Elokai Neshama | Rabbi Yossi Goldin | April 28 2026

Today we're going to discuss actually a a really really beautiful t'filah. And the t'filah is known as Elokai Neshama. So just as a just by just by introduction, where does it where does this where does this t'filah come from? So the Gemara in source number one, this is a Gemara that we've seen a lot already. We're going to continue to see it cuz it really is the source for many of the t'filot that we that we begin our day with. So the Gemara in source number one, I'm just bringing an introduction cuz it's interesting to see the the way that the Gemara actually puts or the order that it puts the various t'filot. So Gemara in source number one first earlier starts with the the t'filah of Asher Yatzar. Ki Nafik Omer, when a person leaves the bathroom, he should say Baruch Asher Yatzar Et Ha'adam B'chochma. V'chuli. Okay, that's the Gemara of Asher Yatzar which we spent a lot of time discussing before for everything before the war. We were discussing the t'filot. And then the Gemara later on discusses Hanichnas L'shan Al Mitato. When a person um enters their bed to go to sleep, Omer Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu he should say the first paragraph of Shema. V'omer Baruch Hamapil Chevlei Sheina Al Einai Ushneima Al Afappai. And he should say the bracha that's known as Hamapil which is a special t'filah that we say before we go to sleep. Again, we're not going to get into that t'filah now, but it's interesting to see that the Gemara quotes that pasuk, quotes that t'filah Baruch Atah Hashem Hameir La'olam Kulo Bichvodo. Then the Gemara continues Kimetaer which means when you get up, Omer, what's the first thing you should say? Elokai Neshama Shenatata Bi Tehorah Hi. Now we'll just translate the words themselves. Hashem, the the neshama, the soul that you have given me tehorah is pure. At and that was it's interesting here you'll see the text of the way that the Gemara the text that the Gemara brings is a little bit different than the actual text that we have because many of the Rishonim and later Achronim shift the text a little bit. So for example, we usually say tehorah hi. Here the Gamara doesn't have the word he. Here it says ataya tzarta bi, atana fachta bi. You uh also atagrata is missing. You created it, ataya tzarta, you shaped it, atana fachta bi, you blew it within me, you blew the blew it, we'll talk about that, that's a reference to the to the possuk in sefer Bereishit when God blows um life into into Adam Harishon. Ve'ata mishamra bi'kirbi, and you have watched it or kept it in me. Ve'ata atid l'tla'mi meni ul'chazira bi l'asid lavo, and you eventually will take it from me and then will return it back to me um as Rad Hashem um in the future. Kol zman ashehanishama bi'kirbi, all along, at any point, the whole time that this neshama is within me, modeh ani l'fanecha, I thank you Hashem, I Elokai v'Elokei avosai, my God and the God of my forefathers, Ribono shel Olam, Adon kol haneshamot, the master of the all of the worlds, the master of all souls, Baruch Ata Hashem Hamachazir neshamos l'fgarim meisim. Okay? Uh and we say thank you, uh Baruch Ata, blessed are you Hashem who returns their souls to literally it seems to me it refers to to dead bodies or to bodies, i.e. it's a reference to to to to to tchiat hameisim, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu will eventually bring us back to life and give us back our soul. So, the first thing that I wanted to show by bringing you this Gamara is it's very interesting the context in which Elokai neshama is mentioned. So, first of all, as you may notice, the the Gamara seems to suggest the first thing we should say when we wake up in the morning is Elokai neshama, but that's not what we do. And we mentioned this when we talked about modeh ani, that what happened was the Gamara initially suggests that you should say Elokai neshama. The challenge is is you can't say Elokai neshama when you first wake up, why? Because it has God's name and you haven't yet washed your hands and it's inappropriate to say God's name before you wash your hands. And that's why we ultimately moved Elokai neshama to later on, and it was at some point later on after the Gamara, it seems to be during the times of the Gaonim, Modeh Ani, which is a shorter tfila that does mirror a number of the same themes was instituted in in in place of Elo Kainu Shamayim. So, that's one thing that that is important to note. The other thing that is important to note is the way that the Gamara seems to put Elo Kainu Shamayim, it seems to put it as a bookend to what? To sleep. Okay. It's almost a parallel or it's almost connected to which other tfila? If I were to ask you right now, based on the way the Gamara phrases it, which bracha or which tfila is Elo Kainu Shamayim connected to? Hamapil, right? The way that the Gamara seems to phrase it is you say Hamapil before you go to sleep, you wake up, right? And then you wake up and then you say Elo Kainu Shamayim and therefore these two tfilot are almost two sides of the same coin, one before you go to sleep and one after you go to sleep. Okay? Now, that's important because it actually in the way that we say Elo Kainu Shamayim, we end up often connecting it to a different tfila, to a different bracha. Which bracha? Which bracha do we normally say Elo Kainu Shamayim immediately after? Asher Yatzar. Asher Yatzar. Well, some say it's true, some do say it later and in many siddurim it is later, but we're going to see that according to the Mishna Berurah at least it the ideal is to connect it specifically to the to to a bracha and many people connect it specifically to Asher Yatzar. Okay, now where does this come from? What's this idea of connecting Elo Kainu Shamayim to any to a bracha? It comes from a major question that all the Rishonim ask regarding Elo Kainu Shamayim. It starts with source number two. Source number two is a Gamara in Berachot where the Gamara mentions a general rule regarding Berachot. Kedei Tanya, we learned in a braisa, Kol Habrachot kulan poteiach bahen be baruch vechoteim bahen be baruch. a general rule, all Berachot that we have, a general rule for all across the board for all Berachot is they need to start with the words Baruch and they should end with the words Baruch. Okay, meaning