Berakhot 163

On the occasion is his Jahrzeit, today's shiur is dedicated to the memory of Pinhas Eliyas ben Shim'on haKohen z"l by his son, Ze'ev Orzech

7:
The mention of special benedictions to be recited upon leaving and exiting a city, leads the Gemara [Berakhot 60a] to a rather long interpolation of other berakhot that are recited on special occasions. Some of these berakhot are now virtually redundant since our way of life has changed considerably, but very many of them are still relevant. That is why I am dedicating this shiur to a brief description of these berakhot.

8:
The berakhah to be recited upon entering public baths may be safely passed over by us! With almost every dwelling served by internal plumbing and running water we no longer have to resort to the public baths for our ablutions. The language of this berakhah suggests that these public baths were not the safest of places: in particular, it would seem, that there was a constant danger that when the place was crowded someone might be toppled into the hypocaust below, where the fires were burning to maintain the water at a warm temperature.

9:
We can also safely ignore the berakhah to be recited before blood-letting! This medical "remedy" has now passed out of our lives, thank God. However, one point is of special interest in this regard: the language of the berakhah as first propounded by the Gemara suggests that all healing is in the hands of God. The Babylonian Amora requires a change of the wording, so that it will not sound as if resorting to a physician is a sacrilegious impiety. In the Bet Midrash of Rabbi Yishma'el they would interpret Exodus 21:19 as indicating that "permission is thus granted [by God] to the physician to heal [as God's agent]".

10:
Another berakhah mentioned that is now in abeyance is one to be recited before entering the lavatory; however, the reason here is not because we no longer do so (!), but because its language suggests that we are holy enough to be accompanied by angels, and they must wait for us outside until we have completed our business inside. The berakhah to be recited after visiting the toilet is still applicable and appears in our prayer-books as part of the daily morning blessings. In English translation the text of this berakhah reads as follows:

Most people do not realize that this berakhah was not intended to be recited once a day, but after every visit to the toilet.

To be continued.