Before the Bracha
From Halachipedia
Physical preparations
- When making a bracha, one's mouth should be empty so that one can fully praise Hashem. [1]
- One must wear a Kippah while making a Bracha. [2] If one doesn't have a Kippah one should cover your head with your hand and a little bit of your sleeve or ask a friend to cover your head with his hand (even without a sleeve). </ref> S"A 91:4 writes that using one's hand to cover one's head isn't sufficient for a head-covering, but a friend covering one's head would be sufficient. Mishna Brurah 91:10 adds that it is considered a head-covering if one uses one's hand along with a bit of the sleeve. </ref>
- One should be dressed properly before making any bracha especially Birkat HaMazon [3]
References
- ↑ Gemara Brachot 50b writes that if one forgot and put food into one's mouth, if the food isn't something that's easily ruined it should be spit out. On this the gemara explains that one should spit it out so that one could have his entire mouth involved in praising Hashem based on the pasuk ימלא פי תהלתך (Tehillim 71:8). The Shulchan Aruch 172:2 rules like this gemara and the Mishna Brurah 172:7 and Kaf HaChaim 172:4 bring down the gemara's explanation.
- ↑ S"A 91:3
- ↑ S"A 74:4 writes that one should cover one's lower body (with pants) even if one's upper body is revealed prior to saying Shema. Yet, Mishan Brurah 74:22 writes clearly that this is only for extenuating circumstances, otherwise one should always dress properly even for regular brachot and all the more so for Shema. VZot HaBracha (pg 8) quotes Rav Elyashiv that one should dress properly for brachot even by the beach. Or Letzion 13:3 and VeTen Bracha (pg 212) in name of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach say that one must wear proper clothing for Birkat HaMazon just like the requirement of Ituf (see S"A 183:5)
