Pirkei T’fillah: Meet the Brakhah Formula

Meet the _ Formula

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A  is a Jewish prayer. Saying a  is a Jewish way to thank God. Saying  is a major way to remind yourself about the kind of person you want to become.

Meet the  Formula Here_are_six_._What_do_you_think_makes_them_all_ ?_ Underline the words these  have in common.

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_

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_

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_

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

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_

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

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_

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_

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A  is a prayer that uses the words: _____________________________________________________________________________________

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Meet the Root 

Roots are the secret to understanding what Hebrew means.  is a root.

Can you see the three letters  in these words?

 bless =



let’s praise =



the One Who = is praised



 CLUE: 

The root  is found in every . Practice these words and circle all the words that contain the root .

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____

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

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

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_

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

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The Meaning of  We know that every  includes the word , which means bless or praise. We call a brakhah a “blessing.”

The Rabbis of the Talmud who wrote these  knew that a blessing was a hard idea to understand. They explained it three ways: As a pool; as a bending of the knees; and as a gift. These three words come from the root . 

Q: A  is a pool or well.

How is saying a  like jumping into a pool?

Q: A  is a gift from God. Q: A  is a knee. How is How is a  a way of saying a  like bending saying “Thank you?” your knees and bowing?

A: Just as the water of a pool A: We bend our knees to bow A: When we receive the gifts of God’s world, we say a or curtsey when we meet a can really surprise us when it  to express sincere king or queen to show them is very cold, so can a  thanks. respect and honor. When we shock us to attention when say a , it is as if we we say it. Just as the water are bending our knees totally surrounds us once and bowing to we’ve jumped in, we can show honor be totally submerged in the before God. words of a  and its meaning.

you get the idea. Now it’s your turn.

Q: How is a  like a spotlight?

A: ______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ 4

Reasons for Saying  Below are eight . Match as many of them as possible with the actions or gifts over which a  is said. a. Asking for peace. b. Thanking God for a special moment. c. Thanking God for making Shabbat holy. d. Reading the Purim Megillah e. Thanking God for providing us with bread. f. Lighting the Hanukkah lights. g. Hearing a shofar. h. Praising God for taking care of Abraham and Sarah.

Practice the phrases. Then match each  to its action or gift above.   

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 .   .2 ____    .3 ____       .4 ____ .     .5 ____    .6 ____    .    

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.   .8 ____

The  Formula Has Three Parts The Talmud tells this story:

Benjamin the Shepherd Once there was a shepherd whose name was Benjamin. He made what may have been the world’s first sandwich. He really enjoyed it. He also really enjoyed knowing that God had made the things that made the sandwich possible. He said a prayer in his everyday language (not Hebrew): “Blessed be the Maker of this sandwich.”

The Rabbis debated whether or not this was an acceptable .

What do you think? ___________________________________________________ The Rabbis came up with these answers. a. It is okay to say a  in any language, but it is better In Hebrew. b. The feeling (kavanah) behind Benjamin’s prayer made it the right kind of prayer, but it would be better if everyone used a fixed (keva) formula. Someone else hearing Benjamin’s prayer might think he was praising himself, his wife or another human sandwich-maker.

Even though the Rabbis believed that kavanah was important because it sets a direction for our prayers, they still wanted Jews to pray with keva.

They thought it was important for all Jews to use the same words (while each of them added their own feelings).

The Rabbis decided that a kosher (Jewishly acceptable)  contains three parts.

  





God’s rulership of the world

God’s name

blessing

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The  Formula



Q. Why is the  part of the formula important?

A. It tells us that this prayer is a response to one of the blessings (gifts) God has given us.

 

Q. Why is the  part of the formula important?

A. God’s name, , is the name that only the Jewish people know. It is our private name for God. When we use it we remember that we are talking to a God who has a long history of helping our people.

  

Q. Why is the  part of the formula important?

A. When we talk of God as the Ruler of the Cosmos, we are talking about the one God who is the God of all people. We remember that every person, regardless of religion or background, can find God in creation, and that every person must be treated justly.

      Q. Why do you think the Rabbis who created the  formula insisted that all three parts must be used?

A. _ ______________________________________________________________ _ ______________________________________________________________

Meet the Root  Can you see the three letters  in these words?



 Hebrew builds words out of three-letter roots.



king/ruler = will rule =

CLUE: 

His kingdom = Sound out these words and circle those that contain the root .

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_____

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_

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__

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__

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_

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God’s Name On page 7 we learned: God’s name is , is the name that only the Jewish people know. It is our private name for God. When we use it we remember that we are talking to a God who has a long history of helping our people.

There is another name for God.

God =  gods =  The word  is the Hebrew for God. The word  is the plural (more than one) of that word. It means “gods.” Even so, Hebrew often uses the plural word  to refer to the One True God.

The word  means “our God”.  means “us”, “our” or “we”.

 + = ,

These three words—,  & —describe what God does.

God is “our God.”

Why do you think the Bible talks about the One True God with a plural word?

(There is no right answer to this question.)_____________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

#2

Actually, the four letter  is God’s name. It is the name that appears from the Torah. Jews don’t even know how to pronounce this name. In Temple times only the High Priest said this name out loud and only said it once a year on Yom Kippur.

Instead of pronouncing God’ name, we say , which means “my Master.” Many English translations use the word “Lord” or “Eternal” to express this idea.

Practice these phrases and circle God’s name on each line.

       .1

     .2

    .3

    .4 Here is a prayer called  (No one is like our God). Practice this prayer.

     .5

    .6

    .7

    .8

    .9 

   .10 10

Guessing Can Be As Good As Knowing Take your best guess. Write your own English version of the  Formula.

___________________________





___________________________



You

___________________________



___________________________



___________________________



___________________________



11

God’s name, Adonai

 +  The Cosmos

Big Practice Now is your chance to practice some .

  

.1



.2

  

.3

 

.4

 

.5

 

.6

 

.7



.8

.9

   

     

.10



  

.11

Copyright © 2008 Torah Aura Productions. Published by Torah Aura Productions. All Rights Reserved. . Illustrations © Christine Tripp and Heidi Steinberger. Cover photo © Elke Dennis.

Torah Aura Productions • 4423 Fruitland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90058 (800) BE-TORAH • (323) 585-7312 • fax (323) 585-0327 • e-mail <misrad@torahaura.com> website WWW.TORAHAURA.COM • Manufactured in Malaysia.