(In addition to the reasoning advanced by the L'Horos Noson, one could argue that it is not proper to say a bracha on the downfall of one's enemies, an idea he discusses in the teshuvah. One could perhaps also argue that the birchas haTorah of parshas zachor also serves as the bracha on the mitzvah of zechiras Amalek, as we fulfill the mitzvah by reading a parsha. And I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg.)
Thursday, February 21, 2013
why no bracha on the mitzvah of zechiras Amalek?
Why is there is no bracha on the mitzvah of zechiras Amalek? Shu”T l’Horos Noson (5:47 ) suggests that the whole purpose of a bracha is to elicit the kavanah that the act being done is l’shem mitzvah. For example, there is nothing inherent in a 4 cornered garment with fringes that suggests it is being worn for a religious purpose – maybe you like the style or that’s the only shirt you have. Therefore, the mitzvah of tzitzis requires a bracha to remind you of its purpose. The mitzvah of zechiras Amalek, however, is different. The very nature of the mitzvah is to remember that there is a command of mechiyas Amalek. You don’t need a bracha to remind you that the act you are about to do is a mitzvah – the very words that you are reading make that point clear. The same logic explains why there is no bracha on the mitzvah of kri’as shema. You say the words “v’dibarta bam” as part of the mitzvah – you don’t need an external reminder. I was wondering if you could use the same to explain why there is no bracha over the mitzvah of haggadah, but on second thought there is a difference – the haggadah does not explicitly mention the text to read. If you never said the pasuk, “V’higadta l’bincha,” I don’t see why m’doraysa you might not be yotzei the mitzvah.
(In addition to the reasoning advanced by the L'Horos Noson, one could argue that it is not proper to say a bracha on the downfall of one's enemies, an idea he discusses in the teshuvah. One could perhaps also argue that the birchas haTorah of parshas zachor also serves as the bracha on the mitzvah of zechiras Amalek, as we fulfill the mitzvah by reading a parsha. And I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg.)
(In addition to the reasoning advanced by the L'Horos Noson, one could argue that it is not proper to say a bracha on the downfall of one's enemies, an idea he discusses in the teshuvah. One could perhaps also argue that the birchas haTorah of parshas zachor also serves as the bracha on the mitzvah of zechiras Amalek, as we fulfill the mitzvah by reading a parsha. And I am sure this is just the tip of the iceberg.)
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so if one says shema other than for the mitzva,
ReplyDeleteis then "v'dibarta bam" uttered l'vatala (must
one exclude the phrase?)? likewise by Amalek,
if one reads the pesukim aloud apart from the
mitzvah, should he skip the word "zachor", so as
not to say the bracha replacement word l'vatala?
why, in the second bracha of Bircas Hamazone, do
we say pasuk 8:10 from Devarim (AND the bracha
that immediately follows? stop with 8:10, since
it'd be obvious that thus have we blessed)?
The Ramban (Berakhos 11b) holds Birkhas Ahavah IS a bikhas hamitzvah on Shema. This comes up in discussions of answering "amein" to it. It's a heated machloqes, but I found a nice description on Biurei haTefillah (a site worth serious attention) titled The Need for a Bracha Before Kriyas Shema.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think there is no berakhah on Zekhiras Ameileq simply because it's impossible. The words of the berakhah itself would be sufficient to fulfill the mitzvah deOraisa, therefore there is no way to make a berakhah immediately before the mitzvah. (If you think about it, my own guess was a variant on the LeHoros Nasan's theme.)
BTW, who is the LeHoros Nasan?
>>> The words of the berakhah itself would be sufficient to fulfill the mitzvah deOraisa,
ReplyDeleteNot acc to Tos /Rosh view that reading the parsha is d'oraysa.
>>>BTW, who is the LeHoros Nasan?
http://matzav.com/rav-nosson-gestetner-ztl
Speculation: it would be inappropriate to mention amalek in a brocho with Shem U'Malchus. Every brocho is inherently a mechiyas amalek: one hundred כנגד the עמל-ק - by R' Meir, who descended from Nero.
ReplyDelete>>> The words of the berakhah itself would be sufficient to fulfill the mitzvah deOraisa,
ReplyDeleteNot acc to Tos /Rosh view that reading the parsha is d'oraysa
I think the broader point is that mitzvos that are fulfilled through amirah -- like kiddush -- generally do not have a berachah. The derasha for zechiras Amalek is very similar to the derasha for kiddush on Shabbos -- for both you need a zechirah be peh. Kiddush, of course, does not have a birchas ha Mitzvah, the beracha itself is the mitzvah.
By zechiras Amalek, we don't make a beracha the way we do for kiddush. Instead, we lein pesukim from the Torah (which, as you point out, is deoraysa acc. to some Rishonim). But the bottom line way of doing the mitzvah is verbal expression. (The beracha we do make is Birchas ha Torah, since of course we are also fulfilling public leining.)
Query what other mitzvos we do through verbal expression and whether they have a beracha.
(Keriyas Shma has berachos, but they are not birchas ha Mitzvah. Neither does tefillah -- like kiddush, the beracha itself is the mitsvah.)
Over on Avodah, we're currently discussing saying amein at the end of Birkhas Ahavah, and the Ramban's opinion that one shouldn't because it's a birkhas hamitzvah.
ReplyDeleteSee (and perhaps even join) the discussion at How do Chabad deal with the Amen of Krias Shema. (Chabad has the Chazan say the closing of the berakhah quietly. Most shuls I'm in, people who don't say amein say the closing of the berakhah with the Chazan.)
>>>I think the broader point is that mitzvos that are fulfilled through amirah -- like kiddush -- generally do not have a berachah.
ReplyDeleteOnly a Brisker would be satisfied with an answer like that -- it just begs the question of why there are no brachos over an amira. You are giving a rule, not a reason.
>>>I think the broader point is that mitzvos that are fulfilled through amirah -- like kiddush -- generally do not have a berachah.
ReplyDeleteExceptions that came to mind: sefiras ha'omer, talmud torah (at least acc to some shitos), last week you said 'al mikra megilah' on an amira, the very fact that the rishonim ask why no bracha by shema is contrary to this rule.
I think the lomdus here is that the mitzvah is not the amira at all -- the words are just a means to an end. The mitzvah is the totza'ah, the result of the reading, which is to have a memory of Amalek. Memory is devarim sheb'lev, and we do have a rule (Beis Yosef in Hil Pesach by bitul chameitz) that there is no bracha on devarim sheb'lev.