Laws of the blessings Asher Yatzar and Elokai Neshama — and it contains 4 seifim: (1) on leaving the bathroom, one recites אשר יצר את האדם בחכמה — for the creation of man is of a wondrous wisdom; the body is like a flask full of breath, pierced with orifices (נקבים נקבים חלולים חלולים) which must remain as they are, lest man not survive an hour; one concludes רופא חולי כל בשר ומפליא לעשות. (2) Some wait until the synagogue to say על נטילת ידים with the other blessings; Sephardim do not — and one does not bless twice. (3) אלהי נשמה does not open with ברוך because it is a ברכת ההודאה, like the birkat hagueshamim. (4) The custom of blessing and answering amen in turn, in a group.
The 4 levels of study — Siman ו׳, 4 seifim
01
Available
רמת המתחיל
Level 1 — Beginner & Intermediate
Vocalized Hebrew text of the 4 seifim with a fluent English translation. Pedagogical explanation: the wisdom of the creation of the body in אשר יצר (the body as a flask full of breath, נקבים נקבים חלולים חלולים), the order of על נטילת ידים and the birkhot hashachar, why אלהי נשמה (a blessing of thanksgiving) does not open with ברוך, and the custom of blessing and answering amen in a group. Modern practical cases of the everyday blessings.
In-depth pilpul: the reason of אשר יצר and the three explanations of בחכמה (the wisdom of creation / the preparation of man's food before his creation / חלולים חלולים); why it is said every day and after each visit to the bathroom; the order of the birkhot hashachar (where to say them, not to interrupt בין נטילה לברכה, Ashkenazi vs Sephardi custom); the rule of the blessing that does/does not open with ברוך (long, adjacent, of thanksgiving) applied to אלהי נשמה; answering amen in a group (seif 4) and the kavanah to discharge. Berakhot 60b, 46a; Beit Yossef, Mg״A, Taz, Mishna Berura.
Structured summary for review and memorization: the wisdom of the creation of the body (אשר יצר), the order of the birkhot hashachar and of על נטילת ידים (not to bless twice), אלהי נשמה as a ברכת ההודאה that does not open with ברוך, and the custom of seif 4. Conduct le-maaseh in everyday life, with a referral to the Rav for the precise cases (cf. siman 4, 5 and 7).
The Choulhan Aroukh HaRav of the Admour HaZaken on Orach Chaim siman 6 (where the Rav develops 9 seifim): full text and the force of the psak relative to the Mechaber — the בריה חדשה each day (cf. siman 4), the order of the blessings כמו כהן before the avodah, not interrupting בין נטילה לברכה, and the meaning of אלהי נשמה (a ברכת ההודאה that does not open with ברוך) — for in-depth study, a referral to a Chabad Rav.
Rebuild this siman according to the Rabbanim YOU follow. Choose your Poskim (Rav Ovadia, the Admour HaZaken, the Rebbe, Ben Ish Chai, Mishna Berura, Rav Mordechai Eliyahu…) — Daat AI rebuilds the siman with their opinions, their reasoning, and their disagreements. If your Poskim do not address a point, the AI asks you before expanding.
The creation of man is of a wondrous wisdom: the body as a flask full of breath, pierced with orifices which must remain as they are.
נְקָבִים נְקָבִים חֲלוּלִים חֲלוּלִים
Orifices and hollow organs
If one of the orifices that must stay open were to close, or one of the hollow organs were to open, man could not survive even a single hour.
רוֹפֵא וּמַפְלִיא לַעֲשׂוֹת
Healer and wondrous maker
The body expels its waste (רופא חולי כל בשר) and keeps its breath within it as in an intact flask (ומפליא לעשות): the health of the body every day.
סֵדֶר בִּרְכוֹת הַשַּׁחַר
The order of the morning blessings
Where to say על נטילת ידים and the morning blessings (home or synagogue); not to bless twice; Ashkenazi vs Sephardi custom.
בִּרְכַּת הַהוֹדָאָה
The blessing of thanksgiving
אלהי נשמה does not open with ברוך because it is a blessing of thanksgiving; blessings of thanksgiving do not open with ברוך, like the birkat hagueshamim.
