Reciting Rifa’einu in Lieu of Asher Yatzar

Q. If you forgot to recite Asher Yatzar and davened Shemoneh Esrei, which contains the beracha of Rifa’einu (a prayer for healing), should Asher Yatzar be recited afterwards, or does the beracha of Rifa’einu exempt the beracha of Asher Yatzar?

A. There are many proofs that the beracha of Rifa’einu does not exempt Asher Yatzar. The Chayei Adam, Mishnah Berurah and many other poskim rule that if one needs to use the bathroom during Birchas Kriyas Shema, Asher Yatzar should be recited after Shemoneh Esrei. They explain, that since one can wait until after Shemoneh Esrei, it is not proper to make an unnecessary interruption. It is clear from this ruling that although Rifa’einu is recited in Shemoneh Esrei, Asher Yatzar must be said.

Sefer Bnei Levi disagrees with these poskim. He argues that Rifa’einu would exempt Asher Yatzar, and therefore one must interrupt Birchas Kriyas shema to recite Asher Yatzar, as otherwise the beracha will be lost.

Tzitz Eliezer (11:4) shows that the halacha does not follow the Bnei Levi. He explains that Rifa’einu will not exempt Asher Yatzar since these two berachos are fundamentally different. The beracha of Rifa’einu is a request to heal all Jews who are sick. The beracha of Asher Yatzar is a birchas ha’shevach (or birchas ha’nehenin) in recognition of the wonders of Hashem’s creation. In addition, he quotes Rav Chaim Berlin that the beracha of Asher Yatzar praises Hashem for establishing a natural process of health for the human body, while Rifa’einu is a request that Hashem provide healing even beyond the realm of nature.

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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.