Question: Should the congregation say “Amen” after the berachah of “habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah” (right before Shema)? I have seen different shuls do different things.
M. Goldman
Answer: To better answer your question, let’s first review some important matters relating to “Amen.” The Mechaber (Orach Chayim 215:2) writes:
“One who hears a Jew reciting a blessing, even though he has not heard it completely from beginning to end, and even if he is not obligated to recite that particular blessing [at that time], he must respond ‘Amen.’ However, if the person reciting the berachah is an apostate or a Cuthean or a young child, or even an adult whose recital reflects a change in the text as ordained by our sages, one should not respond ‘Amen.’”
As a respondent, one has to be sure that the person reciting the blessing is doing so with the intention to praise Hashem. As long, however, as one hears even a portion of a blessing’s conclusion recited by a Jew in good standing, one is supposed to respond ‘Amen’ regardless of one’s personal obligation to recite that blessing.
One does not say “Amen” after the blessings of an apostate, Cuthean, child, or adult who alters the text of a blessing because these blessings are considered blessings in vain. The Mishnah (Berachot 51b) says we should say “Amen” after the blessing of a Cuthean, but the Mishnah Berurah explains that this rule only applied before the Cutheans began worshipping the image of a dove on Mt. Gerizim. “Afterwards, their complete intention is for idolatry and the same is true of the apostate, whose intention is not for Heaven.”
The Mishnah Berurah notes, however, that the Gra maintains that if either an apostate or Cuthean says a complete blessing, one should respond, “Amen.”
The Rema (Orach Chayim ad loc.) writes, “A person should respond, ‘Amen’ after [the blessing of] a gentile if he heard the entire blessing from his mouth.” The Mishnah Berurah (sk 12) explains that when a gentile recites a blessing with Hashem’s name, he obviously is blessing Hashem, not idolatry. He adds, “And the same applies to a Jew, an apostate, who rejected his religion.” Nevertheless, the Taz (ad loc.) rules that saying “Amen” is only optional in this case.
As for the blessing of a child, the Mechaber (infra 215:3) writes that the rule not to respond “refers specifically to [the blessing of] a schoolchild who is being taught the blessings by his teacher.” When a child says a blessing for the purpose of fulfilling his obligation, however, we respond “Amen” as long as he is of the age of chinuch. The same is true of his blessings on the haftorah. Thus, a boy may read the haftorah on the Shabbos before his bar mitzvah and say the blessings before and after it (whereas he may not receive a proper aliyah until he’s halachically an adult), and the congregation may respond “Amen.”
Tosafot (Rosh Hashanah 33a sv “Ha R. Yehuda ha R. Meir”) notes that women may also say blessings on mitzvot she ha’zeman garma (time-bound commands) that they are usually exempt from keeping. Indeed, we see that women say blessings on such mitzvot as shofar, sukkah, and lulav, and people respond “Amen.”
Returning to your question: Chassidim say “Habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah” with the shliach tzibbur right before Shema and thus do not say “Amen” to this berachah (since one doesn’t say “Amen” to one’s own berachah). Others, however, don’t say these last few words with the shliach tzibbur and do say “Amen.”
It behooves us to understand the reasoning behind these two customs. The Mechaber (Orach Chayim 59:4) rules: “And one should not answer ‘Amen’ after ‘Habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah’ because it constitutes a hefsek (an interruption)” between this berachah and the beginning of Shema. “Habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah” is the preparatory blessing (birkat ha’mitzvah) for Shema, and one is not supposed to make a hefsek between such a blessing and the mitzvah itself.
Interesting, the Rema doesn’t disagree with the Mechaber. The Shulchan Aruch HaRav (Orach Chayim 59:4) writes that this blessing might be different than other birkot ha’mitzvah because it doesn’t contain the words “asher kideshanu b’mitzvotav.” The Shulchan Aruch HaRav does not issue a clear ruling that reveals his view, but minhag Chabad is for the shliach tzibbur to conclude the blessing silently so that no response of “Amen” is called for.
Like the Shulchan Aruch HaRav, the Mishnah Berurah (Orach Chayim 59:25) explains the logic behind saying “Amen,” but he rules clearly that one should not say “Amen.”
(To be continued)