The Laws of the Blessing over Lightning and Thunder

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This article deals with the laws of the blessing over lightning and thunder: What should one bless over them ideally? Which blessing is effective after the fact? Is one obligated to recite the blessing, or may one bless only if he wishes to merit a blessing? How is this blessing recited — standing or sitting? When is a person required to bless several times in one day? And when should one not bless more than once? What is the law regarding a storm that continues for several days? How long after seeing or hearing may one still recite the blessing? Does one bless only upon seeing the actual lightning, or also upon seeing a flash of light?

What blessing is recited over lightning and thunder?

The Sages instituted a blessing upon hearing thunder or seeing lightning. There are two blessings. One is “Oseh ma’aseh Bereishit” — “Who performs the work of Creation” — a blessing recited over any wondrous phenomenon in creation that arouses a person to remember the work of Creation. An additional blessing that may be recited is “Shekocho ugevurato malei olam” — “Whose strength and might fill the world.” The Mishnah Berurah (siman 227, se’if katan 7) explains in the name of the Abudraham that the meaning of the blessing is to thank the Creator for giving nature the power to display the might of the Maker of the world in the work of Creation, so that people will fear Him.

In practice, these blessings are also recited over a number of other events, such as seeing a comet, an earthquake, or extremely stormy winds.

According to the basic law, one may recite either “Oseh ma’aseh Bereishit” or “Shekocho ugevurato malei olam,” and one may recite the same blessing for both lightning and thunder — either “Oseh ma’aseh Bereishit” for both, or “Shekocho ugevurato malei olam” for both. (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, siman 227, se’if 1).

The custom is to recite “Oseh ma’aseh Bereishit” over lightning and “Shekocho ugevurato malei olam” over thunder. The Taz (Orach Chaim, siman 227, se’if katan 1) explained the reason for the custom: through thunder, the might of the Holy One, blessed be He, is more evident than through lightning, and therefore one recites “Shekocho ugevurato malei olam” over thunder.

As stated, each of the blessings applies both to lightning and to thunder; only in order not to recite the same blessing twice, the custom developed to bless over thunder with “Shekocho ugevurato.”

What appearance of lightning requires a blessing?

Another matter to clarify is the following: at times the appearance of lightning is clearly visible, and one sees its zigzag form in the sky; on the other hand, at times one sees only a flash of light. Must one see the body of the lightning itself, or is it sufficient to see only the light of the lightning? Moreover, one must clarify a case where outside it is reasonable to assume that a full zigzag bolt of lightning would be visible, but since one did not see the sky — for example, he was in a room, or the window was dim — he saw only a flash of light. Does he bless in such a case as well?

It appears that it is sufficient to see the light of the lightning, even if one sees it through a dim window, and likewise when one sees the light inside his home; he need not see the body of the lightning itself. (Azmerah Lishmecha, issue 80).

Is there an obligation to bless over lightning and thunder ?

The question arises whether these blessings are obligatory upon a person, so that when he sees these natural phenomena he is required to recite a blessing, or whether they are optional: if he wishes to use this natural phenomenon in order to merit the mitzvah of thanking the Creator, he may do so, but if he does not wish to interrupt his activities, he is not obligated.

Answer: These blessings are obligatory, as the Shulchan Aruch wrote (siman 218, se’if 3), that all blessings recited upon seeing are obligatory. On the other hand, the Rema (Orach Chaim, siman 223, se’if 1) wrote that since the blessings of Shehecheyanu and Hatov Vehametiv are optional and not obligatory, the practice spread to be lenient with all blessings recited upon seeing. However, the Mishnah Berurah (siman 223, se’if katan 7) wrote that this does not mean that the custom to be lenient is indeed in accordance with the law. Rather, the Rema wrote that only regarding Shehecheyanu do we find in the Gemara that it is optional and not obligatory, and therefore people were lenient regarding that blessing. But among the general public, as a result of this, an erroneous leniency spread even to the other blessings recited upon seeing. The truth, however, is that only Shehecheyanu and Hatov Vehametiv are optional. Moreover, the Mishnah Berurah (Biur Halachah, siman 223, se’if 1) wrote that even regarding Shehecheyanu and Hatov Vehametiv, many poskim disagree with the Rema and hold that even Shehecheyanu and Hatov Vehametiv are obligatory; and only with regard to a new gourd, which does not bring such great joy, did the Gemara state that it is optional.

Must one bless immediately after hearing the first thunder and seeing the first lightning?

When a person sees that a lightning storm is approaching, is he obligated to bless over the first lightning and thunder, or, if he is occupied, may he wait until he becomes available and then bless over one of the later flashes of lightning and peals of thunder during the storm?

Answer: The Noda BiYehudah (first edition, Orach Chaim, siman 41) ruled that the obligation applies to the first lightning and thunder. He explained his words as follows: there is an obligation to bless over every hearing of thunder and every seeing of lightning; however, when one blesses over the first lightning and thunder, the blessing also applies to all the lightning and thunder that follow during that storm that day. But if one blessed in the middle of the storm, the blessing applies only to the lightning and thunder from the moment of the blessing onward, and it emerges that he did not bless over the first lightning and thunder, thereby losing the blessing over that lightning and thunder. Therefore, one is obligated to bless after hearing the first thunder and seeing the first lightning.

