Blessing
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[edit] Introduction
What does it mean "to bless?" In the traditional understanding, we bless God for doing all the wonderful things ascribed to him. But in a non-supernatural interpretation, "blessing" must be either God-neutralized (making it more reflexive) or it must turn back on the responsibility required by the blesser (the person).
So, blessing becomes "acknowledgment" or "let us acknowledge" (if stated in the passive) or even "we will acknowledge" (see the "nodeh" plural form in the section on Baruch Ata Adonai) by the blesser of some aspect of his or her own life or the workings of the world.
This subject fits with many of the predicates that follow. "Let us acknowledge/we will acknowledge...that this bread comes from the earth and without it we would go hungry, as many around the world do." Or "let us acknowledge/we will acknowledge the uniqueness and profound value of the day of Shabbat."
Acknowledgment also implies responsibility. If you become conscious of an issue and there is inequality or injustice, recognition cannot be ignored.
Continuing with the example of the "hamotzei" blessing, we are acknowledging that the earth produces the food we need in partnership with humankind, and if we treat the earth badly, it will no longer produce that food. While not explicitly stated, there is also the undercurrent here that not everyone has the same access to plentiful food and we acknowledge our own good fortune while pledging to do our best to rectify the imbalance.
[edit] From Marcia Falk to Acknowledgment
Marcia Falk uses the passive "nevarech" נברך as her way of getting away from the male use of "baruch." Falk's "nevarech" construction works poetically, but it still doesn't fit so well linguistically with our attempt to transform "baruch" to "let us acknowledge."
L'hodot להודות is a more accurate translation of "acknowledge" (thought it has the same spelling as the verb "to thank" which in turn is related back to blessing...confusing!)
The word closest to "nevarech," however is "nodeh" which is in the future plural.
So, for example, "Nodeh b'Talumot HaChaim...al natilat yadayim" נודה בתעלמות החיים אל נתילת ידיים would be "we will acknowledge the mystery of life as we raise our hands (in preparation for the eating of bread)." See the page on Baruch Ata Adonai for background on the use of the word "mystery."
[edit] From Person to Person
Thus far, the discussion has been towards a reflection back on a single person acknowledging a mysterious aspect of the universe. But it is also common for one to bless another person. "You have my blessing for..." "I bless you with..." While this is traditionally seen as invoking the supernatural, in a humanistic context it can be a beautiful way of expressing one's hopes and wishes for another person. "I want to bless you with good health and success in the coming year," essentially means "I express my deep hope that what you wish for will come true." It does not have to connect with God; it is a poetic and emphatic way for two people to connect.
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