Blessings Over Sights - Rabbi Shimon Meir Farber shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You’re listening to the “Lema’an Yishme’u” podcast from Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 The laws of lightning and thunder. It’s important to note that when we speak about lightning, we mean not only the electrical flash as it appears in the sky, but also the light from the lightning. A blessing is recited over that too, as brought in the responsa of Tzitz Eliezer. Who is obligated in these blessings? Adults are, and so are children, both boys and girls. Just as we teach them to recite blessings before eating and drinking, and all the other blessings, we must also teach them to recite the blessings over lightning and thunder. A person who cannot see, who is blind, Hashem protect us, does not recite the blessing over lightning. Even if everyone around him is now reciting the blessings “Who performs the work of Creation” and “Whose power and might fill the world,” as we’ll explain shortly, he still does not recite the blessing. Why? Because it is a blessing over something seen; the person who sees it recites the blessing. The same principle applies to someone with hearing difficulties. If he can hear the thunder without a hearing aid, and the device merely helps him hear it, then he may recite the blessing, because he heard the thunder. But if he cannot hear it without the device, and only the device amplifies the sound enough for him to hear, then it depends on the type of hearing aid. The older devices were mechanical, shaped like a trumpet or something similar. They concentrated the sound so that a deaf person could hear. Someone using such a device may recite the blessing, because the device does not do anything to the sound; it only concentrates it for him. So he certainly may recite the blessing over thunder. But a person

01:57 Speaker 2 who has a hearing aid of the kind generally used today—a device that amplifies the sound, without which he could not hear it—is different. The device has not merely concentrated the sound; it has amplified it. So what the person hears is the sound produced by the device, not the thunder, and he does not recite the blessing. Along the same lines, consider a person who can see and hear but, for some reason, did not see the flash of lightning. He was absorbed in something and missed it. Everyone around him recites the blessing, but that does not include him; he must see the light of the lightning himself. The same applies to hearing. If he was wearing headphones, listening to something, and was so absorbed that he did not hear the thunder, then even though everyone around him recites the blessing over thunder, he does not recite it until he hears it. What blessings do we recite? The custom is to say “Who performs the work of Creation” over lightning, and “Whose power and might fill the world” over thunder. As the Alter Rebbe notes at the end of Seder Birchos Hanehenin in the Siddur, in principle one could also say “Who performs the work of Creation” over thunder, and “Whose power and might fill the world” over lightning. In other words, both blessings apply equally to both. So why do we say “Who performs the work of Creation” over lightning and “Whose power and might fill the world” over thunder? Because each blessing is more fitting that way. “Who performs the work of Creation” is a more general blessing, speaking of Creation and its beauty. When we speak of the might of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, that is more apparent in thunder. And indeed,

03:42 Speaker 2 if someone mistakenly switched the blessings and said “Who performs the work of Creation” over thunder, or “Whose power and might fill the world” over lightning, he has fulfilled his obligation. And why don’t we simply say “Who performs the work of Creation” over both? We see lightning and say it; then we hear thunder and say it again. As the Alter Rebbe notes here, it is because they usually come immediately one after the other, and we do not wish to recite the same blessing twice in succession. Why not? As mentioned earlier, when someone sees a shooting star or a comet, and the like, he recites “Who performs the work of Creation.” If he then sees lightning, he also recites “Who performs the work of Creation,” with no concern that it is a blessing in vain. So why do we recite two different blessings here? The Alter Rebbe continues: it is better to praise Hashem with many praises than with just one. That is why the two blessings were assigned separately. It is fitting to say “Whose power and might fill the world” over thunder, because the crash of thunder conveys the power and might of Hakadosh Boruch Hu more strongly. Since these blessings depend on what we perceive, we recite them according to what we see and hear; they are not dependent on each other. When we hear thunder, we say “Whose power and might fill the world.” When we see lightning, we say “Who performs the work of Creation.” There is no required order. Some people think they must first see lightning, or first hear thunder, but in truth the two are independent. We recite a blessing over each one separately, regardless of which comes first. Now, often there is

