After we have successfully rid ourselves of all the klippos and negative things that surround us through the process of waking up, washing our hands, going to the bathroom, and getting dressed, we can now begin connecting to the new mochin (spiritual consciousness) of the day. The beginning of this happens through birchos hashachar (the 15 brachos in the beginning of Shacharis).
Birchos hashachar are the opening point of our day. We get up in the morning and look around. Who am I? Why did I receive the great privilege of waking up today? What is my mission today? Through birchos hashachar, we look around and notice the gifts that Hashem has given us, and through this, we remind ourselves of what Hashem wants from us.
This is the most basic level of connecting to Hashem. Before any feelings of ahava or yirah or any other lofty spiritual levels of connection, the very first step is to just simply notice that Hashem has given us gifts and wants us to do something with them. It is a twofold process: A) Hashem has given me gifts, and therefore B) I need to do something with it.
Every day, Hashem gives us everything anew and has a special avodah He wants from us on this day. Birchos hashachar is how we look around and notice the gifts Hashem has given us, thank Him for them, and then understand how these things are tools we should use to serve Him and accomplish the unique spiritual mission of the day.
According to Kabbalah, one should say these brachos as soon as possible after getting up, right after negel vasser and going to the bathroom. This is because before we say these brachos, we are still in a state of disconnect from Hashem. We haven’t yet accessed even the most basic consciousness of Hashem, which is our whole purpose in this world. By opening our eyes, looking around, and noticing what Hashem has given us, we can begin to answer the questions: “Who am I? Why did I receive the great privilege of waking up today? What is my mission today?” These answers are what set us apart from the animals and other creations of the world and give us our unique spiritual mission as Yidden.
Moment of Mindfulness
The most basic inner intention of birchos hashachar is to look around and think about the great gifts Hashem has given to you today, and ask yourself, “What will I do with these gifts today?’”
Bisiyatta Dishmaya in the coming weeks, we will go through each of the 15 Birchos Hashachar and their inner intention.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 96.
