Asher Yatzar: Who Formed Man with Wisdom
This lesson can be read on www.tebeka.com. Printing is for signed-in users only. © Rabbi Haim Tebeka.
After washing our hands, the first thing we praise Hashem for is the body, and its most humble work. Asher Yatzar thanks Him for every opening and every hollow He made in us with wisdom, and for keeping each one exactly as it should be. In this lesson I tell where the bracha comes from and why we say it every morning; then we look at its inner meaning in the Shulchan Aruch, in Torah Or and in the Rebbe’s letters; and then we read it line by line and word by word, with six new grammar concepts.
Where the bracha comes from: leaving the lavatory
The source of Asher Yatzar is the Gemara in Berachos (60b), in the same passage that gives the morning brachos of Lesson 3. It teaches what a person says when he goes out after relieving himself: a bracha that thanks Hashem for the body, its openings and its hollows, and for the fact that they work.
The Gemara first gives words said before going in, addressed to the holy angels who accompany a person, asking them to step away and wait. Abaye objected: a person should not speak that way, lest they leave him and go. He taught a humbler request instead: “Guard me, guard me; help me, help me; support me, support me; wait for me, wait for me, until I go in and come out, for such is the way of people.” Then, on coming out, comes the bracha we say.
So the Sages put one of the most beautiful praises in the siddur at the most ordinary moment of the day. Nothing in a Jew’s body is too low to be a reason to bless Hashem.
אֶלָּא לֵימָא: ״שִׁמְרוּנִי שִׁמְרוּנִי, עִזְרוּנִי עִזְרוּנִי, סִמְכוּנִי סִמְכוּנִי, הַמְתִּינוּ לִי הַמְתִּינוּ לִי עַד שֶׁאֶכָּנֵס וְאֵצֵא, שֶׁכֵּן דַּרְכָּן שֶׁל בְּנֵי אָדָם״.כִּי נָפֵיק, אוֹמֵר: ״בָּרוּךְ ... אֲשֶׁר יָצַר אֶת הָאָדָם בְּחׇכְמָה, וּבָרָא בּוֹ נְקָבִים נְקָבִים, חֲלָלִים חֲלָלִים, גָּלוּי וְיָדוּעַ לִפְנֵי כִּסֵּא כְּבוֹדֶךָ שֶׁאִם יִפָּתֵחַ אֶחָד מֵהֶם אוֹ אִם יִסָּתֵם אֶחָד מֵהֶם אִי אֶפְשָׁר לַעֲמוֹד לְפָנֶיךָ״.
How should it end? Four Sages and one closing
The Gemara then asks: “What is its closing?”, that is, what words follow the second Boruch Atoh Ado-noi.
- Rav said: Rofei cholim, “Who heals the sick”.
- Shmuel objected: “Abba has made the whole world sick!” (Abba is Rav’s own name.) A healthy person who thanks Hashem that his body works is not a sick man. So: Rofei chol bosor, “Who heals all flesh”.
- Rav Sheshes said: Mafli la’asos, “Who acts wondrously”.
- Rav Papa concluded: therefore let us say both, Rofei chol bosor umafli la’asos.
That is the closing we say every day. It joins two thoughts: Hashem heals every body, all the time, even one that is not sick; and the way He does it is a wonder.
מַאי חָתֵים? אָמַר רַב: ״רוֹפֵא חוֹלִים״. אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: קָא שַׁוִּינְהוּ אַבָּא לְכוּלֵּי עָלְמָא קְצִירֵי. אֶלָּא: ״רוֹפֵא כׇל בָּשָׂר״. רַב שֵׁשֶׁת אָמַר: ״מַפְלִיא לַעֲשׂוֹת״. אָמַר רַב פָּפָּא: הִלְכָּךְ נֵמְרִינְהוּ לְתַרְוַיְיהוּ — ״רוֹפֵא כׇל בָּשָׂר וּמַפְלִיא לַעֲשׂוֹת״.
From the Gemara to our siddur
If you set the Gemara’s words beside our siddur, three small differences appear:
- the Gemara says חֲלָלִים (chololim), our siddur חֲלוּלִים (chalulim), “hollows”;
- the Gemara says “if one of them is opened or if one of them is closed”; our siddur puts “closed” first;
- the Gemara ends “it would be impossible to stand before You”; our siddur says “it would be impossible to survive even for one hour”.
The wording of our siddur is the one explained in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 6:1). Its explanation reads חֲלוּלִים, speaks first of an opening being closed and then of a hollow organ being opened, and twice uses the words “it would be impossible to survive even for one hour”. Our siddur, Tehillat Hashem, prints it exactly as you will find it in the section “The Text” below.
Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 6:1, with the Rema · Hebrew text via Sefaria; paraphrased, the Rema quoted · sefaria.org/Shulchan_Arukh,_Orach_Chayim.6.1
Chabad.org, Online Siddur: Asher Yatzar · Siddur Tehillat Hashem text; checked word by word Nov 2, 2026 · chabad.org/torah-texts/2349709
Why every morning: “a newly-created being”
By the law of the Gemara, Asher Yatzar is said only after relieving oneself. Why, then, is it the second bracha of every morning, said right after Al Netilas Yadayim? The Alter Rebbe answers in his Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 6:1): “it has become universal custom to recite this blessing every morning immediately after the blessing Al netilas yadayim, for every day a person becomes a newly-created being. Thus every single day it is appropriate to recite a blessing [which praises G‑d for] ‘form[ing] man with wisdom.’” The translators note his source, the Responsa of the Rashba (vol. 1, sec. 191).
This is the thread of our whole series. In Modeh Ani (Lesson 1) we thanked Hashem for returning the soul; in Lesson 2 we washed our hands like a kohen before his service; now we thank Him for the body itself, formed again this morning, as if for the first time.
Its place in the Chabad siddur. The Alter Rebbe calls saying these brachos at home, right after washing, “a desirable custom”, because a bracha should come as close as possible to its mitzvah (6:5). He also writes that it is desirable to say Elokai Neshamah directly after Asher Yatzar, so that the Boruch at the start of Asher Yatzar serves Elokai Neshamah too (6:7). That is the next lesson. And through the day, the bracha is said each time after relieving oneself; the siddur’s commentary brings the Alter Rebbe’s words (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 7:4) that one must bless even for a single drop. For the details of your own practice, for example when one needs the lavatory right after waking, ask your rav.
לְפִי שֶׁבְּכָל יוֹם נַעֲשֶׂה הָאָדָם בְּרִיָּה חֲדָשָׁהכִּי אֲפִילוּ לְטִיפָּה אַחַת חַיָּיב לְבָרֵךְ, שֶׁאִם יִסָּתֵם הַנֶּקֶב מִלְּהוֹצִיא הַטִּיפָּה הַהִיא הָיָה קָשֶׁה לוֹ וְחַיָּיב לְהוֹדוֹת
Chabad.org, Online Siddur with Commentary (Siddur Illuminated by Chassidus, Sichos in English): Asher Yatzar · Hebrew note quoting Shulchan Aruch HaRav 7:4; quoted as printed there, vowels added here for reading · chabad.org/torah-texts/2349709
“With wisdom”: three explanations, and a wonder
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 6:1) explains the words of the bracha one by one.
בְּחָכְמָה, “with wisdom”, has three explanations: the creation of man is a wondrous wisdom; or, the body is like a skin bottle full of air, and yet full of openings; or, Hashem prepared the food of Adam, the first man, and only then created him.
Openings and hollows. The openings are many: the mouth, the nose, and the others. The hollow organs are many too: the heart, the stomach, the intestines. If an opening that must stay open were closed, or a hollow organ that must stay closed were opened, a person could not survive even for one hour. The mouth, for example, is closed while a child is in its mother’s womb and opens when he comes out into the world.
רוֹפֵא כָל בָּשָׂר, “Who heals all flesh”: by the openings He made, the waste of food goes out, and that going out is itself a healing.
וּמַפְלִיא לַעֲשׂוֹת, “and acts wondrously”: make a hole the size of a needle’s point in a skin bottle full of air, and the air escapes. A person is full of openings, and yet his breath of life stays inside him. That is a wonder. Or: the body sorts the good of the food from its waste.
The Rema adds a deeper reading: the wonder is that Hashem keeps the spirit of man within him and binds a spiritual thing to a physical thing; and all of this is because He is the Healer of all flesh, for when a person is healthy his soul is held safely within him. With these words the Rema opens the door to Elokai Neshamah, the bracha over the soul, which follows.
וְעוֹד יֵשׁ לְפָרֵשׁ שֶׁמַּפְלִיא לַעֲשׂוֹת בְּמָה שֶׁשּׁוֹמֵר רוּחַ הָאָדָם בְּקִרְבּוֹ וְקוֹשֵׁר דָּבָר רוּחָנִי בְּדָבָר גַּשְׁמִי, וְהַכֹּל הוּא ע"י שֶׁהוּא רוֹפֵא כָל בָּשָׂר, כִּי אָז הָאָדָם בְּקַו הַבְּרִיאוּת וְנִשְׁמָתוֹ מִשְׁתַּמֶּרֶת בְּקִרְבּוֹ
Wisdom and its limit: a dwelling for Hashem below
The siddur’s commentary sends us to a maamar of the Alter Rebbe in Torah Or (Megillas Esther 92c), where our bracha appears in the middle of a Kabbalistic discussion.
