## Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Shaharit, Morning Blessings

###### Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Shaharit, Morning Blessings 26
[Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Shaharit, Morning Blessings 26](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Rosh%20HaShana%20Mahzor/s/Shaharit,_Morning%20Blessings/r/26)

**English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2019:**
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה... אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לַשֶּֽׂכְוִי בִינָה *Blessed are You…who gives the heart understanding*. These blessings, itemized in the Talmud (*Berakhot* 60b), were originally said at home to accompany the various stages of waking and rising. Several medieval authorities took the view that they should be said in the synagogue.


###### Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Shaharit, Morning Blessings 40
[Rabbi Sacks on Rosh HaShana Mahzor, Shaharit, Morning Blessings 40](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Rabbi%20Sacks%20on%20Rosh%20HaShana%20Mahzor/s/Shaharit,_Morning%20Blessings/r/40)

**English Edition; Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2019:**
וְהַרְחִיקֵֽנוּ מֵאָדָם רָע וּמֵחָבֵר רָע *Keep us far from a bad man and a bad companion*. It is natural for a person to be influenced in his beliefs and deeds by his neighbors and friends, and to act according to the custom of his fellow citizens. Therefore one should associate with the righteous and frequent the company of the wise so as to learn from their behavior, keeping far from the benighted wicked so as not to be corrupted by their example. (Maimonides, Laws of Temperaments 6:1)