Blessing of the blossoming trees in Nissan
Compiled and translated by Rav Rahmiel Drizin
The new month of Nissan begins this Tuesday, April 5th, and with it our tradition to bless fruit trees in bloom. If you don’t live in Eretz Yisrael which has blossoming trees, you can rely on HaRaV Ariel Bar-Tzaddok of www.koshertorah.com who holds that you can say the blessing on 2 fruit trees that grow in a conservatory.
According to the Ben Ish Hai, a kabbalist and leader of the Jewish community of Baghdad a century ago, seeing the blooming of the tree teaches us an important lesson. When we see how the tree, which during the winter was dry and withered and is now in full bloom, we are revitalized. When we watch the transformation of nature, we gain the courage and inspiration to lift out of our despair, and it reminds us that Gd has given us the tools to renew ourselves.
The Chida writes that one should especially concentrate when saying this beracha because it is mitakain(repairs) the neshamot that have been sent back to this world in the trees and plants, and one has the opportunity to ask for mercy on these souls at this time.
Based on Kabbalah, R. Yerachmiel Tiles of www.kabbalahonline.org writes that this blessing has special significance. According to the Arizal, when Jews make this blessing they are able to redeem souls who have been re-incarnated in the vegetal realm, making it possible for them to continue or complete their tikun (soul rectification). It should therefore, be said with intense concentration and kavanah (intention). R. Abrahami writes that reciting this blessing means doing a very great act of Hesed/kindness with the whole of Yisrael. For all of Yisrael are One. All our souls that were, are, and will be come from the same place, from under the Throne of Glory of Gd. They are interlinked beyond the physical limits of bldy, time, and space as we know them. Just as the Neshamot of the departed can intercede on our behalf “upstairs” so should we help those souls who cannot be elevated without our help.
It is desirable to follow the blessing with a donation of three coins to tzedakah (charity), corresponding to the three soul levels of nefesh-ruach-neshama. The Ben Ish Hai recommends giving 4 coins for the elevation of the soul of one’s departed parents based on the 4 letters of Shem Havaya יְ-ה-וָ-ה The following Zohar indicates how Nissan is an opportune time to assist these wandering souls:
| Balak, Volume 3, page 196B
“And Balak…saw” (Bemidbar 22:1): Rabbi Elazar said, Certainly what Rabbi Hiya said it is a concealed matter. However, it is written: “Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself” (Tehilim 84:4). Did King David then say this about a simple bird? |
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| It is only as we were taught, how beloved are the souls to the Holy One, blessed be He. If you say all the souls in the world, it is not so. It is only the souls of the righteous whose dwellings are with Him. Their dwellings are above and their dwellings are below, as we were taught. “Even the sparrow has found a home” refers to the spirits of the just. |
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| We were taught that there are three outer walls to the Garden of Eden. Between each one of them, many spirits and souls walk leisurely there and derive pleasure from the fragrance enjoyed by the righteous that are inside the Garden of Eden, although they themselves did not earn the merits to ente. However, it is written of the enjoyable pleasure of the just that are inside: “Neither has the eye seen, that Gd beside You” (Yeshayah 64:3). |
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| There are designated days during the year, which are the days of Nissan and Tishrei, when these spirits wander and visit the place they should. Even though there are lots of occasions when they wander, these days are marked and are visible on the outer walls of the Garden, each one individually in a depiction of chirping birds, regularly each morning. |
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| That chirping is praise to the Holy One, blessed be He, and a prayer about the lives of the human beings in this world, because in these days, the children of Yisrael are busily involved in the precepts and commandments of the Master of the world. Then, these birds appear to be chirping happily and they chirp and whisper praises and gratitudes and pray for the living of this world on the walls at the Garden of Eden. |
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| Rabbi Shimon said, Elazar, you certainly spoke well, since these spirits are definitely there. But what would you say “And the swallow (dror) a nest for herself”? He said, This is what I was taught: that refers to the holy soul that rises above and ascends to a hidden and stored area, where “neither has the eye seen, that Gd, beside You…” |
It is recommended to say the following intention before reciting the blessing (Kaf HaHayyim 226:8)
