24 August 2017

Birkas Habayit - ברכת הבית - Blessing of the home

The Birkat Habayit is perhaps the most popular blessing in the Jewish world, appearing as a hanging amulet inside the entrance of many houses of Jews of all streams.
The theurgical power of scriptural verse is one very significant element that distinguishes Jewish prayer from other literary prayer praxes. At least three verses seems apropos to me. The first two : Exodus 25:8 associates ones own house with the archetypal mishkan, the dwelling place intended for the shekhina (Divine Presence). The second verse, from Proverbs 24:3-4, is prescriptive. If you ask for an accompanying verse from the Tanach to the popular Blessing for the Home you can think of  the verse of blessing given by Bilaam the prophet in Numbers 24:5 upon seeing with his own eyes the wandering camp of the Israelites. These three verses, I think, help to ground the intention of the blessing in the context of the Jewish imagination.
The provenance and original authorship of the formula is unknown.
Birkat habayit:
Bezeh haššshaˁar lo yavo tzaˁar.
Bezot haddirah lo tavo tzarah.
Bezot haddelet lo tavo bahalah.
Bezot hammaḥlaqah lo tavo maḥloqet.
Bezeh hammaqom tehi b'rakhah v'shšalom.


Blessing for the home:
Let no sadness come through this gate.
Let no trouble come to this dwelling.
Let no fear come through this door.
Let no conflict be in this place.
Let this home be filled with the blessing of joy and peace. 


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