What's Going On – When to
make the blessing
The
timing of the blessing is the subject of dispute between the Ra’avd and the Rambam on one side, who hold that the blessing must be made before
the immersion and the BaHaG and R’Y on the other side who hold that it
should be made after the immersion. In this case, Sephardim follow the Rambam and Askenazim follow the BaHaG.
The
underlying dispute relates to the concept of making a blessing prior to
performing the related act. Ordinarily,
this is an ironclad rule that we apply to everything. For example, we make the blessing for Chanukah
candles before lighting them and make the blessing for hand washing prior to
drying our hands. However, in the case
of immersion, one circumstance would absolutely require making the blessing
after the act – and that is the immersion of a convert. Before the immersion, the convert isn’t
Jewish, so making a blessing at that point isn’t an option. Based on this and on an understanding of the
underlying Gemara, many poskim have concluded
that the single exception for a convert mandates that all acts of immersion be
treated the same way. The Rambam
disputes that and maintain that it is for only the immersion of a convert that
the blessing is shifted.
The
prevalent custom among Ashkenazim is to immerse, recite the blessing in the
water with arms crossed and then immerse a second time. In this way, the woman ends up performing an
immersion both before and after the blessing.
Others have customs to immerse 3, 5, 6 or 7 times. One should follow one’s family custom and in
the absence of one, follow the custom of immersing twice.
A woman
does not make a SheHecheyanu before
her first immersion just as we do not make one on performing other mitzvos for the first time. We limit saying SheHecheyanu to those things that occur seasonally and not a mitzvah that one happens to have an
opportunity to perform.