The “HaYam HaGadol” Berachah – Chaim Kanievsky

The “HaYam HaGadol” Berachah – Chaim Kanievsky

Some people dream of “seeing Paris and... dying,” while we Jews would like to see Gibraltar so that we can recite a berachah. One day, Rav Chaim Walkin came to the Gadol HaDor, Rav Chaim Kanievsky (shlita), together with a certain man. He introduced his companion and said that the man had come from Gibraltar. “Wow!” the usually calm Rav Chaim Kanievsky reacted excitedly. “You are from Gibraltar?” Those close to him were surprised by the Rav’s reaction and asked what was so unusual about a man from Gibraltar. Rav Chaim replied: “Halachah states that when a person sees the Yam HaGadol—the Great Sea—he must recite a special berachah: ‘Baruch Oseh HaYam HaGadol’—‘Blessed is He Who made the Great Sea.’ However, there is a dispute among the poskim as to which sea is considered the Great Sea—the Mediterranean or the Atlantic Ocean. Since the question has still not been resolved, when we see either of these seas, we can recite only the berachah: ‘Oseh Ma'aseh Vereishit’—‘Who created all of Creation.’ But since Gibraltar lies at the meeting point of these two great bodies of water, a person who is there and sees both of them simultaneously can recite the berachah in accordance with all opinions: ‘Oseh HaYam HaGadol.’ (From the book “A Gadol in Our Time,” translated by Sila Tehilim)