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 Morning Brachos Before Dawn

Q. Am I allowed to say Birchos Ha’shachar before alos ha’shachar (dawn) if that is when I wake up for the day and leave my house?

A. If you wake up after midnight, then you should say all brachos, as you have become obligated by doing the action corresponding to the bracha.

Thus, almost all brachos will be usually recited when you wake up, except for Hanosen Lasechvy Bina which would not normally be said then. You would have to wait till after alos ha’shachar to recite it, unless you actually hear a rooster. #1957*

Al Netilas Yadayim

Q. Is it permitted to recite “Al Netilas Yadayim” immediately after Negel Vasser, or it must be recited only after the second time washing?

A. You should wash your hands by your bed then go to the bathroom, wash your hands a second time, and then recite the blessing “Al Netilas Yadayim” after wiping your hands, while your hands are raised up to the head.

If the bracha was recited earlier, there is no need to repeat it. If one doesn’t need to go to the bathroom when waking up and won’t need to go for a long time, the bracha should be recited when washing the first time.*

Morning Brachos Before Eating

Q. Is there an obligation to recite Birchos Ha’shachar and Shema before eating in the morning?

A. One may not eat before davening. However, if one is hungry and not eating can disturb their concentration during davening, it’s permissible to eat. The Rebbeim encouraged eating to enhance kavana in davening.

Before eating one should recite Birchos Ha’shachar and Shema.

Women are exempt from reading Shema, and therefore there is no problem for them to eat before Shema. #3009 (2)*

Q. If one awakes after alos ha’shachar and will be returning to sleep, can they drink or eat then, or do they need to say Birchos Ha’shachar first?

A. One is not allowed to eat from alos ha’shachar until after davening Shacharis. The Chabad custom is in accordance with the halacha that one may eat, if necessary, in order to have strength and proper kavana during davening. However if one is going back to sleep then one should not eat until they wake up and say Birchos Ha’shachar and are getting ready for davening.

Regarding drinking, when going back to sleep one can drink before saying the morning brachos. #4239

Brachos at Night

Q. If one didn’t say Birchos Ha’shachar and it is after tzeis ha’kochavim, must they say the brachos before they eat?

A. It is a dispute amongst poskim whether one may say Birchos Haishachar at night, therefore one should not say it at night. #5427*

What If I Missed Morning Brachos?

Q. What if by mistake I failed to say Birchos Ha’shachar, and realized after davening?

A. Say all the brachos except for the first two Birchos HaTorah (על דברי תורה and והערב נא).  Say the last bracha of Birchos HaTorah, אשר בחר בנו.

However, it is best where possible to hear from someone else.

[There is a machlokes if והערב נא is considered a separate bracha or not. See the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch Chapter 47, where he brings both opinions and he doesn’t give a definite ruling either way (although he does note that על פי הסוד it is considered 3 separate brachos).] #8221*

Explanation:

We recite a series of brachos known as Birchos Ha’shachar (the morning brachos) every morning upon awakening. One of them is Elokai Neshama, praising Hashem for returning our neshama to us when we awaken. We also say Birchos HaTorah, the brachos recited prior to the mitzva of Torah study, which cover all of the Torah studied throughout the rest of the day.

If we forgot to say Birchos Ha’shachar before davening, we should say them afterwards—with the exception of Birchos HaTorah. The reason is that the second bracha preceding Shema, Ahavas Olam, also speaks of Torah study, making Birchos HaTorah redundant. However, some Torah must be studied immediately after davening so that Ahavas Olam should serve as the bracha preceding that mitzva.

There is an opinion in poskim that the bracha of Mechayeh Ha’meisim in Shemone Esrei—which praises Hashem for reviving the dead—also makes Elokai Neshama superfluous. Elokai Neshama should l’chatchila (ideally) be recited before davening to avoid this issue.

If we forgot to say Birchos Ha’shachar, but realize after saying Baruch She’amar, then Elokai Neshama and Birchos HaTorah should be recited between the end of Yishtabach and beginning the brachah of Yotzer Ohr—which is the best point during davening for making absolutely necessary interruptions. In fact, some poskim say that if we realize in the middle of Pesukei D’zimra that we haven’t said Birchos HaTorah, we should say them at once, so that no more pesukim (verses) of Torah are said without being preceded by Birchos HaTorah. Halacha2Go #449 

*References are available for this Halacha on the websites: www.Halacha2Go.com and www.AskTheRav.com.

Please note that these halachos apply in general situations, if you are unsure whether the halacha applies to your particular situation, please consult a Rav.

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