Contents of this weekly column are (mostly) based on the sefer: EIM LAMIKRA HASHALEIM, by R' Nissan Sharoni, Ashdod, a guide to correct pronunciation of Hebrew, specifically in davening and Torah reading.

Last week we worked on the opening six words of most brachot. Actually, we worked on some aspects of pronunciation with the goal of improving the way we say brachot. Even though the following is not about grammar and pronunciation, it definitely belongs in a column called, Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading.

There is probably no other set of six words that are as packed with significance AND so rushed through and taken for granted, than the six words that begin our brachot. Their significance is so great that it makes the way most people say them a terrible shame.

We begin each bracha with a declaration and acknowledgement that G-d is the source of all Blessing. And we make this statement, not about G-d, but directly to Him. Second person - ATA. We then proclaim that G-d is the Master of All, that He is OUR G-d, and that He is King of the Universe.

These first six words take up less than two seconds to say. Which is lamentable. If we say them right, and don’t rush them, we’re talking about 6-10 seconds. A very small investment of time for the tremendous improvement that it gains. It requires taking yourself off of automatic pilot. Thinking (for just a brief moment) about the bracha you are about to say. And then saying (and understanding, and feeling) the words more slowly than you usually do.

These first six words of a bracha are as important, if not more so, than the ending of the bracha. Most of us don’t think that way. Since it is the end of the bracha that gives it its identity - what kind of food are you about to eat, what mitzva are you about to perform, what will you say for the clap of thunder you just heard, or the rainbow you just saw - we tend to think that the end of the bracha is important. But it is the beginning of the bracha that contains SHEIM & MALCHUT - G-d’s names and His kingship. These are essential compo- nents of a bracha. We should say them (and all of the bracha) with a feeling of Awe and Love of G-d. In certain ways, the beginning of our brachot is similar to making the quintessential statement of Judaism - SH’MA YISRA’EL...

Let’s take a look at some of the endings of brachot.
HAMOTZI - The source of the ending of the bracha for bread is from T’hilim 104:14. The phrase there is ...L’HOTZI LECHEM MIN HA’ARETZ. If you look at the TROP in the pasuk, you will find that L’HOTZI, which would usually be pronounced with the last syllable accented, l’ho- TZI, in this pasuk the accent recedes to the next to the last syllable - this DIKDUK process is called NASOG ACHOR, and the word is pronounced MIL’EIL (rather than MILRA) - L’HO-tzi. The reason for the NASOG ACHOR is the word LECHEM, which is accented MIL’EIL. The word that precedes a MIL’EIL word of two syllables (or a one syllable word) within the same phrase, often undergoes NASOG ACHOR. As it is in the pasuk, so is it with the text of the bracha that came from the pasuk. The word ha-mo-TZI is MILRA, but it becomes MIL’EIL (NASOG ACHOR) in the bracha for bread. ha-MO-tzi LE-chem.

Another caution in this bracha is to separate LECHEM from MIN with a purposeful brief pause, so the MEM at the end of LECHEM does not swallow the MEM of MIN. These are two distinct words and each has a MEM sound. Both should be heard. <mtc>

On the lighter side (courtesy of Judy)... What bracha do we say on small pastries, cupakes, petits fours, small cookies, tiny pasta shells, pretzel bits, etc.? BOREI MINI-MEZONOT, of course.

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