Let us turn to the Shulchan Aruch, specifically in Siman Vav, and examine Halacha Bet. There are those who wait to recite the blessing on ritual hand-washing until they arrive at the synagogue. They arrange this blessing alongside the other blessings. However, the Sephardim do not follow this practice. Instead, we adhere to the guidance of the Mishna Berura and the consensus of the later authorities, as well as the Sephardic custom, which dictates that one should not delay too long between the blessing of ritual hand-washing and the act of washing itself. Therefore, we perform it immediately. It is important to note that the Rama states that, in any case, one should not recite the blessing twice. If someone has already blessed at home, they should not bless again in the synagogue, and vice versa. Furthermore, if someone learns or recites Tehillim before entering the synagogue or prays beforehand, they should bless at home and not in the synagogue. Even in such cases, some have the custom to arrange the blessings with the others, and they bless at home.
The Aruch Hashulchan disapproves of this custom. Moving on to Gimel, the blessing of Elokai Neshama does not begin with "Baruch" because it is a blessing of thanks. This is not due to it being adjacent to another blessing, but rather because, as Maran states, a blessing of thanks does not begin with "Baruch," similar to the blessing for rain. Thus, there is no need to rely on the technicality of adjacency. Next, regarding Dalet, there are those who have the custom that one person blesses the morning blessings aloud in the synagogue, and others respond "Amen." One of those who responds "Amen" may then bless and the others respond "Amen" again. This practice was followed by all those who initially responded "Amen." They create an "Amen" party, where everyone says the blessing, responds "Amen," and then the next person does the same. There is no objection to this practice, as it is understood that the one blessing does not intend to fulfill the obligation of those responding.
Even if the one blessing intends to fulfill the obligation of others, if those responding do not intend to be fulfilled by his blessing, there is no issue. This is straightforward. Let us see what Hacham David says in Siman Vav. He states that one who washes their hands in the morning should ideally bless before drying them. However, if they did not bless before drying, they may bless afterward. Similarly, if one cannot bless before drying, such as when the house is not clean, they can bless after drying. While some opinions suggest that ideally, the washing should not be done until after drying, one should strive to connect the blessing to the drying as much as possible.
In the case of ritual hand-washing for a meal, if one did not bless before drying, they should not bless afterward. The ritual hand-washing for a meal must be done before due to uncertainty regarding the obligation. This is a daily matter; if one did not do it beforehand, they may do it afterward. It is stated in Masechet Berachot that all blessings begin with "Baruch," except for the blessing of fruits. There are some early authorities who maintain that the blessing of Elokai Neshama does not begin with "Baruch" because it is adjacent to the blessing of Asher Yatzar. They should have connected them. Although, according to halacha, there is no obligation to do so, it is still preferable to bless Elokai Neshama after the blessing of Asher Yatzar.
There are those who have the custom that one from the congregation blesses the morning blessings and the blessings of the Torah aloud, and the congregation responds "Amen." Afterward, each individual from the congregation repeats this. This custom is correct according to halacha. There is no concern that they have already fulfilled their obligation, as neither party intends to fulfill the other's obligation. It is merely for the reward. Hacham Baruch, may he rest in peace, expressed the same sentiment. He stated that we follow the opinion of the Arizal to bless on ritual hand-washing at home immediately after washing, and to connect it with the blessing of Asher Yatzar and the other morning blessings. However, if they did not recite them at home, they should bless in the synagogue.
It is appropriate to educate children from a young age to recite blessings while still at home. This was the practice of my mother, may she rest in peace, during my childhood. She would wake us up in the morning and ensure that we blessed immediately after ritual hand-washing. My father, Hacham Baruch, would also wake them in the morning and ensure that the children made ritual hand-washing with blessings and the morning blessings at home. She would listen to each child recite the morning blessings and would say that we should all bless "Baruch Hu u-Baruch Shemo" and "Amen." She would listen to each one make the morning blessings and then respond "Baruch Hu u-Baruch Shemo" and "Amen."
Even though this was the proper practice, when I arrived in the United States, I noticed teenagers coming to the synagogue for the morning prayer on Shabbat and beginning their prayers with the recitation of "Hashem Melech," which is said before Pesukei DeZimra. I asked them if they had already recited the morning blessings and the blessings of the Torah at home. They came to the synagogue on Shabbat, the Americans, and they started with "Hashem Melech." The Rabbi asked them if they had recited the morning blessings yet, and they replied that they had not. They mistakenly thought that the prayer begins with "Hashem Melech." Therefore, I instituted that the children of our community should recite the morning blessings and the blessings of the Torah in the synagogue with the congregation.
In the synagogue of Magen David, they responded "Amen" to the blessings. Just like in Magen David, the prayer begins with the morning blessings. However, one of the cantors would get up and say the blessings, and everyone would either say it with him or respond "Amen." But they would start the prayer from the morning blessings because he saw that the people did not know that they had to start from there. They would go to "Hashem Melech." In Slichot, many of them forget this. I have seen this happen. The cantor made a takkanah for this. However, in Shaarei Zion, he said they should recite it at home. I am not familiar with the practices of synagogues at that time. Do synagogues do that? No, they do not. Most of our synagogues start from "Vayedaber." But in the school, which is for education, that was his focus.
It is important to note that those who intend not to fulfill their obligation with the blessing must learn from this a significant principle regarding blessings: a person does not fulfill their obligation with a blessing they hear from another unless the listener intends to fulfill their obligation with that blessing. It is not sufficient for the listener to merely intend to fulfill their obligation; they must also intend to fulfill their obligation with that specific blessing, and the one blessing must intend to fulfill the listener's obligation. If the listener does not intend to fulfill their obligation or the one blessing does not intend to fulfill it, the listener must return and bless for themselves. Many have discussed this issue regarding the blessing of the counting of the Omer in the synagogue, as in most communities the cantor blesses first and then the congregation blesses afterward, in order to inform the public of which day of the counting of the Omer they are on.
In the case of the counting of the Omer, the cantor blesses first. Sometimes people mistakenly think they are fulfilling their obligation. On the other hand, there are those who oppose this custom because the cantor blesses first. The words of the Shulchan Aruch clarify that this objection is not valid, as the listener does not intend to fulfill their obligation, and the cantor does not intend to fulfill it either. However, in Syria, the congregation had the custom to bless before the cantor. In Halab, the congregation would bless first, and then the cantor would say it aloud. This was not the case in our synagogues, but by the time we arrived in America, it had switched. In Syria, the elders would often shout that this was not our custom. They would express their discontent, saying, "What?!" I remember as a child, they would shout, "The congregation first! The congregation first! You are changing the custom!" It was quite a tumult. The rabbis did not want there to be a dispute, so they allowed them to bless before the cantor. However, in practice, it was clear that the cantor would bless first. So what happened? They said, "Okay, make it..." It was a tumult, especially when the rabbi would announce the wrong day! This caused confusion, as the purpose was to help us. When he announced the wrong day, it really mixed us up. Then they would go into a frenzy, questioning what benefit the sages had in their decree. The decree was meant to clarify the day, but it ended up causing confusion instead. The congregation did not want to fulfill their obligation with the cantor's blessing. The cantor would bless afterward, just for order. But the point is that they did not want to fulfill their obligation with the cantor. The Gemara states that this is not a problem, but that is the custom. In Halab, they were more stringent. We will stop here.