The light of the Infinite, the Alter Rebbe explains, is called sovev kol almin, “encompassing all worlds”, because the worlds cannot receive it inside them. The ten sefiros, whose beginning is chochmah, came forth another way: by the kav, the “line” of light, after the tzimtzum, the contraction that hid the Infinite light. This is a light of limit and measure, and the first of its revelation is in chochmah. That is why it says “You made them all with wisdom” (Tehillim 104:24): in everything in the world there is chochmah, “like asher yatzar es ho’odom b’chochmoh”, the wisdom of the structure of the body’s limbs; the great wisdom of the heavenly spheres, of which the astronomers grasped only a fraction; and so on, up and down without end. Even a worm and a fly have wisdom in their creation. And yet all this wisdom is still a limit compared to the Infinite.
Then he adds a subtle point. What gives chochmah a vessel, a boundary that says “up to here”, so that the next sefirah can begin, does not come from the line; it comes from the light of sovev, the Supreme Will, which gives every level the power to have its own limiting vessel.
The commentary sums it up: both kinds of light are needed for the world to be “a dwelling for Hashem in the lower realms” (Tanya, ch. 36). The light that fills all worlds, memale kol almin, gives each creature its own life and its own character; the light that encompasses all worlds lets Hashem’s transcendence rest there, and makes the world His dwelling.
A thought of my own, not the words of Torah Or: our bracha holds both. “Formed man with wisdom” is the wisdom inside the body, every organ in its place. “If one of them were closed, or one of them opened” is the limit: each opening and each hollow kept exactly to its measure, up to here and no further. When I say Asher Yatzar, I thank Hashem for both, and my body becomes a small dwelling for Him.
וְכוּלָּם בְּחָכְמָה עָשִׂיתָ שֶׁבְּכָל הַדְּבָרִים שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם יֵשׁ בְּחִי' חָכְמָה כְּמוֹ אֲשֶׁר יָצַר אֶת הָאָדָם בְּחָכְמָה. דְּהַיְינוּ נִתּוּחַ הָאֵבָרִים שֶׁהוּא ע"פ חָכְמַת הַנִּתּוּחַכִּי אֲפִי' בְּתוֹלַעַת וּבִזְבוּב יֵשׁ בְּחִי' חָכְמָה בִּבְרִיאָתָם וּמ"מ הִיא בְּחִינַת גְּבוּל לְגַבֵּי א"ס ב"ה
Tehillim 104:24 · Hebrew text via Sefaria · sefaria.org/Psalms.104.24
“Healer of all flesh”: trust, and no despair
The last words of the bracha carry a lesson for every day, and especially for days of illness. The siddur’s commentary, drawing on the Rebbe’s letters, puts it simply: when a person faces a medical problem he should put his trust in Hashem, for the bracha says it clearly, He is “the Healer of all flesh”. And there is no place for despair. Since Hashem is the source of all healing, nothing is beyond Him: He “acts wondrously”, and can bring health even where the natural order sees no way.
That trust does not replace the doctor. The Gemara (Berachos 60a) learns from the verse “and he shall surely heal” (Shemos 21:19) that “permission was given to the healer to heal”. The Rebbe joins the two in a letter: one should follow the instructions of a physician who specializes in the illness, “however, at the same time, you must clearly know that G‑d is the ‘Healer of all flesh and Performer of wonders’; the individual physician and specific medication are merely His agents and instruments.” In another letter, in Yiddish, quoted in the siddur’s notes, he writes that, as we say in the morning brachos, Hashem is the true Healer of all flesh, and the doctors are no more than His messengers.
So the bracha I say every morning, healthy, is also the bracha that gives strength on a hard day. For any question of health and halacha, ask your rav, and follow your doctor.
״וְרַפֹּא יְרַפֵּא״ — מִכָּאן שֶׁנִּיתְּנָה רְשׁוּת לָרוֹפֵא לְרַפּאוֹת.
Talmud, Berachos 60a · Gemara text via Sefaria · sefaria.org/Berakhot.60a
Shemos 21:19 · Hebrew text via Sefaria · sefaria.org/Exodus.21.19
The Rebbe, Igros Kodesh vol. X, p. 36, in English in “Healthy in Body, Mind & Spirit”, vol. 1, ch. 7, compiled by Rabbi Sholom B. Wineberg (Sichos in English, Chabad.org) · quoted from the English translation · chabad.org/…/aid/2306901
“How precious a Jew’s body is”
In a letter to someone whose doctor had just allowed him to return home, the Rebbe writes that the Torah itself gave the healer permission to heal. Some mistakenly say that a G‑d-fearing person need not listen to his doctor when the instructions seem to get in the way of his religious conduct; the Rebbe answers that the opposite is true, and brings two sayings of our Rebbeim:
“There is also the well-known aphorism of the Rebbe Rashab, who — pointing at his holy hand — said to his son, my father-in-law, the Rebbe: ‘See how precious [is the body of a Jew] — for its sake has [G‑d] poured forth so much [Torah and mitzvos].’ There is also the well-known saying of the Alter Rebbe: ‘We have absolutely no conception of how precious a Jew’s body is to G‑d.’”
