Skip to main content

Simanim 4-6 - Rules of Bodily Needs and Benedictions

21.09.2014
Text file

We will understand this siman better if we recall the explanation at the end of siman 2.  We explained that bodily wastes are a sobering reminder that despite our unique capacity to elevate the material world to the service of God, exemplified by our ability to take ordinary food and use it to fuel our performance of His will, there are some aspects of the world which resist any alliance with holiness.  Excreta serve as an example of such an aspect, and thus as a powerful symbol of evil.

 

1. THE IMPORTANCE OF ELIMINATION: The Kitzur explains that a person should strive to regulate the performance of his bodily needs.

 

The gemara (Berakhot 57b) makes the following surprising analogy: elimination is an aspect of this world which is like experiencing "olam ha-ba" - the next world!  Rav Kook (Ein Aya) observes that overcoming our shortcomings is an impossible task in this world, noting that the perfection of the spirit must await the purification which precedes our entry into Paradise.  Yet, in the act of elimination the body manages to cleanse itself of all its wastes, all non-productive content - truly a unique experience.

 

2. ORIENTATION: The Kitzur explains that one should not eliminate with one's back to the west in an open place.  This seems to be related to R. Abahu's assertion that "the Shekhina (Divine Presence) dwells in the west" (Bava Batra 25a).  And indeed, the Holy of Holies was in the westernmost part of the Tabernacle and the Temple.

 

Idolaters bow down towards the east - that is where the sun as well as the other members of the heavenly host come from (where they rise).  Judaism, an optimistic and future-oriented religion, is much more interested in where people are going.  We are not interested in looking eastward to rush to begin the day so much as we are interested in looking westward to extend the day - we have so much to do!

 

3. MANNER OF ELIMINATION: The Kitzur emphasizes the need to eliminate in a moderate and thus healthful way.  Halakha is primarily concerned with our actions in our physical surroundings, and has due respect for the healthy functioning of the body.

 

4. THE BENEDICTION "ASHER YATZAR:" The closing of this blessing refers to HaShem as "the Healer of all flesh."  It seems surprising that a habitual act such as elimination should be referred to as "healing" - is anyone who needs to go to the bathroom "sick?"

 

This expression emphasizes God's active intervention in the world.  The Jewish conception of the Creator is not of One who "wound up the clock" and then let it tick.  Rather, the Creator is constantly judging the world and exercising His providence.  The elimination of poisonous wastes, while habitual, is not "natural" or automatic.  It is really a kind of miracle-cure, one which requires a benediction just as an actual miracle-cure obliges reciting "ha-gomel."

 

Perhaps we can find in this phrase a parallel to the notion of repentance in Chasidut.  Just as healing is a constant process and not a rare event which takes place only in the presence of some terrible and unusual disease, likewise repentance - teshuva - is a constant process of self-evaluation and not an occasional response to some terrible and unusual sin.

 

 

SIMAN 5 - A CLEAN PLACE FOR PRAYERS

***************************************

 

1. CLEANLINESS AND MODESTY

 

Prayer demands cleanliness and modesty.  We explained above that human excrement is a pointed reminder of those aspects of the world which resist alliance with the holy, insofar as the body's thorough mechanisms for exploiting any aspect of food which can serve its needs found this matter fit only for elimination.  Likewise, putrid smells remind us that while we are trying to grow and develop, some matter is decaying and decomposing. 

 

If we were to pray in the presence of these symbols of corruption, it could seem, God forbid, as though we considered the service of God as somehow allied with these negative forces - as pagan religions worship and appease evil spirits alongside the good ones.  Indeed, our sages tell us that the worship of Ba'al Pe'or involved precisely doing one's bodily needs before this idol.

 

The requirement for modest surroundings is somewhat different.  While the mere PRESENCE of filth precludes prayer, immodesty only presents a problem if it is in SIGHT.  Furthermore, though even THINKING Torah thoughts is forbidden in the presence of filth, in the sight of immodesty only SPEECH is restricted.  Even though we have explained that clothes are an extension of the person, this itself stems from the fact that our self is related to our image.  The need for clothes is at root a social one.  So, immodesty limits us only if it is visible - if someone else COULD see it - and only if we communicate our thoughts in a way which someone else COULD understand.

 

2. MODERN DAY BATHROOMS (se'if 13)

 

The Kitzur points out that one needs to distance oneself from a chamber pot in the same was as from excrement itself: it should be at least four paces away and out of eyeshot. 

 

There is a disagreement among contemporary authorities if a regular toilet, in which the filth is washed away each time, is considered like a chamber pot.  Most toilets are made of porcelain, and the Kitzur points out that porcelain chamber pots are a problem even if they are filled with water each time and even if they are closed.  Prudence would dictate that we consider a toilet like a chamber pot, unless it is made of stainless steel.

 

3. WOMEN'S HAIR (se'if 16)

 

Nowadays many married ladies are not careful about covering their hair.  The Kitzur explains that the hair of a married woman WHO USUALLY COVERS HER HAIR is an immodest sight.  But a man may pray within sight of the hair of a woman who is negligent in this regard.

