Death Tolls
During Elul we prepare ourselves for the Day of Judgment,
diligently searching for ways to perpetuate our existence for
another year. During this crucial time, anything that can
tilt the balance in our favor is a valuable asset, and
something that is specifically designated to spare a person
from early death is a precious commodity indeed.
Our Sages describe a certain mitzvah that fits this
description exactly.
For a certain period during the time of King David, one
hundred Jewish people died premature deaths every day. King
David made every effort to discover how to stop this epidemic
and, through Divine inspiration, he understood that the way
was through blessings. Accordingly, he instituted that every
Jew recite at least one hundred brochos each day. The
deaths stopped immediately (as cited in Tur 46 in the
name of Rav Notranai Gaon).
Almost every day, people suffering from sorrows and
tribulations would visit Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach,
imploring him to guide them on the road to salvation. Often
after consoling them, he would direct them to this special
mitzvah.
With a sense of awe, he would add that according to the
poskim, the decree for one hundred people to die every
day was never annulled, and that reciting one hundred
brochos was merely a "cure." Negligence in reciting
these brochos could, G-d forbid, cause the return of
this plague (Halichos Shlomoh 22 [92]; Bach
46).
The poskim offer an additional incentive to strengthen
oneself in this mitzvah as a preparation for the Days of Awe.
Right before Rosh Hashonoh we read the one hundred curses
listed in Parshas Ki Sovo (where 98 curses are
mentioned, plus sickness and injury in Devorim 28:61).
Saying one hundred brochos a day creates a protective
shield against these one hundred potential sources of
devastation (Kitzur Shulchan Oruch 6: 7).
Shabbos Treats
A Jew who completes all three tefillos daily is well
on his way to saying one hundred brochos. Together
with the blessings on food and the other blessings that one
recites during the course of the day, he easily reaches the
sum total.
However, on Shabbos and Yom Tov -- even with the extra
tefilloh of Musaf -- since the tefillos
are shorter one says fewer brochos overall. On these
days, one must be more vigilant to ensure that the full tally
is reached.
Exotic fruits and nuts, bonbons, sherbet, or other delicacies
all provide pleasurable opportunities to make up the missing
brochos of Shabbos and Yom Tov. Every Shabbos, one
should look for ways to make additional blessings
(Shulchan Oruch 290: 1). Aside from bringing a person
to one hundred brochos, honoring Shabbos with these
distinctive foods is an integral part of oneg
Shabbos.
"Whoever makes a brochoh she'eino tzrichah, an
unnecessary blessing, has said the Divine Name in vain. It is
as if he made a needless oath, and it is forbidden to answer
amen after his brochoh" (Shulchan Oruch
215: 4). The poskim warn that despite the
extraordinary importance of the mitzvah of making one hundred
brochos each day, one should be careful not to say
unnecessary blessings as a result. According to the Rambam,
saying a brochoh she'eino tzrichah is considered to be
an infringement of a Torah prohibition (Responsa Pe'er
Hador).
Therefore, if one has any doubts as to the need to make a
particular brochoh, a halachic authority should always
be consulted (see also Graz 215: 5; Oruch
HaShulchan 206: 12).
A well-known rav once visited someone's house for Shabbos and
asked his host for an apple and a banana. Before he sat down
to eat, he used the restroom, and when he came back he ate
only the apple. Seeing that his host was puzzled, the rav
explained that according to the Rambam one should try to keep
a count of how many brochos he has made each day
(Hilchos Tefilloh 7: 16). When he asked for the two
different fruits, he had been two short of one hundred
blessings, but after reciting the brochoh of Asher
Yotzar he no longer required the banana.
Deep Breaths
Although we cannot eat or drink on Yom Kippur, smelling
pleasant fragrances is permitted. While some opinions
prohibit this pleasure as well, the consensus of the
poskim is that inhaling fragrances is permitted, and
that it is even praiseworthy to do so to get to one hundred
brochos (Mishnah Berurah 612: 18).
Since when one act of smelling ends and a new one begins is
unclear, the poskim warn against making this
brochoh a number of times in close succession. In
order to avoid all halachic complications, the best option is
to obtain different types of scents, each one requiring a
different blessing.
Ideally, one should eat extra foods or smell fragrances to
achieve the goal of one hundred blessings a day (Magen
Avrohom 46: 8 as implied from Menochos 43b), but
the halochoh provides other means as well. One may
listen to the blessings of the person reading from the Torah
and Haftorah with intention to be included in his
brochos (Shulchan Oruch 284: 3) or, if all else fails,
one may be able to count the blessings of the chazan's
repetition of tefilloh (Mishnah Berurah 46: 14; see
also Ma'adanei Yom Tov on Rosh, Brochos 9:
24).
