God Talk

Yotzer Or
Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu, Melech ha-olam, yotzeir or uvorei
choshech, oseh shalom uvorei et hakol. Hamlei-ir la-aretz v’ladarim
aleha b’rachamim, uvtuvo m’chadeish b’chol yom tamid ma-asei
v’reishit. Mah rabu ma-asecha Adonai, kulam b’chochmah asita,
mal-ah ha-aretz kinyanecha. Titbarach Adonai Eloheinu al shevach
ma-asei yadecha, v’al m’orei or she-asita y’fa-arucha selah. Or chadash
al Tzion ta-ir, v’nizkeh chulanu m’heirah I’oro. Baruch Atah Adonai.
yotzer ham’orot.English

Gevurot
You are eternally mighty, Adonai, reviving the dead, abundantly able to redeem us.
during the winter months (between Sukkoth and Pesach) add: Who causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall during the summer months (between Pesach and Sukkoth) add: Who causes the dew to descend
With kindness do You sustain the living, and with great compassion do You revive the dead. You support the fallen, heal the sick, free the captives, and keep faith with those who sleep in the dust.
Who is like You, Source of mighty deeds? Who is like You, O King Who causes death and restores life and causes deliverance to spring forth?

In faithfulness do you revive the dead. Blessed are You, Adonai, Who revives the dead.

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech haOlam, hamotzi lechem min-ha'aretz.

Blessed are You, God, Our God, Ruler of the Universe/World . . .

Zohar on Bresheet/Genesis 1:1
Out of the Ever-Existing Essence . . .

We gratefully acknowledge that You are Adonai, our God and the God of our ancestors for all eternity. You are the Rock of our lives and the Shield of our salvation from generation to generation. We shall thank You and declare Your praise—for our lives which are in Your hand, for our souls which are in Your care, for Your miracles that are with us every day and for Your wondrous deeds and favors at all times: evening, morning and noon. O Good One, whose mercies never fail,
O Compassionate One, whose kindnesses never cease: forever do we put our hope in You.
For all these things, O King, may Your Name be forever blessed and exalted. O God our Redeemer and our Helper, may all who live gratefully acknowledge You and praise Your Name in Truth.
Blessed are You, Adonai, Whose Name is Goodness, and to Whom it is fitting to give thanks.
- - - - - -
The next-to-last prayer in the tefila is called hoda-a. It is an acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty and an expression of our gratitude to the Eternal One. The Hebrew root y d h י ד ה carries the dual meaning of “acknowledgement” and “thanks.”

If it were only a prayer of thanks, in anticipation of God’s favorable response to our petitions, it would be inappropriate to recite it on Shabbat and festivals, when petitionary prayers are absent from the tefila.

But hoda-a also means acknowledgement; hence the above translation “We gratefully acknowledge…” This prayer comes to remind us of God’s continuing miracles, which we must never take for granted. Instead, we need to renew our sense of awe and wonder every day of our lives.

From: Learn Hebrew Pods

In the 3rd Century, Rav and Shmuel, Talmudic rabbis, debated the addition of the word “You” to the b’rakhah formula (Jerusalem Talmud, B’rakhot12:4).

Rav insisted that a b’rakhah include “You,” as he maintained that we turn directly to God when we make a blessing. Rav cites Psalms 16:8 as support: “I have set the Lord before me always” (Jerusalem Talmud, B’rakhot 9:1). Rav’s doctrine is theologically bold, and reflects the desire for a personal relationship with God. We can address our Creator directly. "Blessed are You Adonai."

Shmuel, maintained that a b’rakhah need not include Atah; when it does, it places mere mortals in too intimate a relationship with the Creator of the Universe. He supported the formula "Blessed is Adonai."

Our sages did agree on the need to establish a norm, a legal standard to which all must adhere and ultimately, Jewish law followed Rav’s opinion.

That means if we do not include the word Atah or “You,” we do not fulfill our obligation to recite a b’rakhah. A person who recites words that differ from the established norm may have uttered something admirable, but has not fulfilled their religious obligation.


Still, Shmuel's opinion also found its way into the b’rakhah formula.

To consistently conform to Rav’s opinion, we would state the entire b’rakhah in the second person. But, in the last part of the wording of the b’rakhah, following the mention of God as King of the Universe, we refer to God in the third person.


“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth."

The b’rakhah as we know it is grammatically confusing. It switches from addressing God in the second person (“You”) to referring to God in the third person (“who brings forth”).

Simhah ben Samuel, author of the 11th-century French Mahzor Vitry, compares the wording of the b’rakhah to the wording one uses in the presence of royalty.

First we speak directly to the King (in the second person, as in “Your Majesty”).

Then we use language that shows even more respect, maintaining distance, speaking as through an intermediary in the third person. (as in “His Majesty”).

Simhah ben Samuel chooses the b’rakhah recited before drinking wine to illustrate:
We say, ‘Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe who creates (borei–third person) the fruit of the vine.’…We do not say, ‘Blessed are You, Lord, who has created (shebarata–second person) the fruit of the vine.’

Every time we say a blessing with this formula we balance different ways of thinking about our relationship with God!