Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on November 2, 2010 by Eryn
“ברוך אתה ה אלוקינו מלך העולם מתיר אסורים” – “Blessed are you, Hashem, our God, King of universe who releases the bound” – I am particularly grateful for this blessing from Birckot Hashachar. It is symbolized through stretching. I have always thought of stretching as something purely physical, however, this bracha makes us aware that there is also something to be learned from the action. It teaches us that there are many muscles in our life that we don’t flex, be it that we are not aware of them, or society says they are not important, or we intentionally push them away, however, these muscles give us strength and stability and make us whole – and by ignoring them we are not being all that we can be. Stretching is our daily reminder of this, it’s our rooster, its our aha.