Upon waking in the
morning, one is required to wash his hands, and recite the Beracha of "Al
Netilat Yaadayim" before drying them.
According to Sephardic practice, one who has remained awake throughout
the night washes his hands in the morning without reciting the Beracha. The custom among Ashkenazim is that one who remained
awake through the night recites the Beracha when washing his hands in the
morning after using the restroom.
Anytime one performs
his bodily functions, he must recite a special Beracha – "Asher Yasar" – after
leaving the restroom. This blessing was
established by the Ansheh Kenesset Ha'gedola – Men of the Great Assembly, a group
of scholars and prophets formed at the beginning of the Second Commonwealth –
and it is an especially significant Beracha.
Rabbi Yehuda Ha'levi (Spain, 1079-1141), in his Sefer Ha'kuzari (3:11), says
about this blessing, "How great this blessing is, in terms of its content, and
how perfectly formulated are its words for one who sees them with an eye for
the truth."
This Beracha consists
of 45 words, alluding to one of the Names of G-d, which in Gematria equals
45. This Name is formed by spelling out
the Names of the four letters that comprise the Name of "Havaya" (Yod, Heh, Vav
and Heh) – Yod, Vav, Dalet, Heh, Alef, Vav, Alef, Vav, Heh and Alef – which
together equal 45 (10+6+4+5+1+6+1+6+5+1).
Once, after I left the
restroom in a restaurant, a fellow saw me reciting this Beracha, and he
cynically remarked, "So, Rabbi, G-d is even in the bathroom?"
I told him that
because of his sarcastic comment, I thought of an answer to a question that I
had all my life. In the Beracha of
"Asher Yasar," we say that if one of the body's passageways that carry the
waste material would burst open, or would be obstructed, for even a brief
moment, we would be unable to survive. I
always wondered why we need to get so detailed, and mention the miracle of the
body's passageways that are constantly functioning properly so that the waste
is safely and effectively discharged from the body. I then realized that we need to mention this
because of people like this fellow, who are skeptical about Hashem and His
Providence over the universe. Indeed, as
great as Hashem is, He is even in the restroom.
He oversees each and every action, everything that happens – including
the expelling of waste material from the body.
This Beracha underscores for us not only Hashem's power and greatness,
but also His unparalleled humility – that He even accompanies us to the
restroom, assuring that our bodies are functioning properly. This is how much He loves us.
Years ago, people had
the custom just before entering the restroom to recite a brief text. A person would respectfully ask the angels
who were with him to wait outside the restroom while he performs his bodily
functions. The angels do not enter the
restroom with us – but Hashem most certainly does. He loves us so much that He even foregoes His
honor in order to accompany us everywhere, even the restroom, to care for us
and make sure our bodies function the way they should so we are healthy and
strong.
When we recite this
precious Beracha, we should take a moment to consider Hashem's special love for
us, how He watches over us and cares for us at all times, throughout our lives
– even when we are involved in performing our bodily functions.
