DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 396 KB)
Should One Make Borei Nefashot First Before Asher Yatzar If Having Gone To the Bathroom Before Reciting Borei Nefashot

Rabbi Chayim Palachi (Rabbi of Izmir, Turkey, 19th century) raises the question concerning one who ate and must recite a Borei Nefashot, but before reciting the Beracha uses the bathroom. So after he uses the bathroom, he has two blessings he must recite: Borei Nefashot for the food he had just eaten, and Asher Yatzar which is the Beracha one recites after performing his bodily functions. Which Beracha does he recite first?

The majority of the Poskim (authorities on Halacha) rule that Asher Yatzar takes precedence.

One rationale given for this ruling is the principle in Halacha known as "Tadir Ve’she’eno Tadir, Tadir Kodem" – meaning, precedence is always given to the more frequent Mitzva. Some Poskim apply this rule in our case, and therefore maintain that one recites Asher Yatzar before Borei Nefashot. But not everyone agrees with that logic. The reasoning above assumes that Asher Yatzar occurs more frequently than Borei Nefashot. Many other Poskim however, question this assumption, noting that it is very possible for a person to drink more frequently than he uses the bathroom, in which case he is obligated to recite Borei Nefashot more frequently than he must recite Asher Yatzar.

Rabbi Chayim Palachi provides another explanation for this ruling. He cites that the obligation of Asher Yatzar is the one which is more immediately pressing. The individual has already lost the opportunity to recite Borei Nefashot immediately upon being obligated in this Beracha. Asher Yatzar, however, can still be recited at its optimum time which is the moment one exits the bathroom. Therefore, he says one should seize this opportunity and recite Asher Yatzar first.

Thus, a person who must use the bathroom before reciting Borei Nefashot should, after leaving the bathroom, first recite Asher Yatzar, followed by Borei Nefashot.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Pouring Into a Sink With a Strainer on Shabbat
Paying a Doctor for Services Rendered on Shabbat; Renting a Hotel Room for Only Shabbat
Is a Wife Bound by Her Husband’s Early Acceptance of Shabbat?
At What Point in the Friday Night Prayer Service Does One Accept Shabbat?
Asking a Gentile to Turn On a Light for a Frightened Child, or To Turn On the Heat or Air Conditioning
Scheduling a Wakeup Call on Shabbat
Opening a Refrigerator Door on Shabbat if the Light Was Not Disengaged
Shabbat Candle Lighting – The Custom to Light Two Candles; Lighting When the Parents are Away for Shabbat
If the Person Who Recited Kiddush is Unable to Drink the Required Amount of Wine
Eating and Drinking Before Kiddush
Until When May a Woman Light Shabbat Candles on Friday Afternoon?
When is the Latest Time for Eating the “Se’uda Rebi’it” Meal on Mosa’eh Shabbat?
Shabbat – Using an Urn with a Water Level Indicator
Shabbat – Wearing a Garment That Causes Static Electricity
Leaving Water on an Open Lame Before Shabbat
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found