— The Rebbe, Igros Kodesh vol. X, p. 200 (English translation on Chabad.org)
Connections of my own
These are my own connections, not the words of the letters.
The second bracha of the day. Right after we wash our hands, before any bracha over Torah, the very first thing we praise is the body, and its lowest work. If the Alter Rebbe says we cannot grasp how precious a Jew’s body is to Hashem, Asher Yatzar is where we begin to learn it, every morning.
A small hole, a large hole. In another letter the Rebbe brings the warning of the Maggid of Mezritch to his son, the “Malach”: “A small hole in the body causes a large hole in the soul” (Igros Kodesh vol. XVIII, p. 72). Our bracha speaks of the body’s openings, n’kovim n’kovim. The Maggid’s word, a hole, shows how closely the soul’s life depends on them.
Not two things, but one. The Rebbe also writes that “the spiritual and physical aspects of the Jew are not two distinct and separate entities, but are truly one; [and] one is dependent on the other” (Igros Kodesh vol. VII, p. 19). That is the Rema’s wonder, a spiritual thing bound to a physical thing. And in the Chabad siddur, the bracha over the body runs straight into the bracha over the soul, Elokai Neshamah.
The Rebbe, Igros Kodesh vol. VII, p. 19, in English in “Healthy in Body, Mind & Spirit”, vol. 1, ch. 7, compiled by Rabbi Sholom B. Wineberg (Sichos in English, Chabad.org) · quoted from the English translation · chabad.org/…/aid/2306901
Asher Yatzar, line by line
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, | Boruch Ato Ado-noi, Elo-keinu Melech ho’olom, | Blessed are You, Hashem, our G‑d, King of the world, |
| אֲשֶׁר יָצַר אֶת הָאָדָם בְּחָכְמָה, וּבָֽרָא בוֹ נְקָבִים נְקָבִים, חֲלוּלִים חֲלוּלִים, | asher yotzar es ho’odom b’chochmoh, u’voro vo n’kovim n’kovim, chalulim chalulim. | Who formed man with wisdom, and created in him many openings and many hollows. |
| גָּלוּי וְיָדֽוּעַ לִפְנֵי כִסֵּא כְבוֹדֶֽךָ, | Golui v’yodu’a lifnei chisei ch’vodecho, | It is revealed and known before the throne of Your glory |
| שֶׁאִם יִסָּתֵם אֶחָד מֵהֶם, אוֹ אִם יִפָּתֵֽחַ אֶחָד מֵהֶם, | she’im yisoseim echod meihem, o im yiposei’ach echod meihem, | that if one of them were to be closed, or if one of them were to be opened, |
| אִי אֶפְשַׁר לְהִתְקַיֵּם אֲפִילוּ שָׁעָה אֶחָת. | i efshar l’hiskayeim afilu sho’oh echos. | it would be impossible to survive even for one hour. |
| בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, רוֹפֵא כָל בָּשָׂר וּמַפְלִיא לַעֲשׂוֹת: | Boruch Ato Ado-noi, rofei chol bosor umafli la’asos. | Blessed are You, Hashem, Who heals all flesh and acts wondrously. |
Two small things to notice when reading. The Boruch at the end closes the bracha; the words before it are one long sentence. And the last word is אֶחָת, echos, with a kamatz: the normal form is אַחַת, achas, but at the end of a sentence the vowel lengthens, the same pausal kamatz as in מֵעֵינָי in Lesson 3 (§G18).
Line 2: who formed man
The opening words, Boruch Ato … ho’olom, were split in Lessons 1 to 3. We begin with the second line.
אֲשֶׁר יָצַר אֶת הָאָדָם בְּחָכְמָה, וּבָֽרָא בוֹ נְקָבִים נְקָבִים, חֲלוּלִים חֲלוּלִים,
| אֲשֶׁר | = | אֲשֶׁר |
| asher Who, that | joining word |
| יָצַר | = | יָצַר |
| yotzar formed | kal past: “he” |
| אֶת | = | אֶת |
| es (sign of the object) | object marker |
| הָאָדָם | = | אָדָם | + | הָ |
| ho’odom man, mankind | odom, man | the |
| בְּחָכְמָה | = | ◌ה | + | חָכְמָ | + | בְּ |
| b’chochmoh with wisdom | feminine | chochm-, wisdom | with |
| וּבָֽרָא | = | בָֽרָא | + | וּ |
| u’voro and created | kal past: “he” | and |
| בוֹ | = | ◌וֹ | + | ב |
| vo in him | him | in |
| נְקָבִים | = | ◌ים | + | נְקָבִ |
| n’kovim openings | plural | nekev, opening |
| חֲלוּלִים | = | ◌ים | + | חֲלוּל |
| chalulim hollows | plural | cholul, hollow |
Line 3: before Your throne
Two describing words, and a chain of three: “before the throne of Your glory”.
