The Blessing of Asher Yatzar in the Middle of the Night
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Question
A person who went to sleep and needs to use the bathroom, and is not clean enough to recite the blessing of Asher Yatzar without great effort, can he wait until the morning even if he might miss the blessing of Asher Yatzar, or is he obligated to ensure his body is in a state to bless?
Answer
Hello,
One cannot rely on blessing in the morning, as there is a concern that by morning he will need to relieve himself again and will not be able to bless.
However, if his hands are not clean and it is a great effort for him to wash them, he can rub his hands and bless Asher Yatzar, and he is not obligated to wash his hands according to the law.
Source
Mishnah Berurah, Siman 4, S"K 3
Some say that if he urinated at night, he can rely on the blessing of Asher Yatzar in the morning, but this is questionable, as it often happens that in the morning he wants to urinate again, and the blessing of Asher Yatzar cannot apply to the night urination, as stated in Siman 7, MB S"K 1. Some are stringent and wash their hands, put on pants, or tie something to separate the heart from the nakedness, and bless Asher Yatzar.
Mishnah Berurah, Siman 62, S"K 8
The Taz writes that from this one can learn that if someone is thirsty at night in his bed and cannot wash his hands and bless, he should think the blessing in his heart and drink. However, the book Mateh Yehuda disagrees and writes that he can stand up and wash his hands, and it is not similar to a sick or forced person, as one cannot compare possible to impossible. Even if he has no water for washing or drinking, or if it is difficult for him to stand due to the cold, he can wipe his hands on the wall or anything that cleans, and this helps even if he knows for sure that he touched covered places, as stated above in Siman 4, S"K 22 and 23.
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