It is well known that if
a person begins reciting a Beracha that is not required, and he realizes his
mistake after reciting the words "Baruch Ata Hashem," he has the possibility of
avoiding an accidental utterance of Hashem's Name in vain. He can do this by immediately reciting the
words "Lamedeni Hukecha," which has the effect of turning his words into a
Biblical verse. The phrase "Baruch Ata
Hashem Lamedeni Hukecha" is a verse in Tehillim (119:12), and so by adding the
words "Lamedeni Hukecha," one transforms his recitation of "Baruch Ata Hashem"
into the first words of a verse, such that he is not considered to have recited
Hashem's Name in vain.
One common case is
when a person recites a Beracha over food during a meal, forgetting that he had
recited "Ha'mosi" over bread and thus does not need to recite a Beracha over
the various foods eaten during the meal.
If he began reciting a Beracha, and after saying "Baruch Ata Hashem" he
realized his mistake, he should quickly add the words "Lamedeni Hukecha."
Less known, however,
is the option that one has even if he realized his mistake later, after he
already recited the words "Elokenu Melech Ha'olam." At this point, of course, it is too late to
turn his mistakenly-recited words into a verse from the Tanach. What he can do, however, is to recite a
Beracha which, although we do not customarily recite, some Rishonim (early
Medieval scholars) had the practice of reciting.
The Bet Yosef brings
that some earlier Rabbis would include in the Birkot Ha'shahar (morning
blessings) a number of Berachot which do not appear in other sources. For example, some recited a Beracha "Baruch
Ata Hashem…Magbi'ah Shefalim," praising Hashem for raising the
downtrodden. Another Beracha that some
Rabbis recited was "Baruch Ata Hashem…Somech Nofelim," praising Hashem for
supporting those who are falling. The
Bet Yosef disapproves of this practice, despite the fact that these Berachot
were included in several editions of the Siddur in Spain. He notes that these Berachot are mentioned
nowhere in the Talmud, and we do not have the authority to introduce our own
Berachot.
However, the Mishmeret
Shalom writes that the fact that some early Rabbis advocated for the recitation
of these Berachot allows a person the opportunity to avoid a mistaken
recitation of Hashem's Name in vain if he had begun reciting an unwarranted
Beracha. If a person realized after
reciting the words "Baruch Ata Hashem Elokenu Melech Ha'olam" that his Beracha
is not needed, he should immediately recite the words "Magbi'ah Shefalim" or
"Somech Nofelim." This way, at least
according to some Rabbis, he had recited a legitimate Beracha, and has not
recited G-d's Name in vain.
Summary: If a person
began reciting a Beracha, and after saying the words "Baruch Ata Hashem" he
realizes that the Beracha is not warranted, he should immediately say "Lamedeni
Hukecha," so he will be considered to have recited a verse, instead of having
recited G-d's Name in vain. If he
realized his mistake only after he said "…Elokenu Melech Ha'olam," he should
immediately add the words "Magbi'ah Shefalim" or "Somech Nofelim," as these are
Berachot which some Rabbis had the practice of reciting each day. Although we do not follow this custom, it is
preferable to add these words in this case so that at least according to these
Rabbis, the person has recited a legitimate Beracha and has not recited G-d's
Name in vain.