a classic example would be I don't know I'm just trying to pick pick a classic example. Um Baruch She'amar is a good one or even the the last Bracha we say in in um Birkhot Hashachar Hama'avir Sheina. So we say Baruch Atah Hashem Elokeinu Melech Ha'olam Hama'avir Sheina Me'einai U'te'numah Me'af'apai. And then at the end we say Gomel Hasadim Tovim Le'amo Yisrael. Is that right? That's the end of the Bracha, right? Okay, right meaning a classic Bracha is one that begins with Baruch and ends with with Baruch. Continues the Gemara except for a number of exceptions. What are some exceptions? Chutz Hanehenin. Okay, when do I say when I say Shako it starts with Baruch. It doesn't end with Baruch. Why? Because it's so short. That's what most poskim explain it as because it's so short, therefore you don't need to close with Baruch. It starts with Baruch and it's a very short Bracha. Or Birkhot Hamitzvot. Many Birkhot Mitzvah are also very short, right? The Bracha Al Netilat Yadayim. Al Netilat Yadayim. Many of the Brachot that we do before we do a Mitzvah are very one-themed short Brachot and those Brachot will start but they won't necessarily have another Baruch at the end. Continues the the Gemara. What's another example? U'vracha Hasmuha Lehaverta. If you have two Brachot what and and the second Bracha is said immediately after the first Bracha, then sometimes that second Bracha won't begin with Baruch. Okay, meaning if you put two Brachot next to each other and the second Bracha does not begin is said immediately after, then you're not then says the Gemara you don't necessarily need to open the second Bracha with Baruch. A good example. Well, a good example is going to eventually be Elokai Neshamah. That's what Benei Yissachar say. But meaning I'm trying to think right now. A good example I'm blanking. I'm sorry. I can't think of a specific. Sorry. Ahavah Rabbah is a Some do say that. Some do say that for Ahavah Rabbah that for example right after you said you'll say Ahavah Rabbah does not start with Baruch and many do There's different explanations why and one of the explanations is is because it's you're saying it immediately after a bracha that just ended and therefore we don't begin Ahavah Rabbah with Baruch. We just start with Ahavah Rabbah and end with Baruch. Okay? Yes. But has Baruch in the beginning. So why >> Ah, good. why would you even think that it should be a a good another bracha connected to it. It has a a bracha. So therefore what? So So it's a bracha that stands on its own. Why do you need to add all the kind of shalom No, so that again, just because you have a you'll say I mean using the example of of of of Ahavah Rabbah for example that you just mentioned, you'll say also begins and ends. The what what happens with the first bracha is less relevant. It's more for the second bracha. If the second bracha is Ahavah Rabbah, if the second bracha is said immediately after a bracha, then that one doesn't necessarily need to start. It doesn't matter if the first one began and end began began and end began and ended with a bracha. Good. Yes, correct. In the morning, correct. So that's good. Correct. Correct. And another question's going to Well, the question is whether conceptually it's still it's it's still is connected even if practically we don't do it nowadays. The fact that the bracha suggested we're going to get to some of I think I think some of what you're suggesting but we'll we'll get to it. Yes. Ah. is a classic example. Again, we're going to get Yes, it's it's an excellent question. Excellent question. Hold off on that question for a second, okay? Cuz that's exactly what's going to happen. Meaning the bracha is now giving us a rule. The rule is bracha needs to start with Baruch and they need to end with Baruch. The few except The few exceptions that are listed in the bracha are those that are very very short, birkot hamitzvah, birkot hanehenin, and a and a bracha that is samuch l'chavero, it's a bracha that's always said right after a different bracha, then you don't need to start with with baruch. And then the gemara brings uv'racha rishona shel kriat shema. Another another another exception is emet v'emunah u'met v'yatziv, which we say at the end of kriat shema, where that doesn't start with baruch, even though you had shema, it's not connected to a bracha. Okay? Yesh mehen shepoteach b'hemen baruch v'ein chotem b'baruch v'yesh mehen shechotem b'hemen baruch v'ein lo poteach b'baruch. Says the gemara basically, if it's in the situation of these exceptions, within these exceptions, some of them will start with baruch, some of them will end with baruch, some won't, because these are exceptions to the rule, but the general rule is you always start with baruch and end with baruch, except for birkot hatorah, birkot sorry, birkot hamitzvah, birkot hanehenin, and anything which is what's called samuch l'chavero. Many of the rishonim ask the following question. They say, "Wait a second, what about Eloheinu shamayim?" And they also ask, by the way, about birkat haderech. They say, "Why is it that birkat haderech doesn't have a bracha before, and it's not samuch l'chavero, you don't say it before anything?" By the way, there are some poskim who actually suggest, this is just a side point, that you should actually say a bracha, some people have the minhag that you should before you say birkat haderech, you say like a sh'hakol, or you say something, because that way it is samuch l'chavero, that the yehi ratzon is actually samuch l'chavero. There's a chuma that many people that some people have to do that because of this issue. But for our purposes, let's get to the question of uh of Eloheinu shamayim. What about Eloheinu shamayim? Eloheinu Ask ask the rishonim, Eloheinu shamayim doesn't start with baruch, and it doesn't seem to be samuch l'chavero. It doesn't seem to be connected to any of the other brachot. So, that is what all the rishonim ask. So, the a number of answers are suggested, and I think they're all important for us in helping us to identify and understand the major themes of this bracha of Eloheinu shamayim. So, answer number one is the Rashba, source number three. And he gives a a bit of a you know, an easy answer. He says, "The love this is not a hard fast rule. This rule that it always starts with Baruch and ends