Being Yotzei Asher Yatzar on Another's Beracha

Q. If one does not know how to recite the beracha of Asher Yatzar, can someone else recite it for them? Can they just listen, and answer Amen?

A. The halacha states that a person can be motzi a friend with his beracha, provided the person who is saying the beracha is obligated to do so. As such, if two people used the bathroom and are required to recite Asher Yatzar, and if one is unable to do so, the other may recite the beracha for both. (The one not reciting the beracha should listen carefully, and answer Amen.)

What if one did not use the bathroom. May he still recite the beracha and be motzi another Jew who is obligated?

Shulchan Aruch (OC 273:4) states that I can recite kiddush for my neighbor, even if I already said kiddush for myself. Why is this so, if a person cannot recite a beracha for another unless he is personally obligated? The answer is that there is a beautiful concept in Judaism of kol Yisrael areivim zeh lozeh (all Jews are responsible for each other). If my neighbor is obligated to say kiddush, I am personally responsible to make certain that he fulfills his mitzvah. Since I share that responsibility, I can make kiddush on his behalf, even though I already said kiddush. This same concept of extended responsibility applies to most other berachos as well. Thus, I may recite the beracha and blow shofar for another, even after I was yotzei. There is, however, one exception. I cannot recite a birchas hanehenin (a beracha on pleasures or benefits) for another if I am not required to make the beracha. Birchas hanehenin are personal obligations of the one who experienced the pleasure, and kol Yisrael areivim zeh lozeh does not apply.

With respect to our original question (can I be motzi another Jew with Asher Yatzar if I did not use the bathroom) Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach z”l (Minchas Shlomo 2:4:28) suggests that this depends on what category of beracha is Asher Yatzar. If it is a beracha of shevach (praise for G-d’s gift of health and a functional body), I may recite the beracha for another even if I did not use the bathroom, but if it is a birchas hanehenin (beracha on benefit), I may not. There are various proofs that Asher Yatzar is a birchas ha’shevach, and other proofs that it is a birchas ha’nehenin. Rav Shlomo Zalman concludes that Asher Yatzar is a hybrid of shevach and nehenim, and therefore I cannot recite Asher Yatzar for another if I am not personally required to do so. It should be noted that Rav Ovadia Yosef (Yebia Omer, 9:3) maintains that even if Asher Yatzar is a birchas ha’shevach, many poskim do not allow reciting a birchas ha’shevach for someone else, unless I am personally obligated as well.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.