Some poskim suggest that the prayer Ein Kelokeinu
was established as a substitute for the brochos
missed by the shortened Shemoneh Esrei on Shabbos. On
Yom Kippur, this prayer is omitted and replaced by
Ahalelecha bekol ram, a prayer patterned on the format
of the weekday Shemoneh Esrei and inserted toward the
end of the chazan's repetition of the Shacharis
Amidah (Magen Avrohom 622: 1).
Although a number of the piyutim are omitted from the
tefilloh, Rav Shlomo Zalman was very adamant that this
particular prayer not be left out since it was established to
make up the large number of missing blessings on Yom Kippur
(Halichos Shlomo 22 [92].
Communication Gaps
One of the unfortunate consequences of the twenty-first
century's fast-paced, high-tech lifestyle is that people find
concentration increasingly difficult. Preoccupied as we are
with thoughts of communicating via cell phone, fax, email,
text messages, and voice mail, it is often difficult to carry
on a conversation with Hashem. Since total concentration
during the first blessing of Shemoneh Esrei is
obligatory, if a person lacks the proper intention, aren't
more than half of his one hundred Brochos in vain?
Rav Shlomo Zalman's answer to this question soothes our
agitation. He suggests that while full attentiveness is
required to fulfill the mitzvah of prayer, if one lacks this
concentration the brochos are not considered in vain,
and they can still be included in the count toward one
hundred blessings (Halichos Shlomo 8 [11]). Similarly,
if one must repeat Shemoneh Esrei because of an
omission (e.g., Ya'aleh Veyovo), the Brochos of
the first tefilloh are included in the tally (ibid.
8 [6]).
Women of Valor
Between organizing, running, and maintaining a household,
taking care of children and a husband, preparing meals and
performing the myriad other essential tasks that she does
during the course of her day, a woman cannot always find the
time to recite all one hundred brochos. Will she be
brought to task for falling short of this number?
The Beis Yosef includes the blessings on tallis and
tefillin in the list of one hundred brochos.
Since these and many of the other blessings that he mentions
are not recited by women, it is unlikely that our Sages
obligated them in this mitzvah (Responsa Shevet Halevi
5: 23). Rav Shlomo Zalman adds that even though women
could theoretically augment the number of brochos by
sampling different foods throughout the course of the day,
since this is not possible on Yom Kippur or other fast days,
women are exempt during a non-fast day (Halichos Shlomo
22 [44]).
Although a woman may not be able to fulfill the technical
aspects of reciting one hundred brochos, the
underlying principle of this mitzvah -- to develop a steady
relationship with Hashem -- is still within her reach, and
she can achieve this goal through other means.
G-d Fearing
"What (mah) does Hashem ask of you, but to fear Him?"
(Devorim 10: 12). The word for what (mah) can
alternatively be read mei'ah (one hundred), an
indication that the means of achieving fear of G-d is by
reciting one hundred blessings each day (Menochos
43b). How does their recitation accomplish this goal?
Turning to Hashem for everything that we need makes us
constantly aware of His Presence and eventually brings us to
fear Him. Therefore, we find that Yaakov Ovinu and Yosef
Hatzaddik constantly had the name of Hashem on their lips
(see Rashi, Bereishis 27:21; 39:3).
In more recent times, great Torah personalities such as the
author of Yesod Veshoresh Ho'avodoh and the Chazon Ish
emphasized that a person should pray for everything he needs,
no matter how great or small. Reciting one hundred
brochos a day is a means for developing such a
relationship -- before partaking of our needs, we first turn
to Hashem.
It is, however, only a beginning. Whenever one experiences
the slightest problem he should open his heart and turn to
his Father in Heaven for assistance. Conversely, when a
person feels a surge of joy or inspiration, he should turn
this feeling into an opportunity to approach to Hashem in
gratitude. In this way, even women and children who may not
be able to say one hundred blessings each day can constantly
bring Hashem into their lives.
In the merit of working on this fundamental goal of
connecting to Hashem through our prayers and blessings, may
we be privileged to reap all the benefits of this special
month, and constantly see Hashem's direct involvement with us
during the upcoming year.
(This article was reprinted from Days of Majesty,
available from Feldheim publishers.)