with Baruch is not a hard fast rule cuz there are some exceptions. What are some exceptions? You have your Elohai Nishama. You have your Elohai Nishama. It doesn't follow the rule. You have and you also have as you said derech. You have tzara. Tzara is a reference to the of Nenu. Those are there is a there is a bracha that is said that for those people who traveling and can't say the full esrei. So, there's a shorter version of esrei that you can say that doesn't that doesn't open up with Baruch. That's another example of a bracha that doesn't open with Baruch. And you have bracha that is a special that people used to be brings it that used to be said to thank Hashem for the rain. Not the or it was a special text that was said to thank Hashem for the rain. It doesn't open with Baruch. So, says the Rashba based on that it must be this rule is a general rule but it has other exceptions too. That's the that's the Rashba's explanation. Many other give different explanations. What does the Rash say? Look at source number four, the Rash. Says the Rash in source number four, says the Rash you should make sure not to have a have sick, not to have an interruption between the bracha of and he says Allah. Because that way Elohai Nishama is considered to be a bracha as Allah have a it becomes a bracha that is now said immediately after another bracha. And that's why it doesn't open with Baruch. So, the Rash's answer is This isn't this is part this is one of the exceptions. We have a rule that a bracha that is a bracha. We say it doesn't have to open with Baruch and we say Elohai Nishama right after you have tzara. We're going to see soon practically whether a La Mesa that's what you should do, but that's the opinion of the Rash. Tosfos doesn't like that explanation. Tosfos is bothered by by that that explanation. Look at source number five. Look at source number five again on this Gemara that discusses the need to open and close with Baruch. If you go to the bottom the bottom line. Um sorry, one second. If you go to the bottom of the the bottom line in the middle of the line Elokai Neshama Amay Ena Potahad Baruch. Why is it that Elokai Neshama does not start with Baruch? Give me one second. Sorry. The Ena the uh sorry. The Ena Smuchal Asher Yatzar. He says you can't suggest that it's just Smuchal because I always say it after Asher Yatzar. Why? He says because there might be a certain circumstance where you would say Elokai Neshama and you wouldn't say Asher Yatzar. For example, Kigaon in low bomb in hand to come let's say you didn't go to the bathroom in the morning. Okay, so we actually saw that some people say that even if you didn't go to the bathroom in the morning you should still say Asher Yatzar cuz maybe it's a a Tfilat of Hoda'ah, but but but says Tosfos he he passes if you didn't go to the bathroom in the morning and you still just woke up, you still need to say Elokai Neshama and you're not going to say Asher Yatzar. So in which case there is going to be certain moments or certain times where you're going to say Elokai Neshama and not say Asher Yatzar. So he says the adopt to her wrote aim to live with Asher Yatzar. So we're back to our question. Why does Elokai Neshama not open with Baruch? It's not considered Smuch. You can't say that it's considered Smuch connected to Asher Yatzar cuz sometimes you say it without Asher Yatzar. So why doesn't it open with Baruch? Says the Tosfos with Sarich Lomar hold the ain't but Ella Hoda'ah the alma on the rule. Since this Bracha is a Bracha of thanks, a bracha of shevach what we would call shevach v'hoda'ah, einah potachat b'varuch, it doesn't need to open with the words baruch. Any t'fillah which is thanks and not asking for something but just thanking Hashem for something, that kind of that kind of bracha does not follow the rule that it always needs to open with open with baruch. U'v'chol makom chotemet b'varuch ho'il v'haruchakta, but it still ends with baruch since it is a bit of a long of a long bracha. Okay, so a Tosfos is giving us a second answer. Answer number one was the reason why it doesn't open with baruch is because it's considered samuch to Asher Yatzar. Answer number two is, says Tosfos, it's because it's a different type of bracha, it's a bracha a birkat hoda'ah. And a birkat hoda'ah doesn't necessarily because of the nature of what it is, it's all about giving thanks, it's not asking for things. And therefore it doesn't need to open with baruch atah Hashem Elokeinu Melech ha'olam. That's answer number two. The Ra'avad in source number six gives another suggestion, a third suggestion. And the reason why I wanted to see all of these answers is cuz I believe that each of these answers helps us conceptually understand the beauty and the nature of what Asher Yatzar is all about. Look at source number six. So the Ra'avad, "Lammah ein birkat Elokai nishmati potachat b'varuch?" Why doesn't Elokai nishmati open with the baruch v'lo matbe'ah aruch, which is a long bracha, v'einah smucha, and it doesn't seem to be connected to any other brachot? So if you look, we're going to skip the first answer of the Ra'avad for now. The answer the second answer of the Ra'avad, "V'od yesh lomar." "V'od yesh lomar." And this is a famous suggestion of the Ra'avad. "V'od yesh lomar mipnei she'beirach kodem ha'sheinah." Because you made a bracha before you went to sleep, "assuha k'virkat hallel she'habracha she'm'varech acharav einah potachat b'varuch mipnei she'smucha l'virkat >> So says the Ravid, the reason why we don't open up with Baruch for Elokainu because it is some of the other time. It is some to a different Baruch, but not a Sharia like you thought. It's some to Hamapil. It's connected to Hamapil. And even though you're going to say, "Wait a second. Connected to Hamapil? I sleep for I don't know minimum 3 4 5 6 7 8 hours. There's a big break between Hamapil and between and between Elokainu. How can that be considered some of the other time? So says the Ravid, I'll give you an example. He says Hallel. The Baruch of Hallel we open with the Baruch of Hallel. Baruch Hashem Elokainu asher mitzvotav lanu likro et Hallel. At the very end of Hallel, we also have a Baruch that begins with the words Yihalelucha and ends with Melech Mulai Tishbachot. And the Gemara says that that's considered some of the