generally based on the order of activities customary upon arising.

The blessings

Al netilat yadayim

This blessing represents the cleanliness of one's hands following ritual defilement.

Asher yatzar

This is a blessing regarding the workings of one's body. It is also recited each time following one's

urination Urination, also known as micturition, is the release of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresis, ...

defecation Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion, and is a necessary process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus. The act has a variety of names ranging f ...

Elohai neshama

This paragraph represents thanks to God for the return of one's

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

. When one sleeps, the soul departs the body. This state is referred to as a "semi-death." Upon awakening, the body is reunited with the soul.

Blessings of Torah study

The Birkot hashachar includes some blessings pertaining to Torah study. It is forbidden for one to study any Torah prior to reciting these blessings. One of the blessings is identical to the one that is recited by a person called for an

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...

. Since one is required to fulfill a

mitzvah In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...

immediately after reciting a blessing on that mitzvah without interruption, some verses from the

oral The word oral may refer to: Relating to the mouth * Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid ** Oral administration of medicines ** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or or ...

and

written Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

are recited immediately following this blessing. In the Eastern Ashkenazic rite, verses including

Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

6:24-26 (known as the

Priestly Blessing The Priestly Blessing or priestly benediction, ( he, ברכת כהנים; translit. ''birkat kohanim''), also known in rabbinic literature as raising of the hands (Hebrew ''nesiat kapayim'') or rising to the platform (Hebrew ''aliyah ledukhan'') ...

), the Mishnah Peah 1:1, and Talmud

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stori ...

127a are recited; in the Western Ashkenazic rite, the "korbanot" section is recited immediately.

Blessings of Praise

This is a series of blessings of praise. Although the TalmudBerakhot 60b prescribes their recitation alongside the actions that they are associated with, the common practice is to recite them all as a series of blessings.

References

{{Jewish prayers Shacharit Siddur of Orthodox Judaism Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish prayers and blessings