From Talia Friedman: I was wondering about birchot hashachar. What would a blind person say about he bracha "gives sight to the blind"? would he say she-asanee kirtzono instead? would he respond "amen" to a chazzan saying that bracha, if it does not apply to him? I was also wondering if being female is considered a handicap in these brachot. it says "thanks for making me a man" near "giving me sight" "not making me lame" and other handicaps. "Making me according to your will" is not a satisfying alternative. if say then should women respond "amen" to a chazzan saying that bracha? Why doesn't everyone say "she-asanee kirtzono", it applies to everyone? I know this probably is a classic question, but I have never heard an answer.
A blind person would say "Who gives sight to the blind" because in that berachah we are thanking Hashem for the phenomenon of sight in the world, not that we personally have sight. Most of the other berachot are similar - not personally about us but about Hashem creating the phenomena. The exceptions, which seem to be personal, are the 2nd, 3rd and 4th berachot: "You have not made me a .... {gentile/slave/woman}." The classic explanation for that group of 3 comes from R. David Abudraham (14th century Spain): gentiles, slaves and women (in ascending order) have fewer obligations in mitzvot, and a man therefore is thankful that he is not in a class of people who have fewer obligations. This is another manifestation of the outlook that the mitzvot are a gift, not a burden. Women also thank Hashem for not being in the first 2 classes of people with lesser obligations, and then thank Hashem in a positive way, for creating "me according to His will," perhaps meaning that the lesser degree of obligation is the will of Hashem, for whatever reasons He had.
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