other time because as long as you're still involved in the tefillah of Hallel, that's considered to be some. Says the Ravid, since this is all about sleep, the Baruch you make before you go to sleep and the Baruch you make after you go to sleep, even though there's time in between, that's not considered a hefsek. That's considered some of the other time. And therefore, we don't open with Baruch when we have when we have the tefillah of Elokainu. So just to sum And so just to summarize what we've seen so far. We have a Gemara asked why it is Sorry, 1 minute. The Gemara asked why it is that we that the Baruch of Elokainu does not begin with the word Baruch. That seems to follow the rules of of the Gemara in Berachot. And we have three reasons. The Gemara in Sorry, the the Rosh suggests that it's some of the other time. It is some of the other time because we say it right after a sharia tsar. Toast force did not like that answer cuz he said, "Wait a second. Sometimes we say we say a look on the small without saying a look at sharia tsar. You can't call it some of the other time if you say it one without the other." And therefore, he suggested that it's because this is a bracha for the eye. It's a bracha that's all about giving thanks to a kadosh baruchu. A bracha that's all about giving thanks to a kadosh baruchu, you don't need to open with the word with doesn't have doesn't have to follow the rule of opening with baruch. The last answer is the answer of the rivid that suggests that this is some of the other time but which bracha is it some of the other time to? It's some of the other time to hamapil. Now again, even though you might say that but we don't do that, I think that the answer of the rivid is very important in terms of understanding how he views this bracha. It could be that for practical reasons we're going to see, we do it differently than what was done initially in the gamara. But the idea that the rivid sees this as the other side of hamapil is something that I think will will will be important. Yes. Uh I don't know. It's a good question. Meaning I don't know. It could be he'll say he'll I imagine he would say that he still have to wash your hands. But it could be he would say that that's just still be the first feel I you say when you when when you get up in the morning. It's a good question. It's a good question. Now, just interestingly enough, the avudraham avudraham is another of one of the rishonim. He asked this question and he and he quotes both the rush and the rivid and rejects them both. We're not going to see it inside for now. He rejects the rush to say that it's a sharia tsar that's that it's some of the other time to a sharia tsar for the reason we said because sometimes you say one without the other. He also rejects the rivid. He says the rivid's understanding that this is this is some of the other time to hamapil also isn't good. Also isn't a good answer. Why? He says because forget about going to sleep, sometimes you do other things when at night. There are times where a husband and wife are going to be intimate together. There are sometimes things where a person is going to be doing other things during the night besides sleeping. And that would be a have sake between the two brachot. And therefore, he says, it doesn't make sense to view them as And the Avudraham therefore suggests, like like Tosfos, he says it must be because it's a birkat a birkat hodah. So, again, you have a very vibrant conversation here amongst the rishonim trying to understand why Elokai Nishmas does not open with baruch, and we see a number of different reasons. Now, the biggest practical nafka minah, the biggest practical difference between the between all of these answers is nowadays, when we wake up in the morning, we know that we don't start with Elokai Nishmas cuz we haven't washed our hands. So, we say Modah Ani instead. Should I make sure that I say Elokai Nishmas right after Asher Yatzar, or after at least a different bracha, after some bracha in order because of this issue of samuch l'chaverta? So, let's let's see the Look at the Shulchan Aruch. Says the Shulchan Aruch in source number eight, birkat Elokai Nishmas einah potachat bibaruch. The bracha of Elokai Nishmas does not open up with baruch. Bibnei shehi birkat hodah. Because it is a bracha that is all about giving thanks. U'virkat habirkat hahodaot ein potachat bibaruch k'moshe matzinu bibirkat hagishamim. And we have seen in other examples, specifically the t'filah that we say after rain, that the bracha a bracha that is all about thanks to Hashem does not need to open with baruch. It doesn't have to follow the rule. Okay? So, according to the Shulchan Aruch, and this is And there are some people who have this minhag, you can say Elokai Nishmas separately from all other from all other brachot. You don't have to put it right after Asher Yatzar. You can say And many siddurim happen to have it after Adon Olam and Ma Tovu, and they have it at the very end, Elokai Nishmas. However, look at the Mishnah Berurah. The Mishnah Berurah in source in in right here in source eight, ve'einah bracha smucha l'chaverta, and it's not a bracha that is samuch l'chaverta, v'lachen rashai lomar baboker k'mo ad Elokai Nishmas, u'veveit hakneset yat'chil Elokai Nishmas. And that's why, he the Mishnah Berurah, according to the Shulchan Aruch, you can say everything else up until Elokai Neshama earlier. And when you get to show, you can say Elokai Neshama by itself cuz it doesn't need to be said next to next to another another bracha. "U mi kol makom", but then he says, "Yesh la'asot Elokai Neshama tair tov." Says the Mishna Berurah, but the most ideal thing to do is la'asmiach Elokai Neshama l'virkat Asher Yatzar. Ideal thing to do is to try to be okay all the opinions because the one opinion was it doesn't need to be doesn't need to be someuch l'chaverta. But we saw other opinions that it should be someuch l'chaverta. And therefore he says the best thing to do is to say Elokai Neshama after Asher Yatzar. Right after you say Asher Yatzar, say Elokai Neshama "Ain b'vir haguf b'siman mem vav she'da'ato gam kein d'virkat Elokai Neshama smucha d'virkat Asher Yatzar. Al kein nachon l'hizaher bazeh l'chatchila." And therefore that is the most ideal. So that is the way the Mishna Berurah paskens that