Last week, I talked about the controversial blessings in the traditional birkot hashachar (“…Who has not made me a woman,” etc.). This week, I want to focus on three very positive aspects of these blessings. First, there are 14 of them (2 x 7, where 7 is always a number of wholeness). And although every blessing ends differently, underscoring a different aspect of our lived experience, all of them start the same way. Over and over again, we repeat the phrase, “Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe…”. Such repetition hints at what our spiritual posture should be throughout the day. Every moment is an opportunity to bless G-d, to recognize G-d as our Lord, to acknowledge that our G-d is the King of the Universe.
And when we look at the endings of each blessing, we see that they reflect two fundamental aspects of our lives. The first is the need for compassion: “…Who gives sight to the blind; ….clothes the naked…releases the bound….raises the downtrodden.” As G-d does, so should we do. The second theme is the splendor of being alive: “…Who made me free… strengthens Israel with courage…crowns Israel with glory… made me a Jew.”
The combination of grandeur with empathy embodied in this prayer is truly unique and inspiring. But also demanding. Jews are not destined to be contented. Cows are destined to be contented. After work, we don’t get Miller Time. We get Minyan Time. And that is why the last of the morning blessings is so important, and truly one of my favorites: “Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who gives strength to the weary.”
May it only be so!