גָּלוּי וְיָדֽוּעַ לִפְנֵי כִסֵּא כְבוֹדֶֽךָ,
| גָּלוּי | = | גָּלוּי |
| golui revealed | passive participle |
| וְיָדֽוּעַ | = | יָדוּעַ | + | וְ |
| v’yodu’a and known | passive participle | and |
| לִפְנֵי | = | פְנֵי | + | לִ |
| lifnei before | the face of | to |
| כִסֵּא | = | כִסֵּא |
| chisei throne (of) | throne |
| כְבוֹדֶֽךָ | = | ◌ךָ | + | כְבוֹדֶֽ |
| ch’vodecho Your glory | Your | kovod, glory |
Lines 4 and 5: if one were closed
The words אוֹ, “or”, אִי אֶפְשַׁר, “impossible”, אֲפִילוּ, “even”, and שָׁעָה אֶחָת, “one hour”, are in the word list of the grammar section.
שֶׁאִם יִסָּתֵם אֶחָד מֵהֶם, אוֹ אִם יִפָּתֵֽחַ אֶחָד מֵהֶם,אִי אֶפְשַׁר לְהִתְקַיֵּם אֲפִילוּ שָׁעָה אֶחָת.
| שֶׁאִם | = | אִם | + | שֶׁ |
| she’im that if | if | that |
| יִסָּתֵם | = | סָּתֵם | + | יִ |
| yisoseim were to be closed | nif’al: dagesh = hidden nun | future: “it” |
| אֶחָד | = | אֶחָד |
| echod one | one |
| מֵהֶם | = | הֶם | + | מֵ |
| meihem of them | them | from |
| יִפָּתֵֽחַ | = | פָּתֵֽחַ | + | יִ |
| yiposei’ach were to be opened | nif’al: dagesh = hidden nun | future: “it” |
| לְהִתְקַיֵּם | = | קַיֵּם | + | הִתְ | + | לְ |
| l’hiskayeim to survive | kayeim: doubled middle | hitpa’el | to |
Line 6: the closing
The closing: two patterns you already know, and one new form, the infinitive.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, רוֹפֵא כָל בָּשָׂר וּמַפְלִיא לַעֲשׂוֹת:
| רוֹפֵא | = | רוֹפֵא |
| rofei heals, the Healer of | active participle |
| כָל | = | כָל |
| chol all | all |
| בָּשָׂר | = | בָּשָׂר |
| bosor flesh | flesh |
| וּמַפְלִיא | = | מַפְלִיא | + | וּ |
| umafli and does wonders | hif’il present | and |
| לַעֲשׂוֹת | = | עֲשׂוֹת | + | לַ |
| la’asos to do | kal infinitive | to |
- Lesson 1 §G1 · The root and the three-part word: most words are built on a three-letter root; a word = prefix + stem + ending
- Lesson 1 §G2 · Hidden root letters: yud, vav and hei can change shape or drop; a dagesh can mark a merged letter
- Lesson 1 §G3 · One-letter prefixes: ve- and, be- in/with, le- to, mi- from, she- that: written joined to the next word
- Lesson 1 §G4 · Pronouns: standalone and attached: ani I, Ato You; endings -i my/me, -cho/-echo your, -einu our, -o/-ov his
- Lesson 1 §G5 · Nouns: masculine, feminine, plural: feminine -oh, which becomes -as/-os before an ending; plurals -im and -os; vowels shorten as the word grows
- Lesson 1 §G8 · Present and past: who is speaking: the present (participle) changes for gender and number; the past adds person endings such as -ti I, -to you, -nu we
- Lesson 2 §G9 · The article: “the”: ha- plus a dagesh in the next letter; ho- before alef, ayin, reish; hidden inside be-, le-, ke-
- Lesson 2 §G10 · The construct chain: “X of Y”: two nouns side by side mean “X of Y”; the article goes on the second; feminine -oh becomes -as
- Lesson 2 §G13 · The passive participle: boruch: the pattern kotuv (kamatz, then u before the last letter) means “-ed”: boruch blessed
- Lesson 3 §G15 · The active participle: “the One Who does”: the kal present has o after the first root letter and ei under the second: pokei’ach, zokeif; it describes an action that goes on
- Lesson 3 §G16 · The hif’il present: ma- … -i-: the hif’il present has ma- (mei-) in front and a yud before the last root letter: matir, malbish, hameichin, hama’avir; it means “causes to …”
- Lesson 3 §G18 · “Me” and “my”: -ni and -i: on a verb, -ni means “me” (osani, “made me”); on a noun, -i means “my” (tzorki); on a plural or dual noun, -ai (einai, einoi at a pause)
- Lesson 3 §G19 · Two small signs: the furtive patach and the soft letter: a patach under a final ח or ע is read before the letter (koach); בּ כּ פּ lose their dagesh after a vowel (vinoh, gover)
In Lesson 1 we saw the present and the past (§G8). The past adds endings after the root (-ti, -to, -nu). The future works the other way: it puts a letter in front of the root. There are four such letters:
- א for “I”: in the Gemara’s words before entering, וְאֶעֱשֶׂה (v’e’eseh), “and I will do” (Berachos 60b).
