Not long ago I was in Florida at a speaking engagement when I learned that my old friend David would be speaking nearby at an event of his own. I hadn\u2019t seen him in years\u2013he lives in California and I live in Ohio\u2013so I contacted him and suggested we meet.<\/p>\n
We had a great time renewing our friendship, drinking coffee and sharing a pastry. As we rose from the table, David (who is a vibrant Orthodox Jew and knows that I am always interested in learning more of his faith and practice) asked if he could pray the appropriate berakhah<\/em>.<\/p>\n I agreed without hesitation, and he prayed, first in Hebrew then (for my benefit) in English, the Birkat Hamazon<\/em>, which begins, \u201cBlessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth.\u201d<\/p>\n David\u2019s prayer is one of many berakhot<\/em> (\u201cblessings\u201d) observant Jews pray on any number of occasions. There is a berakhah<\/em> to be said upon waking up, and several berakhot<\/em> (plural for berakhah<\/em>) that are recited when putting on certain articles of clothing.<\/p>\n There are different berakhot<\/em> for eating fruit or drinking wine. There is even a berakhah<\/em> to be recited after using the bathroom.<\/p>\n It may seem excessive to some, but I delight with my friend David in the opportunity to make every situation of daily life\u2013or as many as possible\u2013an occasion for praising God and giving thanks.<\/p>\n In fact, I think this is an area (among many) where all who love God and live to please him can learn from our Jewish friends and neighbors by installing new \u201cberakhot<\/em>\u201d into our daily lives. For example, what if we made several of the following habitual?<\/p>\n Some say it takes 28 days for a practice to become a habit. Imagine using these\u2013or others of your own devising\u2013to instill in your daily routines a habit of gratitude and awareness of your many blessings.<\/p>\n Do you think you could make a few blessings (berakhot<\/em>) like these a habit? Do you think it would become too routine over time? What effect do you think it would have?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Not long ago I was in Florida at a speaking engagement when I learned that my old friend David would be speaking nearby at an event of his own. I hadn\u2019t seen him in years\u2013he lives in California and I live in Ohio\u2013so I contacted him and suggested we meet. We had a great time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":30806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[251],"tags":[62],"ppma_author":[465],"class_list":["post-24334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-pray","tag-blessings"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
\nLord God, thank You for clothes to wear; have mercy on those who go without adequate clothing.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nLord God, thank You for my job, even as I remember the unemployed.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nLord God, thank You for my health and for medicine that makes me healthier; have mercy on those who are sick or suffering.<\/em><\/li>\n
\nLord, I thank You for this home and all its comforts, even as I ask You to come to the aid of those without homes and those far from home.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nLord, thank You for light and electricity; have mercy on those who live in darkness, figuratively or literally.<\/em><\/li>\n
\nLord God, thank You for running water and indoor plumbing, even as I pray for those without such necessities.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n