For the sake of the unification of the Holy One, blessed is He, and His Shekhinah–with reverence and love and love and reverence–to unify the Name Yod and Heh with Vav and Heh in perfect unity, in the name of all Yisrael, and in the name of all nefeshes, ruachs and neshamahs which relate to the roots of our nefesh, our ruach, and our neshamah, and that which clothes them and those near to them that generally derive from the worlds of Atzilut/Emanation, Beriah/Creation, Yetzirah/Formation, and Asiya/Making. We are hereby prepared and ready to fulfill the comandment of reciting the blessing which our Sages of blessed memory instituted over the seeing of blossoming trees. And may it rise before You, Hashem, our Gd and Gd of our ancestors, as if we had contemplated all the intentions that are appropriate to contemplate when reciting this blessing–as well as the secrets contained within it. And may it be deemed worthy and acceptable and favorable before You this blessing to sift and to elevate through it all the holy sparks that are mixed in all the vegetation, and all the nefeshes, ruachs, and neshamahs that are reincarnated within it. And You Gd with your attribute of goodness and with Your great kindness illuminate for them with the light of Yourface and complete their sifiting and repair. Bless them, purifythem, Your compassionate righteousness always grant them [ בט'ר צת'ג ]. And may it be Your will, Hashem, our Gd and Gd of our ancestors, that in the merit of this blessing that we are about to recite, may it be fulfilled for us the statement:
| רְאֵה רֵיחַ בְּנִי, כְּרֵיחַ שָׂדֶה, אֲשֶׁר בֵּרְכוֹ יְהוָה. |
See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Hashem has blessed. |
And may we receive the influx of the 10 blessings as it is written:
| וְיִתֶּן-לְךָ, הָאֱלֹהִים, מִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם, וּמִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ–וְרֹב דָּגָן, וְתִירֹשׁ. |
So Gd give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fat places of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine. |
| יַעַבְדוּךָ עַמִּים, וישתחו (וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ) לְךָ לְאֻמִּים–הֱוֵה גְבִיר לְאַחֶיךָ, וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְךָ בְּנֵי אִמֶּךָ; אֹרְרֶיךָ אָרוּר, וּמְבָרְכֶיךָ בָּרוּךְ. |
Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be a ruler over your brothers, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be every one that curses you, and blessed be every one that blesses you. |
וִיהִי, נֹעַם אֲדֹנָי אֱלֹהֵינוּ– עָלֵינוּ:
וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ, כּוֹנְנָה עָלֵינוּ; וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ, כּוֹנְנֵהוּ. |
And let the graciousness of the Lord our Gd be upon us; establish also upon us the work of our hands; , the work of our hands establish |
לְרָצוֹן אִמְרֵי-פִי, וְהֶגְיוֹן לִבִּי לְפָנֶיךָ:
יְהוָה, צוּרִי וְגֹאֲלִי. |
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before You Hashem my Rock, and my Redeemer |
We are told that upon seeing fruit trees in bloom during the spring, we may say this blessing (only once per year) with joy and concentration:
ברוך אתה ה’ אלוקינו מלך העולם שלא חיסר בעולמו כלום וברא בו בריות טובות ואילנות טובות ליהנות בהם בני אדם
Blessed are You, Hashem, our Gd, King of the universe, for nothing is lacking in His universe, and He created in it good creatures and good trees, to cause mankind pleasure with them.
Transliterated, the blessing is:
Baruch Ata Ado-nay Elo-heinu Melech Ha-Olam she-lo chisar b’olamo davar, u-vara vo beriyot tovot v’ilanot tovim, l’hanot bahem b’nei adam.
See the full version of the post here in PDF format
Kabbalah · Mitzvah · Neshamah · New Moon · Nissan · Rosh Chodesh · Tikkun · Zohar
The Tikkun of the Ben Ish Hai for Erev Rosh Hodesh
Translated by
Rahmiel Hayyim Drizin
Revised Tammuz 5770
Table of Contents
Hakdama/Introduction……………………………………………………………..2
Article by Rabbi Ariel Bar Tzaddok…………………………………………….3
Viddui…………………………………………………………………………………….7
Mishnayot……………………………………………………………………………….7
Gemara………………………………………………………………………………….22
Midrash…………………………………………………………………………………28
Zohar
Volume I……………………………………………………………………………….33
Volume II………………………………………………………………………………35
Volume III……………………………………………………………………………..51
Tikkun Yom Erev Rosh Hodesh………………………………………………….71
Tikkun Leil Rosh Hodesh…………………………………………………………..81
Verses to be said in the place of Tikkun Rahel………………………………84
Hakdama/Introduction
Rosh Hodesh, the New Moon of the New Jewish Month, is a time of renewal, both of body and spirit. The day before is practiced as an ancient tradition as a Yom Kippur Katan –a mini Day of Atonement–where many fast and say prayers of penitence. It is a tremendous opportunity to review the past month’s activities, admit one’s miss-takes, regret doing
them, and pledge to try to not repeat them in the upcoming month. Rabbi Yosef Hayyim of Bagdad, the Ben Ish Hai, has compiled a series of readings in his Sefer Mishmeret HaHodesh, some 95% of which is translated below. All of these selections were chosen with his brilliant intuition to help us proceed from one month to the next. If one choses to fast, the fast must be accepted before dusk on the night of Erev Rosh Hodesh.
