MORNING BLESSINGS A series of thanksgivings, designed to open our eyes to the wonders of the world and of existence. The religious sense is not so much a matter of seeing new things but of seeing things anew.

אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לַשֶּֽׂכְוִי בִינָה *Who gives the heart understanding.*The translation follows the view of Rabbeinu Asher (Rosh). Rashi and Abudarham translate it as “Who gives the cockerel understanding.” The blessing, which tells us that understanding begins in the ability to make distinctions, refers to the first distinction mentioned in the Torah, when God divided darkness from light, creating night and day.

שֶׁלֹּא עָשַֽׂנִי גּוֹי…עָֽבֶד Who has not made me a heathen…a slave. We each have our part to play in the divine economy. We thank God for ours, for the privilege of being part of “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

פּוֹקֵֽחַ עִוְרִים Gives sight to the blind…etc. A series of blessings originally said at home, later made part of the synagogue service. They were initially said to accompany the various actions involved in waking and getting up – opening our eyes, putting on clothes, stretching our limbs, setting foot on the ground and so on. Descartes said: I think therefore I am. A Jew says: I thank therefore I am. To stand consciously in the presence of God involves an attitude of gratitude.

יְהִי רָצוֹן May it be Your will. We ask for God’s help in leading a holy and moral life. We need that help. We have primal instincts that can lead us to act badly if we do so without deliberation and foresight, in the heat of the moment. We are also social animals. Therefore we are influenced by our environment. So we pray to be protected from bad social influences: not only from bad companions but also, today, the media and the ambient culture.