In this parashah, the Torah details the halachos of bringing the Korban Todah, which was brought by a person who was saved from danger, in order to express his gratitude to his Creator. At this time, when we do not have a Bais Hamikdash, the Anshei Knesses Hagedolah established that instead, we make the brachah of Hagomel (Rosh, Brachos 9 3).
One who studies this will find that in fact, every brachah that we make during the course of the day is gratitude to Hashem. But without a doubt, the Birchos Hashachar supersede them all, as in those brachos, we thank Him each morning for the tremendous goodness that He grants us every single minute, both spiritually and materially. This includes the health of our bodies, the power to walk, the sight in our eyes, and all the tools that He has granted us so that we can live lives of goodness and brachah, and to sanctify ourselves with avodas Hashem. It is not for naught that these brachos conclude with the brachah of “Hagomel” – “Hagomel chassadim tovim l’amo Yisrael.”
And when we delve even further into it, if every brachah in its essence is a song of gratitude, then how much more so the amen, because that affirms and fulfills the brachah!
The Tiferes Shlomo (Sha’ar Hatefillah) adds another illuminating point: While the mevarech thanks in the brachah for the good things that the Creator gave him, the one who answers amen offers thanks for the good given to another person. Hence we find that the level of the gratitude of the oneh amen is greater than that of the mevarech, and that is why Chazal say (Brachos 53a): “The one who answers amen is greater than the mevarech.”
A few years ago I thought of a beautiful remez that teaches that answering amen is the essence of gratitude: One of the most remarkable pesukim of gratitude is the one sung by Dovid Hamelech (Tehillim 146:12): “Mah ashiv l’Hashem kol tagmulohi alay.” The acronym of the words: “ כל‘מה אשיב לה” is numerically equivalent to ninety one, exactly like the word amen!
Let us recite Birchos Hashachar together each morning, in front of those who will answer amen, and we should also answer amen to the brachos of our friends, and by doing so, aside for having complete brachos, we will also fulfill our obligation of gratitude by answering amen after the brachos of our friends.
Good Shabbos
Yaakov Dov Marmurstein
