Bracha
/ˈbrɑː.xə/noun
A Jewish blessing or benediction, especially one recited before eating, performing a mitzvah, or experiencing something noteworthy.
Did you know?In Jewish practice, a bracha is traditionally recited before many ordinary acts, turning food, nature, and daily experience into conscious encounters with the divine.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*barak
“To bless; a reconstructed root associated with blessing”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
בְּרָכָה (berakhah)
“Blessing or benediction”
Rabbinic Hebrew
Hebrew
בְּרָכָה (berakhah)
“A formal blessing or prescribed benediction”
Medieval Ashkenazi Jewish speech
Yiddish
ברכה (brokhe)
“Blessing; benediction”
Modern English Jewish usage
English
bracha
“A Jewish blessing, commonly transliterated from Hebrew”