עֲנִיַּת אָמֵן בְּצִבּוּר
Answering amen in a group
The custom where each one blesses in turn and the others answer amen: the one who blesses does not intend to discharge the others, and the others do not intend to be discharged.
Structure of the Siman — the 4 seifim
Seif
Subject
Theme
Detail
סעיף א
אשר יצר
The creation of the body
On leaving the bathroom, one recites אשר יצר את האדם בחכמה: the wisdom of the creation of the body (a flask full of breath, נקבים וחלולים), רופא חולי כל בשר ומפליא לעשות.
סעיף ב
על נטילת ידים
The order of the blessings
Some wait until the synagogue to say it with the morning blessings; Sephardim do not — and one does not bless twice (whoever says them at home does not repeat them in the synagogue).
סעיף ג
אלהי נשמה
Does not open with ברוך
אלהי נשמה does not open with ברוך because it is a ברכת ההודאה; blessings of thanksgiving do not open with ברוך, as we find with the birkat hagueshamim.
סעיף ד
אמן בציבור
✦ Minhag
The custom where each one blesses in turn and the others answer amen — one does not object to it, for the mevarekh does not intend to discharge, and the others do not intend to be discharged.
The explanations of "בחכמה" — the senses of the wisdom of creation
Explanation
Register
Contribution
Central idea
בחכמה נפלאה
בריאת האדם
The wisdom of creation
The creation of man itself is of a wondrous wisdom — the first explanation praises the creation of the body.
נוד מלא רוח
נקבים וחלולים
The flask and the orifices
The body as a flask full of breath, pierced with orifices: if one of them were to close or open, man could not survive even a single hour.
רופא ומפליא · שו״ע הרב
הודאה — le-maaseh
✦ Le-maaseh
רופא חולי כל בשר (the expulsion of waste) ומפליא לעשות (keeping the breath in the pierced flask); the SA HaRav sees in this the בריה חדשה each day — for in-depth study, see Level 4 and a Chabad Rav.
Frequently asked questions — Siman ו׳
What does the blessing Asher Yatzar mean, according to Siman 6?
According to the Choulhan Aroukh, Orach Chaim 6:1, on leaving the bathroom one recites אשר יצר את האדם בחכמה — for the creation of man is of a wondrous wisdom. The body is compared to a flask full of breath, pierced with orifices (נקבים נקבים חלולים חלולים): if one of those that must stay open were to close, or one of those that must stay closed were to open, man could not survive even a single hour.
Where should one say על נטילת ידים and the birkhot hashachar, according to Siman 6?
According to the Choulhan Aroukh (Orach Chaim 6:2), some have the custom of waiting until the synagogue to say על נטילת ידים together with the other morning blessings; Sephardim do not have this custom. The common rule: one should not bless twice. Whoever says them at home does not repeat them in the synagogue, and vice versa.
Why does אלהי נשמה not open with ברוך, according to Siman 6?
According to the Choulhan Aroukh (Orach Chaim 6:3), אלהי נשמה does not open with ברוך because it is a ברכת ההודאה, a blessing of thanksgiving; and blessings of thanksgiving do not open with ברוך, as we find with the birkat hagueshamim (the blessing over rain).
What is the custom of blessing and answering amen in a group, according to Siman 6?
According to the Choulhan Aroukh (Orach Chaim 6:4), some have the custom that after one person has said a birkat hashachar and the others answered amen, one of those who answered then blesses in turn, and so on. One does not object to this custom: we do not say that they have already discharged their obligation through the amen, because the one who blesses does not intend to discharge the others, and they too do not intend to be discharged by his blessing.
Why is Asher Yatzar said after each visit to the bathroom, according to Siman 6?
Because אשר יצר praises the wisdom of the body that expels its waste and keeps its breath within it (רופא חולי כל בשר ומפליא לעשות). It is the blessing of the health of the body: each time the organs perform their function, one acknowledges the wonder of creation — not only in the morning, but after each visit to the bathroom, every day.