The blessing of Asher Yatzar is recited every morning as part of the Birchas HaShachar, Morning Blessings. It is also recited after one has gone to the bathroom. It expresses our recognition that our bodies are complex and sophisticated systems and if one part of the system goes bad then this effects the whole body. In this blessing we express our gratitude to HaShem for the fact that our bodies continue to function properly. The Asher Yatzar prayer is over two thousand years old.
The following is a translation of Asher Yatzar:
Blessed are You, HaShem, our God, King of the Universe, Who formed man with intelligence, and created within him many openings and many hollow spaces; it is revealed and known before the Seat of Your Honor, that if one of these would be opened or if one of these would be sealed it would be impossible to survive and to stand before You (even for one hour). Blessed are You, HaShem, Who heals all flesh and does wonders.
"Who formed man with intelligence":
"many openings and many hollow spaces":
"Openings" refers to openings in the human body such as the mouth, the anus, the nose, and the ears. "Hollow spaces" refers to hollow organs such as the stomach, the intestines, and the heart.
"it is revealed and known before the Seat of Your Honor":
The reason that the Seat of HaShem's Honor is mentioned here is to teach us not to think that HaShem does not concern Himself with lowly things such as the use of the bathroom, but that HaShem watches and knows everything.
"if one of these would be opened or if one of these would be sealed it would be impossible to survive and to stand before You":
If a person is born with one of the openings or hollow spaces of his body improperly formed, either that it is open when it should be closed or vice versa, then life would not be possible.
© Eliezer C. Abrahamson