ideally a person should say Elokai Neshama right after Asher Yatzar. why many people have the minhag to do so. Again, there are different minhagim of how to do this. Some as we've as we've discussed, the order of these different brachot, there's various different minhagim. I personally say Asher Elokai Neshama after Asher Yatzar, but there are many people and you can see in many different siddurim who put Elokai Neshama separately. You can definitely follow whichever one is your minhag or what you've what you've been doing because there's definitely as you can see the Shulchan Aruch clearly says that that that that is okay. Now this was all again a very important halachic conversation, but it really was to to me an introduction to how to understand the content or to really appreciate the content of this bracha. This is a beautiful bracha. Really really is. I mean and I you know I feel privileged that we're going to be going through it together to really appreciate it. Sometimes you need to just go through the words cuz these are words that we say every day. Every single day and yet the the beauty in this bracha and and the lessons we can learn from this bracha is really really beautiful. So the what I want to just mention is again to summarize each of the three opinions that we've seen and see how they're going to highlight different themes within within the bracha of of of of Elochai Neshama. So the first we saw we had asked again, why does the bracha not begin with baruch? One explanation was the explanation of Tosafot. The explanation of Tosafot was that because this is a birkat hodah. Okay? And that really already puts an important theme for us to be thinking about, which is what is this bracha all about? Thanking Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Okay? There are some brachot that have a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Sometimes we thank Hashem and then at the end we ask him for things, right? Sometimes we have a a mix of the two. This is a bracha that when you go through this bracha, this is all about thank you Hashem for everything you've given me. And I appreciate what you've given me. Thank you Hashem for giving me my neshama. This neshama is holy. Thank you the whole time that you've given it to me. Thank you. It's all about giving thanks to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The second opinion that we saw was we saw um the the opinion of the right of the Rosh that connected this bracha to Asher Yatzar. Thematically, what is the significance of connecting the bracha of Asher Yatzar and the bracha of of of Elochai Neshama? So it's the following. Exactly. Body and soul. What is Asher Yatzar? Asher Yatzar is the most mundane bracha. The most It goes into explicit detail about how my body functions. It is the most physical bracha. It is a bracha describing and thanking Hashem for the guf for the body that he has given us and that it works. And then right after that we have a bracha that is all about the soul. And the and and putting the two together, the juxtaposition of these two of these two brachot is actually quite inspiring because it's recognizing that we are made of a body and soul and therefore we thank Hakadosh Baruch Hu both for the way that our body functions and for the privilege to have a soul. And and the best way understand this is actually something we've seen before, but I want to highlight it again. If you look at source number nine, the Shulchan Aruch goes through the bracha of Asher Yatzar. At the very end, he asks, "What is the What does it mean U Mafli La'asot?" What does it mean when we say at the end of Asher Yatzar, "Baruch Ata Hashem, Rofei Kol Basar, U Mafli La'asot?" And it is wondrous Simple explanation is wondrous to do or what he does is wondrous. What exactly does that mean? So, there's different interpretations. The Shulchan Aruch says that the beauty of it is that is that the soul that we have within us, even though we have all these holes in our body, it doesn't exit the body. But the Rama, at the very end, look at Look at the Rama. The Rama At the end At the end of source number nine, where the where the where the where the words get a little bit smaller. The Ohr Yisrael Mafli La'asot. Shema Mafli La'asot. What is the wonder? What is the wonder that we're thanking Hashem for? B'ma'aseh Shomer Ruach Adam B'kirbo V'kosher Davar Ruchani V'davar Gashmi. The most wonderful thing that we are thanking Hashem, the Pele of Mafli La'asot, is the concept of this connection between our physical body and our spiritual soul. The fact that the two go together and work in harmony, and that it brings us to life in the way that it does, that, says the Rama, that is the Mafli La'asot. Hashem takes something that is purely spiritual, our soul, and connects it to something which is purely physical, our body. That connection, that Chibur, says the Rama, that is the Mafli La'asot. That is the wondrous thing. Ki Az Shehu Orei'ach Hakol Hu Al Yedei Shehu Rofei Kol Basar. Ki Az Adam B'kav B'riyut U'vnishmato Mishtameret B'kirbo. It is through our physical body that works and that is healthy, and that within that is our soul, that is what creates who we are. And so, if anything, what we see here is that the for the Rama, the fact that we end our Shacharit with this phrase is the best transition to Elokai Neshama. We just talked about our physical body, and then we say thank you Hashem because our physical body isn't just a physical body, but it's connected to a soul. And then we go immediately into Elokai Neshama. And so there's something very beautiful about this chibur between our soul and our bodies. Yes? Sure. Which which part? Hamachazir No, so it's a good question. Hamachazir literally the way that we're phrasing is we're just we're praising Hashem that he is going to do it. It's a confidence as opposed to please do. You are correct that sometimes we do say that, but in the way that it's phrased, Baruch Ata Hashem, blessed are you Hashem that you return the nishamot to the to to the dead bodies. We're not asking him to. We're we're we're praising him that this is what he does. It's like a confidence of some sort. So so it's just the way it's phrased, but you are correct that sometimes that could we also do uh but here in this case we don't. Okay? So what we've seen here