[Avodah] bracha on tefillin

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

On Mon, Aug 03, 2015 at 11:21:03AM +0300, Eli Turkel via Avodah wrote:
: I have 2 things I don't understand about the ashkenazi minhag
: 
: 1) The usual rule is "safek bracha le-kula" and so when in doubt don't say
: a bracha

: 2) How does saying "bar[u]ch shem" help ? ...

The AhS (OC 25:11 <http://j.mp/1P0kFw0>) agrees with you on both points,
and therefore posits (se'ifim 12-13) a totally different meaning to the
2nd berakhah.

And even though shel yad and shel rosh are two different of the 613,
we make one berakhah on maaser rishon and maaser sheini.

He also quotes that the BY rejects a possibility that if someone talks
between the two tefillin, he would have to make both berakhos on the shel
rosh -- repeting "lehaniach" and yet still saying "al mitzvah".

But even though he uses this as proof, he requires (se'if 16, following
the Ran via the MA s"q 15) loosening the shel yad so that you are still
saying "lehaniach" the 2nd time on both.

This is a pretty big chiddush, a birkhas hoda'ah that says "asher
qidshanu bemitzvosav vetzivanu al mitzvas..." However, similar arguments
are made about Birkhas haTorah, if one says the berakhah is deOraisa
(Ramban) and therefore "aqb"v la'asoq bedivrei Torah" can't be a birkhas
hamitzvah. The IM says as much (OC 2:3).

: We don't add "baruch shem ..." in these cases. Why only in tefillin?

Leshitas AhS, it follows enacting the qesher gadol between us and HQBH
for the same reason the pasuq is said after the first pasuq of Shema.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Friendship is like stone. A stone has no value,
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