Shulchan Aruch
Chapter 218: Blessings Recited on
Miracles (9 paragraphs)
1. If you encounter
a place where miracles were performed for the Jews, ie: where the Jews miraculously crossed over a
body of water, where they crossed over the Jordan, where they crossed נחלי
ארנין[1] (the valleys of Arnin) and the
meteorites of [2]בית חורון, the stone that Oag (עוג)
wanted to throw at the Jews[3],
the stone that Moses sat on at the time of the war with Amalek, and the walls
of Jerico, you make the blessing “(Blessed are you Hashem, the L-rd of the
universe) who peformed miracles for our fathers in this
place”. This blessing as well as other
blessings recited by seeing are identical to any other blessing with respect to
proclaiming G-d’s name and his kingship[4].
2. If you encounter a place where miracles were performed for some Jews, as long as they were not performed for all Jews or the majority, you do not make a blessing[5] even if they were performed for several tribes,
3. This only applies where you see these places once in 30 days. If you see it thirty days later, you are obligated (to make the blessing) just like the first time.
4. If you encounter a place where a miracle was performed for an individual, a blessing is not said unless you are that specific individual. You say the blessing “... who performed a miracle for me in this place”. All of his decedents[6] also recite the blessing “... who performed a miracle for my father in this place”.
5. If many miracles were performed for an individual in many places, when he encounters one of them, he must remember all the other places and include them in one blessing.
6. With regard to a miracle performed for your
Rabbi, you are required to make a blessing similar to the one said for a
miracle performed for your father.
[Some say that similarly, if you saw a person who experienced a miracle,
you make a blessing on him just like you make a blessing on a place where a
miracle occurred[7].]
7. In the case where a miracle was performed
for a famous person such as יואב
בן צרויה and those like him, and similarly for a miracle performed for
an individual where G-d’s name was sanctified like Daniel and similar people,
you make a blessing. Therefore, if one
sees the lions pit of Daniel and the fiery furnace of Chanina, Mishael and
Azariah, you make the blessing “... who performed a miracle for Tzadikim (richeous people) in this place”.
8. If one sees the wife of Lot[8],
you make two blessings. You say “...
who is the truthful judge” and pertaining to Lot you say “... who remembers the
Tzadikim”.
9. There are those who say that you do not make
a blessing on a miracle unless it is a miracle that occurred outside the normal
course of nature. However, a miracle
that occurred by the way of nature and similar cases, like robbers coming at
night placing you in danger and you were saved as well as similar cases, one is
not obligated to make a blessing.
Others argue. It is a good idea to make a blessing without saying G-d’s
name or his kingship (אלוקינו).
[1] M.B. There were two mountains with a valley between them that the Jews needed to pass. The Amorites set ambush in the passages by the mountains facing the valley, in order to mount a surprise attack on the Jews. Because of the Ark of the Covenant, a miracle was performed and the mountains collided, crushing the enemy.
[2] Lit. “Rocks of hail” This cannot mean actual hail, since it would impossible to see 2300 year-old hail since it would have melted. It must mean actual stones that miraculously rained down from heaven or meteorites. M.B. writes that these rained down on the enemy at the time of Joshua and this is written in Joshua.
[3] Oag was a giant. He uplifted a large mountain in order to crush the Jews but a miracle occurred and he crushed himself with the mountain.
[4] ... ברוך אתה השׁם אלקינו
[5] M.B. You still proclaim that G-d performed a miracle but don’t make a blessing on it. Later, M.B. writes that if you are of the group in which G-d performed a miracle, you make a blessing similar to that said by the individual in 4.
[6] B.H. writes that the same applies if a miracle was performed for one’s mother, grandmother, wife or son. The blessing is changed accordingly.
[7] This opinion also implies that if you saw a place where a miracle was performed for someone you know, you also make the blessing, contrary to the Mechaber’s opinion in ch.4.
[8] She turned into a pillar of salt.