Birkot HaTorah (, 'blessings of the Torah') are blessings concerning the giving of the Torah to Israel that are recited before
Torah study
Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's Sifrei kodesh, religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the ''mi ...
during ''
Birkot hashachar
Birkot hashachar or Birkot haShachar (, 'morning blessings' or 'blessings fthe dawn') are a series of blessings recited at the beginning of ''Shacharit'', the Jewish morning prayer liturgy. The blessings represent thanks to God for the new day.
...
Shacharit
''Shacharit'' ( ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning '' tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers.
Different traditions identify different primary components of ''Shacharit''. E ...
'') of
Judaism
Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
, as mandated by ''
Halakha
''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...
''. According to the ''Shulkhan Arukh'', reciting the blessings is obligatory before studying the
Midrash
''Midrash'' (;"midrash" . ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...
,
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
, or
Gemara
The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aram ...
, and it is customary to recite them prior to any Torah study that will be taught that day.
The order of the blessings
The Torah blessings are structured as a series of three sections:
# In the first part, one recites according to the regular wording of the blessing of any ''
mitzvah
In its primary meaning, the Hebrew language, Hebrew word (; , ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment Divine law, from God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of disc ...
'': One blesses God, who sanctified Jews with Gods ''mitzvot'' and commanded Jews to occupy themselves with the study of Torah.
# Next, one requests success in the subsequent Torah study: One requests that the Torah, which God is traditionally understood to have given Israel to alone, "be pleasant" to the student; that one should merit learning it with purpose; and that one and one's descendants understand the depth of its content.
# After the second blessing, another is recited as thanksgiving for Gods giving the Torah to the
people of Israel
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
: One blesses and thanks God for choosing the Jews from among all peoples to receive Gods Torah.
# The third blessing is also recited by individuals receiving an ''
aliyah
''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...
'' to the Torah before its chanting in a given synagogue service.
The importance of Birkot HaTorah
In the
Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
, it is written that one of the reasons for the destruction of the Land of Israel is to know a Rav, the one who studied Torah without first blessing the Birkot HaTorah. Rabbi's explanation is an interpretation of the verse in the
book of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah () is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the second of the Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. The superscription at chapter Jeremiah 1#Superscription, Jeremiah 1:1–3 identifies the book as "th ...
, which describes God answering the question "Why the Land of Israel was destroyed?":
Is anybody so wise as to understand this? To whom has s mouth spoken, so that it can be related: Why is the land in ruins, laid waste like a wilderness, with none passing through?
The destruction of the land, according to Jeremiah, is linked to the abandonment of the Torah. Rav emphasizes the need for both "they left my Torah" and "did not follow it," indicating they failed to bless before studying.
Thought as speech
In tractate ''Berakhot'', the were divided as to whether contemplation (i.e., thought) should be considered speech. According to
Rav Chisda
Rav Ḥisda () was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Kafri, Asoristan in Lower Mesopotamia near what is now the city of Najaf, Iraq. He was an amora of the third generation (died c. 320 CE at the age of ninety-twoMoed Kattan 28a), and is menti ...
, thought is not considered speech; the evidence for this is that an unclean person is not allowed to say holy things, yet the unclean person should think about the words of the food blessing in their mind. Hence, a thought is not considered speech; as such, people must ponder the sacred so that they will not be idle from sacred words while others are engaged in blessings of praise.
Some Talmudists, like
Ravina II
Ravina II or Rabina II (Hebrew: אבינא בריה דרב הונא or רבינא האחרון; died 475 Common Era, CE or 500 CE) was a Babylonian rabbi of the 5th century (seventh and eighth generations of amoraim). Rabina is a traditional portm ...
(and possibly
Ravina I
Ravina I (; died c. AD 420) was a Babylonian Jewish Talmudist and rabbi, of the 5th and 6th generation of amoraim. Biography
His father seems to have died before he was born or at an early age, and it was necessary for his mother informed him of s ...
), considered ''thought'' to be ''speech''. As the ''
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
'' commands a person to ponder the words of the blessing of food, the ''thought'' must be ''speech''. Against this, as this mitzvah requires only that the body be pure when ''speaking'' sacred words, the duty to maintain a pure body is only when speaking of holiness and not in contemplation.On the Nature of Birkat HaTorah by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Peninei Halakha
Eliezer Melamed (; born 28 June 1961) is an Israeli religious-Zionist rabbi, the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Bracha, the rabbi of the settlement Har Bracha, and the author of '' Peninei Halakha'', a series of '' Halakhic'' works.
Biography
...
by Rabbi
Eliezer Melamed
Eliezer Melamed (; born 28 June 1961) is an Israeli religious-Zionist rabbi, the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Bracha, the rabbi of the settlement Har Bracha, and the author of '' Peninei Halakha'', a series of '' Halakhic'' works.
Biography
...