Last week, I received the following voice note from my dear talmid, Abie Jacoby:
“Hi, Rebbi. Crazy story… So last night, I was chilling with my campers on the porch of my bunk when a bug flew right into my ear. It was one of the scarier things that’s happened to me. I was in the infirmary for an hour until they were finally able to pull the live bug out of my ear.
While I was bugging out about the bug in my ear (pun intended), I was thinking that in the brachos we say each morning, we thank Hashem for our vision and for being able to stand erect, among other things. Why don’t we thank Hashem for being able to hear?”
It is an intriguing question, and I posted it on my WhatsApp status. I received quite a few replies.
The most popular answer I received was an idea said in the name of Rabbi Avigdor Miller: We don’t recite a brachah thanking Hashem for our hearing each morning because there’s no hefseik (interruption) in hearing. One’s ears are operating constantly from the moment he is born. His ears continue to hear even when he’s sleeping. This can be demonstrated from the fact that a person will wake up when someone calls his name or there’s a loud noise in the room where he’s sleeping. A brachah is only recited in the morning for something that re-starts, such as seeing, getting dressed, or being able to stand upright.
Following are some of the other proposed answers:
In his sefer on t’filah, Rabbi Shimon Schwab explains that we indeed do bless Hashem for our hearing each morning. “The brachah of Matir Asurim – Who releases the bound – literally means that HaKadosh Baruch Hu unties those who are bound, who are tied up. Our ability to move is a gift from Him, not to be taken for granted. While we are asleep, we have no voluntary control over our movements, similar to one who is tied up or paralyzed, chas v’shalom. Each morning when we awaken, we recognize this gift anew. Included in this brachah is our hakaras ha’tov to HaKadosh Baruch Hu for the power of speech and hearing. These abilities were also ‘tied up,’ not functioning, during sleep.”
The sefer Machazeh Avraham, by Rabbi Avraham of Botshatsh, offers a most fascinating answer: Because Adam was cursed for “listening to the voice of your wife” (B’reishis 3:17), and that caused the first sin that brought global disaster to the world, we don’t recite a brachah on hearing. (I was advised not to share that answer with my wife.)
The Minchas Gershuni (page 6) says that the brachah of Asher Nasan LaSechvi Vinah – Who gave the sechvi understanding – is actually thanking Hashem for hearing. According to those who understand that sechvi means rooster, we thank Hashem for giving the rooster the ability to crow just prior to the first crack of dawn. The reason we are thankful for the rooster’s crow is because when we hear it, it alerts us to start our day.
I suggested that perhaps the brachah of Asher Nasan LaSechvi Vinah indeed includes thanking Hashem for our sense of hearing, but for a different reason. There are commentators who understand sechvi to refer to our intellect. The brachah thanks Hashem for giving us the wisdom to discern between night and day, which is always analogous to right and wrong.
I once heard that the reason we don’t have a species on Sukkos analogous to the ear is because hearing is very connected to the heart. One hears with his mind, as when people say, “I hear.” Hearing isn’t only about hearing per se, as much as it’s about listening and internalizing. Therefore, the esrog, which corresponds to the heart, is symbolic of the deeper meaning of hearing as well.
With that in mind, the brachah thanking Hashem for our intellect and ability to discern is also thanking Hashem for the ability to hear – to darherr (as it’s said in Yiddish).
Aside from all the aforementioned answers to the question, I told Abie that I wanted to acknowledge the beauty of the question and his thought process. He had a bug stuck in his ear and that got him thinking about why we don’t thank Hashem for our hearing! What a beautiful perspective! A Jew is always supposed to be thinking about how he can serve Hashem better – in any situation and because of any situation.
What Abie couldn’t know is that I heard his message while I was on my way back from a visit to a local emergency room. I had some pain in my neck for a few days and the day before it had worsened. The night prior, I had a terrible night because of the increased pain in my neck and because it had spread to my shoulder. During the early morning, my wife drove me to the local emergency room. After a few tests, they concluded that, thankfully, it was nothing more than a pinched nerve. It was quite painful, but nothing more concerning. The doctor prescribed some strong painkillers and discharged me.
After I heard Abie’s message, it got me thinking about what moral lesson I could and should derive from my experience. I concluded that it was a reminder that I should always strive not to be a pain in the neck to others.
Apparently, I need the reminder.
Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW, is a popular speaker, columnist, and author. He is a rebbe at Heichal HaTorah in Teaneck, NJ. and principal of Mesivta Orchos Yosher in Spring Valley, NY. Rabbi Staum is also a member of the administration of Camp Dora Golding. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and at www.strivinghigher.com.