Must one stand for the blessing over lightning and thunder?

Is it obligatory to stand when reciting this blessing, or may a person who is sitting when he sees lightning or hears thunder remain seated and recite the blessing while sitting?

Answer: This blessing is recited while sitting, and one need not stand. A proof to this is from what we find (Sanhedrin 42a), that the blessing of Kiddush Levanah is recited standing, like greeting the Divine Presence; this implies that without such a special factor, one need not stand for blessings of praise. So too the Pri Megadim (siman 432, Mishbetzot Zahav, se’if katan 3) wrote that one need not stand. See also the view of the Yaavetz (Mor Uketzi’ah, siman 8, s.v. yit’atef; Siddur Yaavetz, laws of the morning blessings) on this matter. (Azmerah Lishmecha, issue 79).

How many times does one bless on the same day?

Another question that must be clarified is how many times one blesses over lightning and thunder. When there is one storm, does one bless once regardless of the length of the storm, or does one bless once per day?

Answer: When a person recited a blessing over lightning or thunder, he exempts with this blessing all the lightning and thunder that he will see or hear during that storm that day. However, if the storm ended and a new storm began, one must bless again, even if this occurs on the same day. (Shulchan Aruch, siman 227, se’if 2). Similarly, if there is a storm that continues for several days, one must bless each day separately, even though it is all one storm. (Mishnah Berurah, siman 227, se’if katan 8). The definition of one storm is as long as clouds remain in the sky, even if they have dispersed and are somewhat here and somewhat there; only if the sky was clear without clouds is it considered a new storm. (Mishnah Berurah, siman 227, se’if katan 8). The definition of a new day is when one gets up in the morning after the night (Ma’amar Mordechai, siman 227, se’if katan 3; Kaf HaChaim, siman 227, se’if katan 12).

If one blessed over lightning and within toch kedei dibbur heard thunder (or vice versa), does the blessing exempt both?

When a person saw lightning and recited the blessing, and within 2–3 seconds after the blessing heard thunder, or a person did not see the first lightning but only heard the thunder, and within 2–3 seconds after the blessing saw another lightning flash, the poskim disagree whether he was exempted by the first blessing. In practice, he should not bless again.

The explanation is that, according to halachah, both the blessing “Oseh ma’aseh Bereishit” and the blessing “Shekocho ugevurato malei olam” exempt both lightning and thunder. Therefore, in a case where he saw lightning and immediately afterward heard thunder, it is obvious that he should recite only one blessing. However, in a case where he blessed over the first phenomenon and had not yet seen the second at the time of the blessing, the view of the gaon Rav Chaim of Sanz (glosses to Shulchan Aruch, siman 227) is that he must recite the second blessing as well, since at the beginning of the blessing he intended only what he had already seen or heard. If so, if he blessed over lightning, he did not exempt the thunder, and vice versa.

However, the view of the Chayei Adam (klal 63, ot 7) is that if the thunder came within toch kedei dibbur [2–3 seconds] after the lightning, one should not bless over it. It appears that the Chayei Adam’s view is not limited specifically to a case where he heard the thunder within toch kedei dibbur of the lightning, but even if during the blessing itself, or even within toch kedei dibbur after the blessing, he heard the thunder, the blessing applies to the thunder.

An example of this law is found in the laws of keriah, tearing garments in mourning (Nedarim 87a): there is an obligation, when one’s father dies, to tear one’s garments. But if a person thought his father had died and tore keriah, and the doctor told him that at the time of the tearing his father was still alive and died only within toch kedei dibbur after the tearing, he has fulfilled the obligation of keriah for his father and is not required to tear again. However, if his father died 2–3 seconds after the tearing, he did not fulfill the obligation and must tear again for his father. See Sha’arei Yosher (Sha’ar 5, chapter 22) for an extensive explanation of the matter: the completion of an act or blessing occurs only after the toch kedei dibbur period from the act, meaning that the act is completed only 2–3 seconds after it is performed. Therefore, it also relates to matters that occurred during that time. On the other hand, there are various situations in which, within toch kedei dibbur, a person can retract from the act. (Azmerah Lishmecha, issue 80).

May one bless after 2–3 seconds have passed since seeing the lightning or hearing the thunder?

Another question that must be clarified is: after how much time may one no longer bless, having lost the blessing? In this matter, the view of the Taz is that one may bless even if 2–3 seconds have already passed since seeing the lightning or hearing the thunder. However, many later authorities disagreed with him and held that one may bless only immediately adjacent to the seeing or hearing, and up to 2–3 seconds afterward. The Mishnah Berurah (siman 227, se’if katan 12) ruled in accordance with these views: if 2–3 seconds have passed from the seeing or hearing, one should not bless over that lightning or thunder. However, if later in the storm there will be additional lightning and thunder, one may bless over them.

Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim, siman 227); Azmerah Lishmecha (issues 79–80).