Responsum: On Blessing before a Commandment

Question: Our rabbi, lamp of Israel, scribe of the Creator’s commandments and statutes, R. Joseph ben Judah Ibn Plat. I, Abraham ben R. Isaac [of Narbonne], have come to draw water from your wellsprings of salvation. Blessed be the Creator who gave you the merit to teach statutes and laws in Israel. May the One who gave you this merit provide you with a good portion in this world and in the world to come, and may you eat and be satisfied, and [still] leave [some] over. Now, may I please ask you for your opinion on these questions of mine?

I would like you to give me the key to understanding whether one recites a blessing over certain commandments. For example, if one stands up in the presence of his rabbi, which is the commandment of: You shall rise up before the hoary head, and honor [the face of the old man] (Leviticus 19:3), is he required to recite a blessing? The same dilemma applies to one who gives charity to the poor, in accordance with that which is written: You shall surely open your hand (Deuteronomy 15:8); You shall surely give [him] (Deuteronomy 15:10); You shall surely lend him (Deuteronomy 15:8); and also the commandments of returning a collateral [see Deuteronomy 24:13], sending away the mother bird from the nest [see Deuteronomy 22:6–7], and building a parapet on one’s roof [see Deuteronomy 22:8]. If one does say a blessing over a parapet, does one recite the blessing at the start of its construction or at the end of the work, since one who recites a blessing over a commandment should not interrupt it with regular conversation until he has completed the commandment? Other commandments included in this question are visiting the sick, consoling mourners, accompanying the dead to their place of rest, bringing the bride and groom to the wedding canopy, and leaving gleanings of produce for the poor, forgotten sheaves, a corner of the field, gleanings of grapes, and fallen grapes [see Leviticus 19:9–10 and Deuteronomy 24:19]. [ . . . ]

In sum, regarding all those positive commandments enumerated by the author of Great Laws [Simeon Qayyāra], why do we recite a blessing over some of them, such as a sukkah, lulav, shofar, ritual fringes, phylacteries, mezuzah, counting the omer, reading the Megillah, and the like, whereas we do not recite a blessing over other commandments? I need the key to understanding why we recite a blessing over some commandments but not others. [ . . . ]

Answer: It seems to me as follows: there is no one single reason why we do not recite a blessing over these positive commandments; rather, there are several justifications. One of these applies to the performance of justice, for even though this is a positive commandment—as it is written: And judge righteously (Deuteronomy 1:16)—one does not recite a blessing. The reason is that the litigants could refuse to accept the judgment, or they might decide to forgive each other the sum for which they sued, in which case they have uprooted the positive commandment and rendered it entirely inapplicable. [ . . . ]

One does not recite a blessing over all of these, for several reasons. In some instances, the reason is because their fulfillment does not involve an action, such as the abrogation of monetary debts [see Deuteronomy 15:1–2] and land [see Leviticus 25:8–13], and all similar commandments. In other cases, it is because the person involved can waive his right and thereby uproot the positive commandment. In yet other instances, the reason is that they are commandments that come into effect by means of a transgression, such as the restoration of stolen property and interest. The same applies to leaving behind gleanings of produce, forgotten sheaves, a corner of the field, and related commandments, as it is written: And you shall not glean your vineyard, etc., but if you did glean it, then: You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger (Leviticus 19:10). Likewise: You shall not wholly reap the corner of thy field (Leviticus 19:9), but if you did wholly reap it, then: You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger. If one did not wholly reap his field, nor glean it, but left those portions from the outset—in which case he did not perform a transgression—he nevertheless does not recite a blessing, because this fulfillment does not involve an action; alternatively, it is because the poor can waive their right to the produce and thus uproot the positive commandment. [ . . . ]

And one does not recite a blessing over the four death penalties, nor over administering lashes, because the Holy One has mercy upon His creatures, as the Gemara homiletically interprets the verse: For he who is hanged is a reproach [kilelat] unto God, etc. (Deuteronomy 21:23). R. Meir said: What expression does the Divine Presence use? “My head is too heavy [kalani] for Me.”¹ The Gemara cites a similar exposition regarding the verse: And they did not come near one another all night (Exodus 14:20).² [ . . . ]

The same applies to visiting the sick, making peace between man and his fellow man, and consoling mourners. One does not bless “to comfort mourners,” or “to make peace,” or “to visit the sick,” as they have the ability to uproot the commandment. Nor does one recite a blessing over the commandment of reproof—which is derived from the verse You shall surely reprove (Leviticus 19:17)—as it is stated: I would be surprised if there is anyone in this generation who is fit to rebuke others, or one who can receive rebuke [b. Arakhin 16b].