Q&A: Falling Asleep with HaMapil
Falling Asleep with HaMapil
Question
I have 3 problems with the enjoyment blessing of HaMapil:
1. I’m not always dressed with a gartel as is proper for a blessing, and maybe even less than that.
2. I need to get up to wash my hands for the blessing if I touched covered parts of my body, and that’s a bother.
3. If I say the blessing, I don’t fall asleep because I’m so worked up that I have to fall asleep immediately, and if I do fall asleep it’s only because I didn’t say the blessing.
What should I do?
Answer
I didn’t understand a thing. What is the “enjoyment blessing” of HaMapil?
Discussion on Answer
Really? Is that how they did it where you come from? More power to you.
That was a kind of sarcasm. Next time I’ll add hand gestures to make sure it’s understood.
Unless you’ve never heard of the idea that HaMapil is a kind of enjoyment blessing.
If that’s the case, I’ll keep communicating with hand gestures.
Much success.
In my many sins, I’ve never heard that. And according to that, “Modeh Ani” would be the Grace after Meals that comes afterward. 🙂
Since you already brought up that idea….
I’ll quote here the Tosafot HaRosh citing the Raavad (Berakhot 60b), who explains why “My God, the soul” does not begin with “Blessed”:
“When he awakens he says: ‘My God, the soul.’ Even though it is long, it does not begin with ‘Blessed,’ because it is merely thanksgiving, as we explained above in chapter 3 of ‘Those Who Have Eaten.’ And the Raavad wrote that it is adjacent to the blessing ‘Who casts the bonds of sleep,’ for sleep is not considered an interruption.”
You merited to align (almost) with the view of the Raavad. We are but dust at your feet.
And as is well known, on this the Raavad wrote, “The holy spirit appeared in our study hall,” for otherwise how could he have merited to align with my expansive view??
By the way, about the question itself: with all due respect, regarding people with those nerves I don’t see any question at all. A woman separates challah while naked, and at the beach, as is known, people make blessings in a bathing suit (of course only when its drawstring is tightly fastened because of the law of a gartel), and when they instituted saying the blessing on the bed before sleep, they instituted it with exactly that in mind. There’s no need for any tricks. So it seems to me.
https://www.doresh-tzion.co.il/QAShowAnswer.aspx?qaid=281345
Before going to sleep one says the blessing “Who casts the bonds of sleep.”
As for the Rabbi, may he live long, regarding the 3 points: the Brisker Rav had those same nerves, and therefore he recited it without mentioning God’s name. (For you that would also solve #1. #2 can be solved by rubbing your hand on the blanket or pajamas.)