[Avodah] tefillat haderech

[Kenneth Miller via Avodah]

R' Eli Turkel wrote:

> On many birchot hamitzva one can be motzeh others even when they
> are "experts". This includes shofar, megilla etc (not lulav or
> netillat yadaim which is considered as a mitzvah be-gufo)
> similarly for kiddush and havdala.
>
> Note that for sefirat haomer  usually each person says the bracha
> himself/herself and also counts for themselves.

I am not aware of any situation where the halacha says that I cannot say a birkat hamitzva on your behalf, AND that the reason why I cannot do so is because you are a baki. (There might be other good reasons, depending on the situation, but I don't know that "being a baki" is ever such a reason.)

That said, I do concede that the common practice is for one person to say the bracha on shofar and megilla for all the assembled, yet we all say our own brachos on lulav, hallel, and sefira.

I have never seen this explanation, but I've always felt there was a very simple explanation for how this distinction developed: When I take the lulav, say hallel, or count sefira, I am doing the mitzvah myself. I am doing it in shul, among many other people, but we are each acting as individuals. I do the mitzvah myself, so I say the bracha on it myself.

In contrast, I am dependent on someone else to blow the shofar or read the megillah. You can say that I am personally hearing the shofar with my own ears, and you can say that "shome'a k'oneh" means that I am actively doing the mitzvah of krias hamegillah -- but the bottom line, l'maaseh, is that if the guy on the bimah messes up, I've lost the mitzvah. I am dependent on him to get the mitzvah done. I have to do my share of the work too, of course, by paying attention etc etc, but that's not enough. We *both* have to do it right. Under such conditions, I really don't want to risk saying a bracha that could end up being l'vatala. I'd rather answer Amen to *his* birkas hamitzvah.

Following that logic, someone who has his own kosher megila, and actually reads along with the baal kriah, ought to say his own Al Mikra Megila. I suppose so!

This distinction appears in other brachos too, even brachos other than birchos hamitzvah. For example, at Kol Nidre, everyone says their own Shehecheyanu on the Yom Tov, because, why not? We all say our own Netilas Yadayim, and brachos on Talis and Tefilin, for the same reason. We all listen to one person say Kiddush, but I think that's mostly because only he/she has a cup from which to drink the required amount. But at the Seder, everyone has a cup, so (in many families) everyone says their own Kiddush.

EXCEPTION: There are some brachos which *ought* to be said by each individual according to the above logic, but we rely on the other person because a few brachos got bundled together. For example, if we pass around the b'samim and candle at havdala, we should each say our own bracha on them, but most people don't, because it is part of havdala. Similarly, if you are at the Seder and don't have your own 2.5 matzos in front of you, you'll have to hear Hamotzi from someone because of Lechem Mishne, but why not say your own Al Achilas Matza after you have a piece in your hand, and the answer is because Motzi Matzah go together.

All of the above is purely my own logic, and I'm sure many of you will be able to punch some good holes in it. And I'm looking forward to reading that!

Akiva Miller
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