The fast reduces one’s fats and blood in the same manner as these substances were offered upon the altar in the Temple through the sacrifices. The readings below can all be read after Midnight, or during the day of Erev Rosh Hodesh. It is our prayer that they lead you to personal renewal, spiritual reinvigoration, and holistic rededication to sacred mission.
See the translated The Tikkun of the Ben Ish Hai for Erev Rosh Hodesh
Here are other compilations, translations and original Torah
by HaRav Rahmiel Hayyim Drizin
Ben Ish Hai · Chatzot · Hollistic · Kabbalah · Midrash · Mishmeret HaHodesh · Mishna · Moed · New Moon · Prayer · Rabbi Haim Vital · Rabbi Yosef Hayyim · Rosh Hodesh · Sefirot · Tefillah · Tikkun · Torah · Yom Kippur · Yom Kippur Katan · Zohar
Chodesh Tov!
Rosh Chodesh (Head of the Month) – New Moon Festival is described in the Torah as the day of rejoicing (Bamidbar (Numbers) 10:10) , the time of renewal. Even the word “Chodesh” – month – comes from the root “חדש” – “Chadash” – “NEW”.
Like all “moadim” – appointed times – Rosh Hodesh is the time of opportunity. The deeper meaning of Holidays and special times in Torah is not “commemoration” of some event, but an active opportunity to use the flow of energy that is descending at that time into the physical world. On Rosh Chodesh, the surge of energy that is creating the reality of the upcoming month is available to us – and the way to receive it is to be joyous!
This is because joy causes us to be expansive and enables us to receive Hashem’s light. On the contrary, negative emotions e.g., sadness, make us contract and unable to turn on our “receptive mode”
After ensuring that we do fulfill Torah’s directive to be joyous, we can harness that energy of Rosh Chodesh with
This is because joy causes us to be expansive and enables us to receive Hashem’s light. On the contrary, negative emotions e.g., sadness, make us contract and unable to turn on our “receptive mode”
After ensuring that we do fulfill Torah’s directive to be joyous, we can harness that energy of Rosh Chodesh withTefillah. We can target specific issues in our prayer – because it’s much easier to change the month in its conception.
This can be compared to a garden hose that can create various shapes of a spout by twisting the nozzle – because it’s changing the shape of a jetstream of water in the place where it is forming.
Of course when we talk about “Changing the month”, we mean “Changing ourselves” in order to create the new month of opportunities for spiritual growth. The change is always easier when level of energy is high – if we direct the energy into changing ourselves in Tefillah, it will be used constructively, if we are oblivious to the chance, the energy can even destabilize us or dissipate inconsequentially.
In a sense, Rosh Chodesh is similar to Rosh HaShanah – just with a different scope.
Just like Rosh HaShanah helps us to create a new year full of opportunities, so does Rosh Chodesh give us a chance to break out of our routine and rise up.
Rosh Chodesh is also regarded as a special time for Jewish women. You can read the standard explanation “why?” here, but I think the deeper reason for women’s special connection to Rosh Chodesh, is that our ladies are much more in tune with the dynamics of time and renewal.
Men need rigorous halachic times laws just to be basically in sync with spiritual reality,
while women are exempt from those laws – because they are generally already in tune with times and do not need specific Halachah for that. Interestingly, many Chassidic Tzaddikim were known to be very liberal with halachic times – perhaps because they reached the level of being in tune with times – similar to what most women have from birth.
So while women might be more in tune with the energy of Lunar renewal, men also try to catch up with Kiddush Levanah – another wonderful mitzvah using the Lunar energy of growth and rejuvenation. B’Ezrat Hashem we will discuss it in one of the future postings.
Today is the first day of Sivan and in 4 days we have Chag Shavuot – holiday of receiving the Torah. The energy needed to form the Holiday is also descending today – so we start defining our receiving of the Torah already today!
Good Month Sivan to everyone!
Chassidic · Energy · Halacha · Ish Tam · Jewish · Joy · Kiddush Levanah · Mitzvah · Moed · New Moon · Prayer · Rosh Chodesh · Shavuot · Tefillah · Tzaddik