05:27 Speaker 2 lightning without thunder, and that leads people to ask whether perhaps these are the kinds of flashes that occur without thunder. First, it’s important to mention the Chayei Adam, who discusses this subject. He notes that on summer days there can be flashes of lightning without thunder—for example, in high mountains, where one can see flashes without hearing thunder—and no blessing is recited over those flashes alone. Why? Because they result from heat, from a certain electrical phenomenon in the warm air. They are not connected to storm clouds interacting with one another. When a person sees flashes like these, he indeed does not need to recite a blessing over them, because they are not the kind of lightning over which a blessing is recited. The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, section 63, puts it this way: “Flashes seen without thunder, which are caused by heat, are not actual lightning, and no blessing is recited over them,” as the halachic authorities ruled. We do not recite a blessing over flashes produced by heat. So how can we tell? In fact, it makes no difference whether it is summer or winter. The only distinction is whether the sky is cloudy—whether there are rain clouds from which the lightning comes. Even if we do not hear the thunder for some reason, perhaps because we are somewhere we cannot hear it or for any other reason, we still recite the blessing over lightning that comes from such clouds. As is well known, lightning and thunder occur at the same moment. The thunder simply takes longer to reach us because of the speed of sound, while we see the flash immediately because light travels much faster. So even if, for some reason, we did not hear the thunder, we still need to recite the blessing over the lightning—unless the flashes really do not come from rain clouds, in which case we do not recite a blessing over them. When do we

07:23 Speaker 2 Can we recite the blessing? This is a very important point to pay attention to. The blessing must be recited within the time it takes to say “Shalom alecha, Rabbi.” In other words, once that amount of time has passed, we no longer recite the blessing; doing so would be a blessing in vain. We saw the lightning, we heard the thunder—we need to recite the blessing in those very seconds, or we’ve missed it. The question is what happens when someone is about to recite the blessing for lightning and begins, “Boruch Atah,” or is in the middle of the blessing, and before he finishes, thunder suddenly sounds and he hears it too. Does he need to recite two blessings? And the reverse: someone hears thunder and is about to recite the blessing, and then another flash of lightning appears. Does he need to recite a blessing for each, or not? In fact, the blessing “Oseh maaseh bereishis” covers both, and there is no need to recite two blessings at the same time. It fulfills the obligation for both; that is the preferred practice. It’s true that, as we said, the blessing “Shekocho ugevuraso malei olam” can also fulfill the obligation for both, because it too applies to both. But the Shulchan Aruch writes that it is better to recite “Oseh maaseh bereishis,” since it is more apparent that the blessing does not apply only to thunder. If someone recites only “Shekocho ugevuraso malei olam,” it sounds as though the blessing relates more to the thunder and less to the lightning. So we recite “Oseh maaseh bereishis,” which sounds more general. Nevertheless, if someone has already begun reciting the blessing for thunder—“Boruch Atah Hashem Elokeinu Melech haolam, shekocho ugevuraso”—and lightning appears within that time, he has indeed fulfilled

09:10 Speaker 2 his obligation. He does not recite another blessing; this blessing also fulfills his obligation to recite the blessing for lightning. If someone saw lightning and heard thunder but, for some reason, did not recite the blessings—whether he was unable to, didn’t notice, was busy, or even deliberately failed to recite them—he has not lost the opportunity altogether. When the next lightning and thunder come, even if the clouds have not dispersed, he must still recite the blessings. That does not make up for the blessing he missed, whether deliberately or inadvertently. In any case, he must recite these blessings for the next lightning he sees and thunder he hears. How long do these blessings remain effective? If someone recited them in the morning and there was more lightning and thunder afterward, the blessing he recited earlier in the morning already covers them. So where is the boundary? Every blessing has its own rules—whether it is bentching or putting on tefillin and a tallis. Once he takes them off, how much time must pass before he needs to recite another blessing? Every mitzvah has its own measure. So what is the measure for the blessings on lightning and thunder? It is when the clouds have dispersed. As the Alter Rebbe also writes—and he is somewhat more precise than the Shulchan Aruch—the Mishnah Berurah, in Biur Halachah, proves from the Rosh that the skies must have cleared. In other words, it is not enough for the clouds to move right and left and for the skies to brighten a little, so that from that moment we would count it as a new weather system. The skies must truly clear. This is also stated explicitly in the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch: the skies must be clear from end to end,

