The Beracha of “She’asa Li Kol Sorki”

One of morning blessings we are required to recite each day is "She'asa Li Kol Sorki" – "who Has made for me all that I need." This Beracha expresses gratitude for the ability to wear shoes, as it is only because we have shoes that we can go about and do all that we need to do. On a personal note, I gained greater appreciation for this Beracha after a bizarre experience I had during a trip to Mexico City. I was invited by the Syrian-Jewish community there to come as a guest speaker, and I stayed in a hotel. In the hotel room, I noticed that the hotel offered a shoe-polishing service, whereby the guest gives in his shoes before going to sleep, and they are placed outside his door freshly-polished the next morning. I gave in my shoes, but the next morning, after I got dressed, they were not by my door. I had no choice but to go down the lobby – where the leaders of the community were meeting me to bring me to the synagogue – without my shoes. I explained to them what happened, and we spoke to the hotel staff. They brought me to the room where the shoes are kept, and I had to rummage through piles of shoes for quite some time until I found mine. That morning, I understood the significance of this Beracha that we recite each morning – "She'asa Li Kol Sorki." We tend to take it for granted that we can put on shoes every morning, but this is, in truth, a wonderful gift that we must appreciate. This message applies as well to the Beracha of "Malbish Arumim" which we recite each morning to thank Hashem for having clothing. This blessing, too, should never be taken for granted. Every so often it happens that a fire breaks out in a home or building during the night, forcing the residents to go outside in their bathrobes, as all their clothing goes up in flames. We must always appreciate the fact that Hashem provides us with clothing and shoes to wear each and every day. Grammatically, the word "She'asa" in the phrase "She'asa Li Kol Sorki" should be pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable: "She-A-sa." This Beracha is unique in that it is formulated in the past tense – "She'asa" ("who has made"), as opposed to the present tense – "Ha'oseh" ("who makes"). The reason why this Beracha is formulated in the present tense might be that people sometimes recognize how Hashem has fulfilled their needs only in retrospect, after the fact. Often, things happen in life that make us feel that Hashem is specifically not fulfilling our needs, that He is ignoring us, or withholding our necessities from us. For example, when a person loses his job, or when his business takes a downturn, he might not recognize how "Oseh Lo Kol Sorki," that G-d is currently taking care of him. But later, when he finds a better job, or when he finds a different business opportunity, he realizes that everything was for the best, and that Hashem was always doing what was best for Him. Therefore, it is only afterward when we can look back and say, "She'asa Li Kol Sorki," recognizing in hindsight that Hashem was caring for us all along, even when it seemed like He wasn't. Our custom is to recite the Beracha of "She'asa Li Kol Sorki" after the Beracha of "Ha'mechin Mis'adeh Gaber" (as opposed the custom to reverse the order). Furthermore, we pronounce the final word of this blessing "Sorki," and not "Sorkai." There are two days on the Jewish calendar – Tisha B'Ab and Yom Kippur – when Halacha forbids wearing regular shoes. The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in Parashat Vayesheb, thus writes that the Beracha of "She'asa Li Kol Sorki" is not recited on these days. Since this Beracha expresses gratitude for the ability to wear shoes, it is omitted on days when wearing shoes is forbidden. Citing the Sha'ar Ha'kavanot, the Ben Ish Hai explains that although the Arizal taught that there are deep mystical concepts underlying the morning blessings, and their meaning thus extends beyond the actual phenomena which they mention, nevertheless, this is relevant only when other Jews benefit these phenomena. If a person himself does not benefit from a cert