Let’s say somebody travels to a destination. Of course, it’s not a one-way ticket; the person is planning to come back home. How many berachot (blessings) should one say? Should he say a gomel (thanksgiving blessing) both when he gets to his destination and when he comes back, or only when the person comes back? I would say the logic of saying it only when the person comes back is similar to the case of a person who is sick and gets better but is not completely healed. He’s not going to say Birkat HaGomel twice. Imagine he was sick, got better, said Birkat HaGomel, got a little bit sick again because he wasn’t 100%, and then got better. Is he going to say it twice? No, he’s going to say it once, when he’s completely finished with the story. So, is it the same with traveling? The person is traveling from A to B and back to A. He should maybe say one berachot, because he’s not finished with his travels.
Indeed, the Eliyah Rabbah says this. If the boat gets to the port and they’re there for a day or two, he doesn’t have to say beracha (blessing) there. He’s there a long time. Perhaps he does have to do it. The Eliyah Rabbah is quoting the Olat Tamid. What is this case? It’s not so clear, because you could learn this case to mean that he’s on his way to a destination and they have to wait there to refuel, so they’re there a day or two. Then they continue the journey. That’s what it sounds like. But maybe he went there to stay two days and then comes back home. There’s a purpose in staying there, so it’s like saying he finished... It’s not a leg. It’s not leg one, leg two to get to his destination. He went to his destination. There was a purpose there, and he comes back. It’s another trip.
Or do you want to say that it’s like the mashal (parable) I gave before? He says... I found written... But I found that he only has to... when he’s finished with the whole problem, when it’s a sick person. Someone is completely done with it. So, we see that the Eliyah Rabbah is equating these a little bit. It’s not Pashut (simple) at all. The Ma'amar Mordechai says that he sees the Minhag (custom) is to say two Berachot, and he agrees with that Minhag.
So, what is the halakha lema'aseh (practical halacha)? The halakha lema'aseh is, as we said at the beginning, when there’s a purpose in going to a certain place, and that’s why the person went there—not just because it was a cheaper flight. So, he stayed overnight somewhere, and the next morning he gets Shacharit somewhere. Then he doesn’t say... because in the middle of his traveling, he’s not finished. But if he gets to his destination and that’s where he wanted to be, even if it’s a short amount of time, that was the purpose of the trip. Therefore, he would say the Beracha, if he can, of course. Then, when he comes back home, he would say a second Beracha.