- ת for “you” (and for “she”): in Vihi Ratzon (Lesson 3), וְאַל תְּבִיאֵֽנוּ (v’al t’vi’einu), “do not bring us”.
- י for “he” or “it”: in the same prayer, וְאַל יִשְׁלוֹט (v’al yishlot), “let it not rule”.
- נ for “we”: at Sinai our people said נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע (na’aseh v’nishma), “we will do and we will hear” (Shemos 24:7).
A plural ending can be added at the end as well (-u for “they”), but the front letter is the sign to look for. Set it aside and the root is usually right behind it.
In Asher Yatzar the future is used after אִם, “if”: שֶׁאִם יִסָּתֵם אֶחָד מֵהֶם, “that if one of them were to be closed”. Here the future does not tell what will happen; it pictures something that, thank G‑d, does not happen, and so lets us feel what we are thanking for. The two verbs יִסָּתֵם and יִפָּתֵֽחַ are also passive; their pattern is the nif’al (§G21).
| וְאֶעֱשֶׂה | v’e’eseh | and I will do | א = I · Berachos 60b |
| תְּבִיאֵֽנוּ | t’vi’einu | (that) You bring us | ת = you · Vihi Ratzon |
| יִשְׁלוֹט | yishlot | (that) it rule | י = he, it · Vihi Ratzon |
| נַעֲשֶׂה | na’aseh | we will do | נ = we · Shemos 24:7 |
| יִסָּתֵם | yisoseim | (if) it were to be closed | י + root ס־ת־ם |
Every binyan we have met so far tells who does the action: the kal (simple), the pi’el (§G11), the hif’il, “cause to” (§G7, §G16). The nif’al turns the simple verb around: the subject is the one to whom the action is done. פּוֹתֵחַ (posei’ach) is “opens”, as in פּוֹתֵחַ אֶת יָדֶךָ, “You open Your hand” (Tehillim 145:16); in Asher Yatzar, יִפָּתֵֽחַ (yiposei’ach) is “it would be opened”.
How to recognize it. Its sign is a nun in front of the root:
- In the past and present the nun is seen: נִבְרָא (nivro), “created”, in “a people that will be created” (Tehillim 102:19); נֶאֱמָן (ne’emon), “faithful, trustworthy”, in the Gemara’s prayer before a treatment, “for You are a faithful Healer” (Berachos 60a).
- In the future the nun is hidden. The future letter comes in front (§G20), the nun merges into the first root letter, and a dagesh in that letter is its trace (as in מַתִּיר, §G2, §G16). The vowel is i under the future letter and ei (tzeirei) before the last root letter: יִסָּתֵם (yisoseim), from ס־ת־ם, “close”; יִפָּתֵֽחַ, from פ־ת־ח, “open”, with a furtive patach (§G19); תִּכָּתֶב (tikosev, here with a segol), “let it be written”, from כ־ת־ב (Tehillim 102:19); and in the Gemara, עַד שֶׁאֶכָּנֵס (ad she’ekoneis), “until I enter”, from כ־נ־ס (Berachos 60b).
So the two verbs of Asher Yatzar say exactly what we cannot do for ourselves: we do not close or open our own openings; they are closed and are opened, and only Hashem keeps them in their right measure.
| פּוֹתֵחַ | posei’ach | opens | kal: active |
| יִפָּתֵֽחַ | yiposei’ach | (if) it were opened | nif’al future: dagesh in פּ |
| יִסָּתֵם | yisoseim | (if) it were closed | nif’al future: dagesh in סּ |
| תִּכָּתֶב | tikosev | let it be written | Tehillim 102:19 |
| נִבְרָא | nivro | created | nif’al: נ in front |
| נֶאֱמָן | ne’emon | faithful | nif’al present · Berachos 60a |
The last word of the long sentence in Asher Yatzar is לְהִתְקַיֵּם (l’hiskayeim), “to survive, to keep existing”. It belongs to a binyan with two clear marks:
- הִתְ (hit-, which we read his-: the ת without a dagesh is soft, §G19) in front of the root;
- a doubled middle root letter, with a dagesh, as in the pi’el (§G11).