 

 

SIMAN 6 - GENERAL LAWS OF BERAKHOT

************************************

 

1. BERAKHOT (se'if 1)

 

R. Yehuda HaLevi in his classic work "Kuzari" (III:16) explains that "birkot ha-nehenin" (blessings on food and other worldly pleasures), far from being a detraction and a distraction from our pleasure, actually enhance our enjoyment by compelling us to pay attention to it.  He exemplifies this point with the example of a person who enjoys all sorts of delight while he is drunk.  When he sobers up, he will not rejoice in the delights which he can no longer recall - rather he will regret them, since he spoiled his own enjoyment of them.  (1)

 

At the same time, the blessings keep us from being debased by our earthly enjoyments by reminding us to connect them to their divine Source.

 

The same point applies equally well to "birkot ha-shevach" (blessings of praise).  A person's appreciation of a majestic landscape is enhanced if he commemorates it by reciting the blessing "oseh ma'aseh bereshit" (Who does the work of creation).  And our longing for wisdom, repentance, redemption, etc. is enhanced by having fixed times to request these traits in the Amida prayer.

 

Obviously, the berakha is not going to be effective in focusing our attention on our enjoyment, our appreciation, or our aspiration if at the very moment we utter the blessing we are occupied in some other activity, or if we say the blessing without paying any attention to the meaning of the words!  This explains the ruling of the Kitzur here that a person may not engage in any other activity at the moment he is saying a blessing, and that a person must concentrate completely on the words of the berakha.

 

2. PROPER AWE AND RESPECT FOR MENTIONING GOD'S NAME (se'if 2, 3, 4)

 

A tension exists between the love of God that includes the awareness of His constant presence and providence, and the fear of God that awakens our awareness of the contrast between His perfection and infinity and our own all-too-obvious deficits. 

 

We acknowledge God's providence by making benedictions on our various enjoyments and wishes, and we acknowledge His immanent presence by addressing Him at the opening of the blessing in the second person (Blessed are YOU, HaShem). 

 

But we give expression to our fear by an inner feeling of awe at uttering God's name; by being careful not to be too familiar with His name, for example by saying it unnecessarily; and by referring to HaShem in the third person in the body of the blessing.  (For example, at Ma'ariv we say: Blessed are YOU, HaShem, King of the Universe, who with HIS word brings on the evening.)

 

3. ONE HUNDRED BERAKHOT (se'if 7)

 

The scriptural source for this requirement is learned from the beautiful verse in which Moshe asks, "What does HaShem your God ask of you, but to fear HaShem your God, to go in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve HaShem your God with all your heart and with all your soul."  The Torah contains hundreds of mitzvot with thousands of details, but the bottom line is to love and fear God sincerely, and to follow in His ways of lovingkindness and forbearance.

 

In order to reach a hundred blessings, it is generally necessary to make them frequently and on a variety of enjoyments, praises, and requests.  In this way, we are constantly renewing and broadening our engagement with the material world - after all, blessings have this effect, as Rav Yehuda HaLevi points out; simultaneously, we are relating this engagement to its divine Source.  This both deepens our devotion to God, our fear and love of the Almighty, and also strengthens us in His ways - imitating the way of the Holy One blessed be He by elevating the material world and revealing its potential for holiness.

 

4. BARUKH HU U-VARUKH SHEMO (Blessed is He and blessed is His name) (se'if 8)

 

The Rosh (Responsa 4:19) mentions that his father used to say this phrase whenever he heard a berakha.  This response to "Barukh ata HaShem," now a universal custom, induces us to pay attention when someone is making a berakha.  We notice THAT he or she is making a berakha, and we further acknowledge that making a berakha is calling on HaShem and is indeed a momentous deed which demands a reaction.  "For I will call on the name of HaShem; [you should then] attribute greatness to our God" (Devarim 32:3).

 

The Ashkenazi custom is that mentioned in the Kitzur: to omit BHUV"SH when the listener is fulfilling his own obligation by hearing the berakha.  The Sefaradim in general say BHUV"SH even in this case.

 

5. SAYING AMEN (se'if 10, 11)

 

The word "amen" is related to the word "emet" - truth and also to the word "emuna" - faith or belief.  Saying amen expresses an affirmation of the berakha: the praise of God in the berakha is true, we all believe in the content of this praise.

 

The Kitzur describes at length that it is necessary to say amen carefully and in a way which clearly testifies that the person replying amen is consciously and intentionally affirming the words of the berakha which he hears.  Replying amen has two important results.  It amplifies the basic effect of the berakha itself; both the one reciting the berakha and the one hearing it are paying attention to the benefits of this world and to the ways in which we would like to improve it, while also relating these material accomplishments to their divine Author.  In addition, this habit creates fellowship among Jews, both by encouraging the one reciting the berakha to share his or her experience of God's providence with others, and by encouraging the "audience" to express an appreciation of the experience of the one reciting the berakha.

 

Endnote:

 

(1) F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous story "The Lost Decade" exemplifies in a poignant way this exact theme.

 

This website is constantly being improved. We would appreciate hearing from you. Questions and comments on the classes are welcome, as is help in tagging, categorizing, and creating brief summaries of the classes. Thank you for being part of the Torat Har Etzion community!