Q&A: Blessing After Immersion
Blessing After Immersion
Question
Hello Rabbi,
In Pesachim (7b), the Talmud discusses the topic of blessings over commandments being recited before performing them, and it excludes immersion on the grounds that the one immersing is not in a position to recite the blessing before the immersion.
The medieval authorities (Rishonim) explain that this refers to the immersion of a convert, since only he is not in a position to recite blessings before immersion (because for all other immersions one may recite the blessing even while in a state of ritual impurity).
I wanted to ask: according to them, why is the convert not in a position to recite this blessing? After all, the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded one who wishes to convert to immerse, so he would seem to be included in this blessing. There are several things that the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded gentiles, and this is one of them, so seemingly he should be able to say, “and commanded us concerning immersion.”
Thank you
Answer
At first glance, I thought there is no obligation here, since there is no obligation to convert. There is not even a conditional obligation on the prospective convert to immerse. It is only a procedure, and if the convert did not immerse, he is not a transgressor; he is simply not a convert. But according to this, there would also be no basis to establish a blessing even after the immersion, except perhaps a blessing of thanksgiving.
It may be that even if we view this as an obligation upon the gentile who comes to convert, gentiles do not recite blessings over their commandments. Beyond that, perhaps in the case of a convert who becomes a Jew, it is appropriate that he recite the blessing only afterward, once the commandment has already been fulfilled, because only then does it become clear retroactively that there was a commandment here. In other words, this is not a commandment upon a gentile; rather, if a gentile did this, the Jew who came into being here fulfilled a commandment.
This connects to the contradiction in Kovetz Shiurim between Gittin and Ketubot regarding the emancipation of a slave and the immersion of a convert: whether acquisition on behalf of another can apply when the acquisition is for a gentile (and is forbidden because of “do not show them favor”), and he discusses there whether one can say that the acquisition is for the Jew who comes into being as a result of the conversion or emancipation. If I remember correctly, I wrote about this in the fourth book of the Talmudic Logic series.
Discussion on Answer
That is not an additional explanation, only an explanation of why Noahides do not recite blessings over their commandments.
I thought to explain that perhaps the wording of the blessing over commandments specifically refers to the Jewish people (“who has sanctified us with His commandments”). Before the gentile converted, he cannot say “who has sanctified us.” If there were a personal blessing over commandments, perhaps it would be appropriate for a gentile to recite it as well.