Asher Yasar – The Importance and Basic Interpretation of the Beracha

Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

Maran, in the Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 6), presents a detailed explanation of the text of Asher Yasar (the Beracha recited after one uses the restroom). It is very uncharacteristic of Maran to include in the Shulhan Aruch an interpretation of a text. The Shulhan Aruch is a Halachic code which instructs what is permissible, forbidden and obligatory; it is not intended as an interpretation of liturgical texts. Evidently, Maran afforded particular importance to the recitation of the Beracha of Asher Yasar, and therefore found it worthwhile to present a detailed explanation of the text in the Shulhan Aruch. In the beginning of the Beracha, we give praise to Hashem for creating the human being "with wisdom" ("Asher Yasar Et Ha'adam Be'hochma"). Maran gives different interpretations of this phrase. Some explain that this refers to the fact that we have holes in our body, and yet the air inside us does not escape. If even a pinhole is opened in the surface of a balloon, all its air escapes. A living human being, however, has many holes in the surface of his body that lead into his interior, and yet he is able to maintain his air. This is the special "wisdom" inherent in the creation of the human being. Others explain this phrase to mean that Hashem created Adam and Eve last, after the rest of the creation was completed. If they had been created earlier, they would have had to wait, perhaps even several days, before they had something to eat. It was in God's "wisdom" that He first "set the table," so-to-speak, by planting the entire natural world, before creating mankind. After this phrase, we praise God for creating us with "Nekabim" and "Halulim." The term "Nekabim" refers to the exterior openings to the human body, such as the nostrils, the ears, the mouth, and the execratory organs. "Halulim," by contrast, refers to the holes inside our bodies, such as the ventricles of the heart, the lungs, the stomach and the intestines. We acknowledge in this Beracha that if any of these would open when it is supposed to be closed, or close when it is supposed to be open, we would be unable to survive for even a moment. God, in His infinite mercy, ensures that these openings function precisely as they must for us to continue living. We conclude the Beracha by describing the Almighty as "Rofeh Chol Basar U'mafli La'asot" ("Healer of every flesh, who acts wondrously"). God is a "healer," a "physician," as He enables us to remove the waste from our bodies. If, Heaven forbid, we would be unable to excrete the waste from our bodies, the toxins would remain inside us and kill us. Using the restroom is thus no less than a medical procedure, which is overseen by God Himself, and in this sense He is the "Healer of every flesh." The phrase "acts wondrously," as the Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles of Cracow, 1525-1572) explains in his glosses to the Shulhan Aruch, refers to the remarkable blending between the human being's physical and spiritual qualities. The realms of the physical and the spiritual are opposites, and yet God "wondrously" merges the two together and sustains their coexistence. This is truly nothing short of a miracle. Whenever we recite the Beracha of Asher Yasar, we should have at least these basic concepts in mind.