11:05 Speaker 2 and then a new weather system must arrive. Even if this happens several times during the day, he becomes obligated to recite the blessings again, and he may do so. If someone goes to sleep at night—an established sleep—and wakes up after dawn, he may and must recite the blessings for lightning and thunder again, even if they are the same clouds, even if he is absolutely certain they are the same clouds and it rained all night. Even if he recited the blessings in the middle of the night, then went to sleep and woke up after dawn, he must recite them again. But an established sleep during the day does not have that effect, and he does not recite the blessings again unless, as we defined it, the clouds have dispersed. If someone did not sleep at night, then even though a new morning has begun, he still does not recite these blessings again as long as he has not had an established sleep at night. What happens if someone recited a blessing by mistake? Say he heard a noise and was sure it was thunder, but it turned out to be noise from the neighbors. Or he saw a camera flash and thought it was lightning, and began reciting the blessing; then, while still within the time it takes to say “Shalom alecha, Rabbi,” even if he had just finished the blessing, he actually saw lightning. He has fulfilled his obligation, even though he recited the blessing by mistake. In other words, although the blessing he recited was unnecessary and was not said for the right reason, he has still fulfilled his obligation. One of the commentators on the Shulchan Aruch, [unclear], writes this and brings a proof from someone who must tear his garment upon the death of a person, Hashem protect us. It turns out that the person has not yet died, but while he is tearing his garment, within that brief span of time, the person dies. In that case, he has fulfilled his obligation and does not need to tear his garment again. So too here: although he recited a blessing that did not apply at the time, because the lightning or thunder came within that brief span of time, the blessing can still apply to it. But if that time has passed, he has not fulfilled his obligation and must, of course, recite the blessing again.

12:52 Speaker 2 What happens if someone is in the middle of davening? If he has already begun “Boruch Sheim,” or even if he is in the blessings of Shema, he must still recite the blessing. As is well known, during the blessings of Shema we respond only to very specific things: “Amen, yehei shemei rabba,” “Kudsha Brich Hu” [unclear], “Borchu es Hashem hamevorach,” and “Amen da’amiran be’alma, ve’imru amen.” Only very particular responses are made at those points. The exceptions are, of course, from the first verse of Shema through “Boruch Sheim,” inclusive, and between the blessing “Gaal Yisroel” and Shemoneh Esrei—not to mention during Shemoneh Esrei itself. But if someone is in the blessings of Shema and lightning suddenly flashes and thunder sounds, he must recite these blessings even in the middle of the blessings of Shema, and even during Shema itself, provided he is not in the first verse, as we noted. Even during Shemoneh Esrei, if he is at “Elokai netzor,” after the first “Yihyu leratzon,” he must still recite them, since at that point he must respond “Amen, yehei shemei rabba,” and so on. So here, too, he must recite the blessings for lightning and thunder. And here I want to mention a point connected to the request “Vesein tal umatar livrachah”: if someone forgot and missed “Vesein tal umatar,” there is a law that he

14:41 Speaker 2 Until after he takes his steps back—that is, until he has finished the second “Yihyu leratzon”—he must go back to the blessing of Barech Aleinu. Of course, Rabbi Shai[unclear] Shimon Cohen discussed the blessings and “Vesein tal umatar livrachah” at length in his class. But on the point relevant here: if a person missed every opportunity to correct his omission, including in Shema Koleinu and afterward, he must go back to Barech Aleinu, provided he has not yet finished the second “Yihyu leratzon.” Here Rabbi Nasan Dovid asks a very important question: If he is in “Elokai netzor,” he can respond to a blessing over lightning or thunder, as we said, and he can answer “Amen, yehei shmei rabba.” So, seemingly, that means he has already finished Shemoneh Esrei. Isn’t that a contradiction? Rabbi Nasan Dovid answers that if a person omitted “Vesein tal umatar,” then, to avoid a contradiction between treating himself as having finished Shemoneh Esrei and treating himself as not having finished it, he should only listen with intent and not speak. He should not answer “Amen, yehei shmei rabba” or respond “Kudsha Brich Hu” and [unclear] until after the second “Yihyu leratzon.” That way, he can go back to Barech Aleinu and will not have to return to the beginning of the prayer, as someone who has already finished Shemoneh Esrei after the second “Yihyu leratzon” would. If a person washed his hands for a meal and, between washing and the blessing of Hamotzi, suddenly hears thunder or sees lightning, then, although this is not discussed much by the poskim because it is straightforward, just as he may answer “Amen” not only to blessings connected with the meal, such as Hamotzi and the blessing on washing the hands, but—as brought in the Kitzur Shulchan