again is the connection that Elokai Neshama really highlights the the beauty and the connection between our soul and our body. With that I'd like to then now transition into understanding some of this bracha. The bracha is beautiful. We begin we we begin with Elokai. What does Elokai mean? My God. Meaning not my God like oh my God, like my God like my Hashem. Hashem that is that is the my personal Hashem. Neshama shenatata bi tehora hi. The neshama that you have given me is is holy. So interestingly enough, if you look at source number 10, Rabbi Shimon Schwab in his commentary on tefillah notes two strange things about this tefillah. Number one, how often do we do do we refer to Hashem as Elokai? It's a little bit different. It's a very very personal type of connection. Usually we say Baruch Ata Hashem Elokeinu. Elokai is number one in the first person, which is a little bit unusual cuz most of our tefillot are in the plural as opposed to in the singular. And Elokai sounds very personal. Look at Rebbe Shimon Schwab in source number 10. The wording of this bracha in the first person singular emphasizes the strict strictly personal nature of one's own neshama. In utilizing the word Elokai, my God, one expresses a most personal relationship with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. With the words neshama shenatata bi, the soul that you placed within me, the individual is referring to his own personal and unique neshama, which is unlike any other neshama. The bi, shenatata bi, me, is uniquely personal. Hakadosh Baruch Hu has breathed some of his uniqueness into every one of us. In saying this tefillah, one should be aware of his own individual personality, having within him a neshama that is totally unique. No two neshamot are exactly alike. No one in the world ever had or will have a neshama like mine. What I feel no one in the world shares. The most astute psychoanalyst in the world cannot really understand the depth of me. Only Elokai, only the the the God that I had that is my God that I have a personal relationship with with whom I have a personal relationship truly knows me. So Elokai neshama shenatata bi is already opening up with this very personal type of relationship. It's Hashem that is mine, and we're talking about this that you have given me which is personal and unique and unique for me. But even more than that, what we're stressing is, and this is this is this is the key, what we're stressing is neshama shenatata bi tehorahi. It is fundamentally tahor. I, my soul, no matter what, no matter what I did the day before, no matter what I did three days ago, no matter what I've done before, my soul is holy. My soul is is is it is pure. In fact, if you look at the Gemara, um I think I actually might be that I put it without a source. The Gemara Maseches Berachos is it is it without a source? I uh Yeah. Yeah, right after source 11. The source in between 11A we'll call it or 11 and a half. If you look at the Gemara, the this is a this is a Gemara in Berachos. The Gemara says, "Why does it say Hani Chamisha Barchi Nafshi?" K'neged me amran David, there are five versions There are five parts of Barchi Nafshi. What are they all Why are there five different parts? Lo amran ela k'neged Hakadosh Baruch Hu k'neged anishama. We're saying them corresponding to Hashem and to the nishama. Ma Hakadosh Baruch Hu maleh kol ha'olam, just like Hashem fills up the whole world, af nishama maleh es kol haguf, so too our soul fills up our entire body. Ma Hakadosh Baruch Hu ro'eh v'eino nir'eh, just like Hashem sees but is not seen, af nishama ro'ah v'eina nir'es, so too our soul sees but is not seen. Ma Hakadosh Baruch Hu zan es kol ha'olam kulo, just like Hakadosh Baruch Hu feeds or gives sustenance to the whole world, af nishama zanah es kol haguf, so too the nishama, the soul, feeds and gives sustenance to our body. Ma Hakadosh Baruch Hu tahor, just like Hakadosh Baruch Hu is holy, af nishama tahorah, so too our nishama is tahor, is holy. Ma Hakadosh Baruch Hu yoshev b'chadrei chadarim, just like Hakadosh Baruch Hu sits in the in the in the deeper most chamber, af nishama yosheves b'chadrei chadarim, so too our soul sits sits deep within within us. Yavo misheyesh bo chamisha d'varim ha'elu, let the being that has these five things, i.e. our nishama, v'yishabach and should praise l'misheyesh bo chamisha d'varim, they should pray bring praise to those five things. And that's why it's called Barchi Nafshi. Our soul Our soul is giving a bracha, is bringing praise to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And so this Gemara highlights what what we're saying in this tefillah, which is fundamentally our neshama is holy. In fact, look at source number 12, Rabbi Dr. Elie Munk in his very wonderful work on tefillah, called The Work of Prayer, he points out some a very important theological point that is being mentioned here. The this declaration is a clear and categorical denial of the Christian dogma of original sin. It is not true that the soul has been darkened by the fall of man, that man is inherently corrupt. The soul which God has given me is pure. This confession should be recited by man upon awakening from his sleep. At this moment, more than at any other time, man has no evil lingering in his breast. As yet, he is full free of all passion and unsullied by impure thoughts. Only through contact with the realities of life is the heavenly purity of the soul made dim. With the dawn of the new day, however, man feels reborn. His innermost being is cleansed of all impurities. He is reconciled to his fate and to his fellow men. He is filled with fresh intentions and goodwill. For this reason, at least so it seems to us, this paragraph retains the first person and does not follow the rule of that Bracha. It is I, the totality of each man's experience, which should bear witness to the pure purity of the soul. And so, what he is suggesting here is that it it by saying this, we're first of all, we're obviously showing that theologically, uh we we we we we reject the concept that we are now ultimately bad or the concept of original sin. Rather, we believe that we are, in the words of the Tanya and in the words of the of the Rebbe, chelek Eloka mima'al mamash. We are a part of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. When