An Assortment Of Jewish Blessings

An Assortment Of Jewish Blessings

For the observant Jew, even the most ordinary aspects of life are invested with an aura of wonder, of sanctity. Judaism includes blessings for almost anything one can experience during the day (and the rabbis believed that a Jew should offer at least a hundred b’rakhot every day). Here is a selection of blessings for a wide range of occasions and phenomena.

Before eating bread:

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’olam ha-motzi lekhem min ha’aretz/Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth

Before eating products of wheat, barley, rye, oats, or spelt:

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’olam borei minei mizonot/Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates many types of nourishment

Before drinking wine or grape juice:

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’olam borei p’ree ha-gafen/Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine

Before eating fruit grown on a tree:

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’olam borei p’ree ha-eitz/Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the tree

Before eating produce grown in the earth:

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’olam borei p’ree ha-adamah/Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the earth

Before eating or drinking any other foods:

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’olam she-hakol ni-hiyeh b’dvaro/Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, through Whose word everything came to be

Upon smelling fragrant shrubs, trees, or their flowers:

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’olam borei atzei b’samim/Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates fragrant trees

Upon seeing lightning:

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’olam oseh ma’aseh b’reisheet/Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who makes the work of Creation

Upon seeing the ocean:

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’olam she’aseh et ha-yam ha-gadol/Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who made the great sea

Upon seeing exceptionally beautiful people, trees, or fields:

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’olam shekakhah lo ba-olamoh/Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has such in His universe

Upon seeing exceptionally strange-looking people or animals:

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’olam mishaneh hab’riyot/Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who makes the creatures different

Upon hearing unusually good news that benefits not only oneself but others:

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’olam ha-tov v’hametiv/Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who is good and does good

Upon hearing unusually bad news:

Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha’olam dayan ha-emet/Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, the true Judge

Source: Essential Judaism.