Its meaning is usually reflexive: the subject does the action to himself or for himself. In Lesson 3 we met two: לְהִשְׁתַּעְבֶּד (l’hishta’bed), “to make itself a servant”, and, in a Torah Or passage, שֶׁתִּתְחַזֵּק (shetischazeik), “that it grow strong”. The Gemara’s greeting to the angels uses the command form: הִתְכַּבְּדוּ (hischab’du), “be honored” (Berachos 60b); and the Torah says of a man who has recovered, וְהִתְהַלֵּךְ (v’hishaleich), “and he walks about” (Shemos 21:19).
Two things to watch. (1) When the root begins with ס, שׂ or שׁ, the ת of hit- trades places with it: so we read לְהִשְׁתַּעְבֶּד, l’hish-ta’bed, with the ת after the שׁ. (2) In לְהִתְקַיֵּם the root is ק־ו־ם, “stand, exist”: its middle vav appears as a doubled yud, קַיֵּם (§G2).
So l’hiskayeim is not simply “to exist”: it is to keep oneself standing, from moment to moment. That is what the body could not do “even for one hour” without the openings and hollows that Hashem made in it with wisdom.
| לְהִתְקַיֵּם | l’hiskayeim | to keep existing, to survive | root ק־ו־ם; vav → doubled yud |
| הִתְכַּבְּדוּ | hischab’du | be honored | command · Berachos 60b |
| וְהִתְהַלֵּךְ | v’hishaleich | and he walks about | Shemos 21:19 |
| שֶׁתִּתְחַזֵּק | shetischazeik | that it grow strong | future (§G20) · Lesson 3 |
| לְהִשְׁתַּעְבֶּד | l’hishta’bed | to make itself a servant | ת and שׁ change places |
The infinitive names an action without saying who does it or when: “to do”, “to stand”. In the siddur it almost always comes with the prefix לְ (l’, “to”, §G3), after words such as “impossible”, “commanded us” or “wonders”. Asher Yatzar has two:
- לְהִתְקַיֵּם (l’hiskayeim), “to survive”, a hitpa’el infinitive (§G22), after אִי אֶפְשַׁר, “it is impossible”;
- לַעֲשׂוֹת (la’asos), “to do”, a kal infinitive, after מַפְלִיא, “does wonders”: literally “works wonders to do”, that is, acts wondrously.
The kal infinitive has the vowel o before the last root letter: in the Gemara’s version of the bracha, אִי אֶפְשָׁר לַעֲמוֹד לְפָנֶיךָ, la’amod, “to stand before You” (Berachos 60b). With a root whose last letter is hei, such as ע־שׂ־ה, the hei drops and the ending ־וֹת (-os) takes its place (§G2): לַעֲשׂוֹת. Why la- and not l’? Because the ע under it has a chataf patach, and the prefix borrows its vowel.
In the other binyanim the infinitive keeps the binyan’s marks: hif’il לְהַבְחִין (l’havchin), “to distinguish” (Lesson 3, with the yud of §G16); hitpa’el לְהִתְקַיֵּם and לְהִשְׁתַּעְבֶּד (§G22).
| לַעֲשׂוֹת | la’asos | to do | kal, root ע־שׂ־ה: hei → -os |
| לַעֲמוֹד | la’amod | to stand | kal · Berachos 60b |
| לְהַבְחִין | l’havchin | to distinguish | hif’il · Lesson 3 |
| לְהִתְקַיֵּם | l’hiskayeim | to survive | hitpa’el |
Asher Yatzar opens with אֲשֶׁר יָצַר אֶת הָאָדָם, “Who formed man”. The small word אֶת (es) has no English equivalent. It is a signpost: “what comes next is the object of the verb”, the one the action is done to.
It is used only when the object is definite:
- with the article: אֶת הָאָדָם, “(the) man” (§G9);
- with an ending “my, your, our”: וְכוֹף אֶת יִצְרֵֽנוּ, “and bend our inclination” (Vihi Ratzon, Lesson 3); פּוֹתֵחַ אֶת יָדֶךָ, “You open Your hand” (Tehillim 145:16).
When the object is indefinite, there is no אֶת. In the very same sentence: וּבָֽרָא בוֹ נְקָבִים, “and created in him openings”, with no אֶת before נְקָבִים.