Hakadosh Baruch Hu breathed his soul into us, that gives us a spark, a part of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and that is our neshama, which is pure and untarnished. No matter what we do, that soul is pure. If you look at source number 14, Rabbi Twerski, Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, says this as well. The awareness that we have a divine neshama within us should banish feelings of inferiority. We should therefore not have any difficulty in feeling and expressing gratitude. This not only provides us with the self-esteem that enables us to acknowledge and express gratitude, but also empowers us to make this day a spiritual one, regardless of how we may have acted in the past. The awareness that we have a divine neshama should banish feeling of of inferiority. And therefore, what the whole idea of this tfilah is to help give us a boost to recognize that I'm starting my day, and by the way, that now gets us This also brings us to the to the other connection. The theme of seeing a Elokai nishmati as the as the as the second part of a mapil is the other thing that I wanted to highlight. Why is it that this is the the best time to say this bracha? Because the beginning of the day is when we start anew. Because much of this bracha, as we're going to see now, is also talking about Hakadosh Baruchu taking our soul every night, returning it to us in the morning, which also gives us a taste of tchiat hametim. The second major theme of this bracha is not just the purity of our soul, but the recognition that Hakadosh Baruchu takes our soul, gives it back to us, and that is ultimately what he's going to do when we pass on and with tchiat hametim. And so, the other opinion of the Ravid, seeing Elokai nishmati as the book end to sleep, is another way is the is is is to highlight this other major theme within the bracha of Elokai nishmati. But before we move on to the rest of the tfilah, I want to just focus on this point for 1 second. This is probably the most important point, I believe, in this in this bracha. Is the recognition, both within us and in terms of how we see other people, Elokai nishmati she atata li tehorahi. The The soul that you have given you given me is pure, which means that no matter what guilt we have and whatever past things we may have done, we have to recognize that fundamentally we are a pure soul. We are a pure soul, and that is who we are, and that is how we should look at ourselves, and that is how we should look at others. This uh by the way, I don't know if how many of you have ever have seen this, but there was a a beautiful video that was going around regarding this tfila that is connected to one of the survivors of the Nova of the of the Nova of the Nova festival. The boy's name is his name was name a name by the name a boy the name of Yehuda Becher. Yehuda Becher came from a religious family. He himself was not religious. Um and and there there is a video, some say it's the video of him on his way to Nova, some say it's a video of him maybe a little bit earlier, but nonetheless the power of it is beautiful. There's a video of him singing this song as he's driving. And this was a non-religious boy singing the song Elokai neshama she natata bi tehora hi. And again maybe I'll even ask do they have a WhatsApp group for everyone in this for the for this year? So maybe I'll ask I'll I'll ask I'll ask I don't know I'm not in there, but I'll ask them to send the send a video of of of of him for those of you who want to wait till after Sefirah till after you're more than welcome. People I'll send you the video. It's a beautiful video of him singing it, and there is a there was also a video of Rabbi Manis Friedman talking about the beauty of this child and this of this boy was not child, he was I think 20 20-something years old, but the simplicity of him singing this song and how it shows and again it's representative of all of those people who were at that festival despite the things that they may have been doing and you know, we're we're not going to get in that's not our that's not for us to judge or to even really question. But it what it highlights is Elokai neshama she natata bi tehora hi. Every single one, whatever they may have been doing, whatever we may have been doing, fundamentally we are holy, fundamentally we are tahor, and and he points out that if you watch this video, you see as this boy is singing this song Elokai neshama she natata bi tehora hi, you see the the happiness on his face and the result and how he really believes that love from Hakadosh Baruchu, and despite the fact that maybe he wasn't actively religious, It's clear that the neshama within him was lighting up from the understanding of having a very deep connection to Hakadosh Baruchu. So we need to I will send I'll ask them to send it to the group for those who would like. There's actually two videos. One is a Rabbi Manis Friedman talking about it and there's actually a video of Yehuda's brothers who then cuz it's a specific tune that wasn't so well known to this to this tfila and then his brother Yehuda's brothers produced a a song produced a a single of them singing the song with a with a well-known singer again in memory in memory of Yehuda and it just highlights again this concept and I think it's a beautiful thing to add to our to to what we're talking about today. So now let's move on to the rest of the rest of the tfila. Ata Barata, Ata Yatzarta, Ata Nafachta Bi. and you blew it within me. Okay, so interestingly enough, we saw two out of the three of these phrases in Asher Yatzar. Which one which one did we not see in Asher Yatzar? Nafachta, exactly. Right? We had in Asher Yatzar we say Asher Yatzar Et Ha'adam Bechochma U'varvo. Those phrases of Yatzar and Bara are there in Asher Yatzar relation to the to the physical body and also the word Mafli La'asot, the word Asa is also the verb Asa is mentioned in connection to Asher Yatzar and here we have two out of the three. Ata Barata, Ata Yatzarta, Ata Nafachta Bi. So what does it mean Ata Yatzarta Ata Barata Ata Yatzarta? So we noted back then that many Meforshim suggest that the difference between Bara and Yatzar is that Bara refers to what's called creation Yesh Me'ayin, which means to create something out of nothing. That is what usually the word Bara