Hilchos B'rachos Part XXXIII
The
B’rachos of Gratitude
Birkas Hagomel
Who is required to recite Birkas Hagomel?
A person who was in a dangerous predicament and escaped, is
obligated to thank HKB”H, and chazal instituted Birkas Hagomel for
this purpose.
A person who was dangerously ill should recite Hagomel upon
recovery, even though several poskim
write
that one should recite Hagomel even if one was bedridden for more than
three days. Nowadays the custom is to only recite Hagomel when one was
dangerously ill (for even less than three days).
One who had surgery on internal organs such as fissures, hernias and
eyes, will usually recite Hagomel. As usual a Rav should be asked.
It is the accepted custom to recite Hagomel if a general anesthetic has
been administered, regardless of the procedure it was administered for.
If bitten by a poisonous insect, snake or scorpion, one will recite
Hagomel.
A person who had hepatitis and was bed ridden for many days, or
suffered a heart attack or stroke, will recite Hagomel.
When does one recite this b’racha?
One recites the b’racha when one has fully recuperated. If
one has overcome the danger entirely even though one must still administer
medication and physical therapy, one will recite the b’racha.
What if chas v’shalom there might be
a relapse?
It seems that one will not recite the b’racha until one is
completely healed.
If a car narrowly misses hitting a person, or
if someone is nearly involved in an accident, does one recite Hagomel?
One only recites Hagomel when one was in a dangerous
situation and was saved. When a car narrowly misses, it is indeed something to
thank Hashem profusely, but it is not cause for Hagomel, because
after all, one was not in danger – the car missed.
If two
cars narrowly miss each other, or if one swerves out of the way of another car,
one will not recite Hagomel.
If
however a car spun out of control, or if a car was hit by another car and one’s
life was saved, even if the person did not suffer any injury, that person was in
danger and must recite Hagomel.
One who travels through a dangerous place, such as the desert, a
plane trip or over the seas, must recite Hagomel
upon
reaching dry land and at the culmination of the trip. If one makes a short
stop-over (even lasting several days) between flights, one does not recite
Hagomel
until
the entire journey is over.
Is it accepted by all to recite Hagomel after
a plane trip?
Indeed there are various opinions on the matter. There are those that require
one to recite the b’racha, and others differentiate between whether the
plane flew over water or land, while others say that one does not recite the
b’racha. In all cases one should ask one’s Rav, although the prevalent
custom is that one does recite Hagomel.
How long after the trip does one have to
recite Hagomel?
Preferably one should recite
Hagomel within three days of emerging from danger,
and
this is even if one will forgo reciting the b’racha before a sefer Torah,
as is the custom.
One
may recite the b’racha long after three days, but if an extended time has
elapsed and one has basically forgotten the danger, one does not recite the
b’racha.
Where must this b’racha be
recited?
One recites the b’racha
before ten males, based on the possuk –
åéøåîîåäå á÷äì òí åáîåùá æ÷ðéí éäììåäå, where the first part of the
possuk refers to 10 people and the second part refers to talmidei
chachamim, so l’chatchila there should be two talmidei chachamim
in the minyan (including the person reciting the b’racha).
Custom is to recite after
reading the Torah, because a quorum is always present, but if one is not able to
recite after reading the Torah, one should recite the bracha before a
quorum wherever.
The Mishna Berura
cites
a source saying that if one has to wait thirty days to gather a quorum; one
should not wait and recite it with even less than a quorum.
