CHAPTER FOUR - The Question of Marriage

C: EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

34. Counting your blessings
(An hour to an hour and a half) [Section 9j]

The aim of this activity is to draw attention to the question of Brachot, in general, and the Sheva Brachot, in particular.

• Ask the participants why Judaism uses Brachot (blessings):

• What are the purpose of Brachot?
• Why do traditional Jews say Brachot, for example, when they wake up in the morning, when they see something unusual, when they say their daily prayers, etc.?
  The answers might range from:
• “in order to remember G-d”,
  through:
• “in order not to take things for granted”,
  or from:
• “in order to punctuate our day with constant reminders of how lucky we are to be alive”,
  through:
• “in order to remind ourselves how we ought to behave”, etc.
  These ideas should be written up on poster board.

• The following list of 10 Brachot is taken from some of the morning blessings, recited by traditional Jews at Shacharit (Morning Service) and have been said by Jews for thousands of years.

• Divide the group into twos or threes and ask them to read the list and mark:
  • the ones they like very much;
  • the ones they quite like;
  • the ones that they don’t like at all.

List of Brachot:

• Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, Who enables His creatures to distinguish between night and day.
• Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, Who made me in His image.
• Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who made me a Jew.
• Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who made me a free person.
• Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who gives sight to the blind.
• Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who releases those who are imprisoned.
• Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who raises the downtrodden.
• Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who strengthens the people Israel with courage.
• Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who restores vigour to the weary.
• Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who with wisdom fashioned the human body, creating openings, arteries, glands and organs, marvellous in structure, intricate in design…

• All the groups come back together and each small group in turn is asked to present and explain its choices.
Development:

• Would saying the three or four “favourite” on a regular basis would influence the way that any of them might view things, or affect the way that they behave?
• In light of these answers, is it a good idea to have a system of Brachot in a culture like Judaism, or is it something that gets in the way of getting on with life?

• Connecting the ideas - explanation:

In the wedding ceremony, there is a series known as the seven blessings, the Sheva Brachot, which are clearly considered significant, since they are repeated both during the ceremony, then later, in the framework of the Birkat Hamazon - , the grace after meals - and every night at a celebratory meal, for a week after the wedding (7 x 7).
Individually and collectively, these Brachot constitute important statements that the great authorities of Judaism in the past believed should be made, both for the couple and also for the assembled audience.

• The group redivides and each sub-group should write down subjects for three Brachot that they feel would be fitting in such circumstances.

• They may look at the earlier list and relate to the suggested reasons mentioned for saying Brachot, e.g.: not to take things for granted; to express values; to remember G-d, etc.
• The Brachot can include one that they know, or they may suggest entirely new ones, which aim to state something that they feel needs to be said at the wedding.

• All the groups come back together and explain what Brachot they have suggested as suitable for the wedding and why they have chosen them.

• The subjects of the Brachot should all be listed on the board;
• Then the group should vote individually on the seven most suitable Brachot, remembering that the combination of the Brachot will provide a statement that is more than the individual Brachot.

• The seven most popular Brachot should be listed:

• Each small group lists them in what they feel the appropriate order.

• Back in the large group, a couple of group representatives are asked to explain their order - and what they believe that their chosen combination says, as a statement.

• The actual Sheva Brachot are handed round:
Explain that the first Brachah, over the wine, makes a general statement that this is both a joyful and a serious ritual moment and is therefore made on all festive, ritual occasions - while the other six Brachot are chosen, or formulated, specifically for a wedding:

• In their sub-groups, participants should spend a few minutes working out what they think that the Brachot are saying, both individually and collectively.
• Different groups can be asked to focus on specific Brachot.

• Come together, discuss the group’s conclusions and then analyse the Brachot yourself, basing yourself, if you wish, on the analysis that was made in the main body of the text above.

• In conclusion: do participants feel that:

• The general statement made by the combination of Brachot is a good and suitable one?
• That the group’s own ideas for Sheva Brachot would be an improvement in the tradition?
• Or a combination of both?!