means in the Torah. Yatzar means to take something that already exists and to shape it. That's why I translate it as you created it and you shaped it. And here we're and then here we're saying to Hakadosh Baruchu, you created my soul, you shaped it the and then the the last thing we're adding which is only relevant to the soul and not relevant to our bodies nafakhta bi from the phrase in the safer Bereishit va'yifach be'apav nishmat chayim. That God breathed into Adam HaRishon a neshama of life. And that is exactly what we're saying we're referencing that as we say atah atah atah atah nafakhta bi. Interestingly enough there's another interpretation for these three phrases. The Rashash in source number 15 actually suggests that these phrases atah barata atah yatzarta atah nafakhta bi is a reference to the three levels of the soul. Okay, this is getting a little bit Kabbalistic for me so I'll read it. I don't I can't say I fully understand it but I think on a basic level I understand it. HaNeshama bilishnah dikra we're in source number 16 kolelet kol chelkei ha'nefesh. The neshama here is referring to three all the parts of the soul. Shehem shloshah there's three parts to the soul nefesh ruach and neshama. Kemo shekatuv ba'Kubbalim gam ha'filosofim ve'al ve'al davar zeh amar ba'gimmel leshonot elu and that's what these three languages are. Atah barata bi et ha'nefesh so the first is the nefesh ha'nefesh ha'tivit which is the first most mundane physical level of of the nefesh which according to I from as I understand it even exists that's the that's the in in all things that grow even in vegetation that grow that's the lowest level. She'ne'emar va'yivra'ehu Elohim et ha'adam ve'atah yatzarta bi and you also created within me al ha'ruach ha'chiyunit which is a higher level spirit which is given to all living beings both humans and and animals. She'ne'emar va'yitzer Hashem Elohim et ha'adam and then the third level which is only in human beings ve'atah nafakhta bi al ha'neshama ha'sichlit and then you also blew within me the highest level neshama which is va'yifach be'apav nishmat chayim. Okay. Then we continue with the with this atah and you have kept it or you have guarded it within me. So many of the just because of the time I'll say things outside many of the but this is a reference to the fact that this which is made of pure holiness because it is a purely spiritual being is constantly earning to return to and therefore has to almost keep it within our body because our body is physical and our is holy and therefore always trying to tell me tell me tell me sorry means that has to keep our soul here. Our soul wants to return to and we're saying to thank you for the opportunity that it stays here. Thank you for the opportunity to have my to enable me to do to do what I do but yet I recognize with many that eventually you will take it from me when I when I pass away. But I do know that I also know that even though you're going to take it away from me when I pass away I do know that you will return it to me eventually in the future I a reference to reference to the revival of the of the dead. Then we continue in the call mode I need a sham the look at reborn call I don't call here again we turn to and we say I know eventually you're going to take it from me but I thank you while I still have it. Thank you mode I need the symbol of understanding is I'm thinking you that you as long as it's still here I thank you for the opportunity to have my and to activate it and to do and to do what I do. Although interestingly enough if you look very briefly in source number 20 Rabbi Schwab in his suggests that mode here doesn't mean thanks. There's another explanation for the word mode that can also mean to admit. The word mode so in source number 20 is used in the sense of modeh ani lifanecha, meaning admission or acknowledgement, meaning as long as I am alive and have my neshama, I openly acknowledge that you are, meaning modeh ani lifanecha Hashem Elokeinu v'Elokei avoseinu means not just thank you. According to this understanding, it means I admit or I declare that you are my God and you are the God of my forefathers and you are Ribon Kol HaMasim, Adon Kol HaNishamos. So, again, remembering that the word modeh can also mean thank you and it can also mean I'm declaring, I am admitting, I am acknowledging that you are uh I'm acknowledging that you are uh Adon Kol HaNishamos, Ribon Kol HaMasim. And finally, we end with baruch ata Hashem hamachazir nishamos lifgarim meisim. We end with a recognition and a declaration that we know that Hakadosh Baruchu eventually will return our bodies to us um eventually during during chiyat hameisim. Look at source number 22. With this, we will end. Rav Schwab suggests the following. We conclude this bracha by by confirming our belief in chiyat hameisim. We say here that Hakadosh Baruchu returns souls to the dead bodies. In our daily cycle of sleeping and awakening, we experience something of the miracle of chiyat hameisim. While we are asleep, our consciousness leaves us and upon awakening, it returns. In fact, Chazal call sleep 1/60 of death. The very fact that we are alive, uh meaning every morning, is already an act of chiyat hameisim. So, to us, the daily awakening is a small taste of the actual chiyat hameisim and we utilize it as a reminder and a confirmation of one of the essentials of our emunah, namely chiyat hameisim. So, as we're thinking Hashem and saying, "Thank you, Hashem, for giving me back this soul," it's also a reminder of the fact that Hakadosh Baruchu will take it away again, but we also know that just like he returns it to us every single morning, he will also eventually return it to us during chiyat hameisim. And so, we've gotten a little bit of a taste of this beautiful, incredible bracha. The two main themes of it are number one, a recognition that and the shamash and atata beta horahi, that this is a holy, fundamentally holy soul and that is who we are, the real us is fundamentally holy, fundamentally tahor, no matter what. And also a recognition that this that every single morning gives it back to us every single morning, which is itself a reminder of chiyat hametim, a reminder of eventual of the eventually the revival of the dead. Uh thank you all. Wishing everyone a wonderful, wonderful week.