In printed Chumashim it is often joined to the next word by a makaf, a small hyphen, as in אֶת־יָדֶךָ, and then it has a segol. Where it stands on its own in a verse it can take a tzeirei, אֵת, as in the very first verse of the Torah: אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ (Bereishis 1:1). Our siddur prints אֶת in Asher Yatzar.
| אֶת הָאָדָם | es ho’odom | (the) man | definite: with “the” |
| אֶת יִצְרֵֽנוּ | es yitzreinu | our inclination | definite: with “our” |
| אֶת־יָדֶךָ | es yodecho | Your hand | with a makaf · Tehillim 145:16 |
| נְקָבִים | n’kovim | openings | indefinite: no אֶת |
In Asher Yatzar two words are said twice: נְקָבִים נְקָבִים, חֲלוּלִים חֲלוּלִים. Hebrew often repeats a word instead of adding “many” or “very”.
- Many, of every kind. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 6:1) explains נְקָבִים נְקָבִים as “many openings”, such as the mouth and the nose, and חֲלוּלִים חֲלוּלִים as many hollow organs, such as the heart, the stomach and the intestines. The repetition counts them all, each with its own work.
- Very much. When Yehoshua and Calev came back from the land, they said: טוֹבָה הָאָרֶץ מְאֹד מְאֹד, “the land is very, very good” (Bamidbar 14:7).
- Insistence. In the Gemara, Abaye’s words before entering are שִׁמְרוּנִי שִׁמְרוּנִי, עִזְרוּנִי עִזְרוּנִי, “guard me, guard me; help me, help me” (Berachos 60b).
In reading, each word of the pair keeps its own vowels and its own stress; only the meaning grows.
| נְקָבִים נְקָבִים | n’kovim n’kovim | many openings | Asher Yatzar |
| חֲלוּלִים חֲלוּלִים | chalulim chalulim | many hollows | Asher Yatzar |
| מְאֹד מְאֹד | m’od m’od | very, very | Bamidbar 14:7 |
| שִׁמְרוּנִי שִׁמְרוּנִי | shimruni shimruni | guard me, guard me | Berachos 60b |
Small words of Asher Yatzar
| Word | Transliteration | Meaning | Root | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִם | im | if | — | With a future verb: “if … were to” (§G20). |
| אוֹ | o | or | — | Joins two possibilities. |
| אִי אֶפְשַׁר | i efshar | impossible | — | אִי, “not”, with אֶפְשַׁר, “possible”; followed by an infinitive (§G23). |
| אֲפִילוּ | afilu | even | — | Stresses how little: “even one hour”. |
| שָׁעָה | sho’oh | an hour | — | Feminine noun (§G5), so “one” is feminine: אַחַת. |
| אֶחָד / אַחַת | echod / achas | one | — | Masculine and feminine; at the end of a sentence אֶחָת (echos). |
| הֶם | heim | they, them | — | Standalone pronoun (§G4); with מִ: מֵהֶם, “of them”. |
| כִּסֵּא | kisei | throne | — | Starts with a hard כּ; soft after a vowel, as in our line (§G19). |
| אֲשֶׁר asher · Who, that in nearly every bracha over a mitzvah: אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ | אֶת es · (object sign) on almost every page |
| חָכְמָה chochmoh · wisdom root ח־כ־ם | כָּבוֹד kovod · glory, honor root כ־ב־ד |
| לִפְנֵי lifnei · before לְפָנֶיךָ, “before You” | לַעֲשׂוֹת la’asos · to do root ע־שׂ־ה |
- Where in the Gemara does Asher Yatzar come from? What did people say before entering, and what did Abaye ask to say instead?
- Four Sages proposed endings for the bracha. Which ending was accepted, and why was Rav’s ending not kept?
- Name the three differences between the wording in the Gemara and the wording in our siddur.
- Why do we say Asher Yatzar every morning, right after Al Netilas Yadayim, even without having used the lavatory? Explain “a newly-created being”.
- Give the Shulchan Aruch’s explanations of “with wisdom”, and the Rema’s explanation of “acts wondrously”. How does the Rema lead to Elokai Neshamah?
- In Torah Or, what is the difference between the wisdom inside creation and the vessel that limits it? Where does each come from?
- What does “Healer of all flesh” teach about trust in Hashem and about going to a doctor? Use the Gemara and the Rebbe’s letters.
- Split יִסָּתֵם and יִפָּתֵֽחַ into their parts. What does the front letter tell you, and what does the dagesh hide? Why are they in the future after אִם? → see §G20, §G21
- Find the two infinitives of Asher Yatzar. Which one is a hitpa’el, and how do you know? What happened to the vav of ק־ו־ם and to the hei of ע־שׂ־ה? → see §G22, §G23, Lesson 1 §G2
- Why is there an אֶת before הָאָדָם but none before נְקָבִים? And what does saying נְקָבִים twice add? → see §G24, §G25
The lesson PDFs are for signed-in users.