16:17 Speaker 2 Aruch and other poskim—to all blessings, he may certainly recite the blessings over lightning and thunder, which, as we said, have the same standing as answering “Amen, yehei shmei rabba.” What if someone is in a place where he may not say words of holiness—for example, a place with filth? If he can step outside and recite the blessing, that is what he should do: simply step outside and say it. Of course, this must be within the brief time allowed for an immediate response. If someone comes out of the bathroom, then seemingly, even if he did not relieve himself or touch covered parts of his body, he still needs to wash his hands. Since it is a place with an impure spirit, he must wash his hands, as ruled in the Shulchan Aruch. So how can he recite the blessing? If he manages to get outside within that brief time, then even if he does not have time to wash his hands, he should recite the blessing over the lightning or thunder and only afterward wash his hands. Now, what if he did relieve himself, touched covered parts of his body, or the like, so that he is obligated to wash his hands and cannot recite blessings as he is? If he has already come out of the bathroom, of course, and suddenly sees a flash of lightning or hears thunder, he can recite the blessing. If he has time to wash his hands, all the better. But even if he has not yet washed them, he should rub his hands against a wall and recite the blessings over lightning and thunder. Afterward, of course, he should wash his hands and recite Asher Yatzar. What if someone wakes in the middle of the night to the sound of thunderclaps or a flash of lightning? He has woken up before washing his hands, does not know whether there will be more lightning or thunder, and

18:10 Speaker 2 needs to recite the blessing now. By the time he washes his hands, the brief time allowed for an immediate response will have passed. What should he do? Poskim writing according to the revealed dimension of Torah law say that he should rub his hands against a wall or something similar and recite the blessing. But the Kaf HaChayim and other poskim who draw on Kabbalah have difficulty with this, since it is known that an impure spirit rests on the hands. How can a person recite blessings before washing his hands? They therefore say that if he does not have time to wash his hands, he should say the blessing without Hashem’s name. Some want to suggest that perhaps, since the Alter Rebbe omitted the blessing over a rainbow from his Shulchan Aruch, it need not be recited. But the reason the Alter Rebbe omitted it is that rainbows were not so common in his country. The Rebbe, however, writes explicitly in Hayom Yom for 29 Tishrei that we recite the blessing over a rainbow, although some question this. What is the blessing over a rainbow? “Blessed are You, Hashem our G-d, King of the universe, Who remembers the covenant, is faithful to His covenant, and keeps His word.” We spoke at length about the laws of lightning and thunder—when one can recite the blessings and when one cannot—and the same applies to the blessing over a rainbow. As with all blessings recited upon seeing something, one must see it in order to recite the blessing. As we discussed, one must see lightning and hear thunder. The same is true of a rainbow: only someone who has seen it recites the blessing. But the Sages warned against looking at it too much—only as much as is needed for the blessing, and no more. Since the rainbow is a sign that is not entirely positive, the poskim wrote

20:00 Speaker 2 that it is proper not to tell a friend about it. But if someone has already come and told me, I can choose not to look, and then I will not become obligated to recite the blessing. The poskim discuss rainbows formed in waterfalls, or a rainbow that appears when I turn on a faucet. In practice, the poskim write, as is also brought in the responsa Revavos Ephraim, that we recite the blessing only over a rainbow in the clouds, not over rainbows like these. As the verse says, “I have placed My bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant.” It is specifically the rainbow in the cloud that is the sign of the covenant with Hakadosh Boruch Hu.