Prayer and Blessings
Blessings over the Torah upon Waking in the Middle of the Night
Question
Shalom, Rabbi.
Usually, I wake up in the middle of the night, around 2:00 AM, and learn the weekly Torah portion for about half an hour. Afterward I continue sleeping until morning. When am I required to recite the blessings over the Torah?
Thank you.
Answer
Shalom and blessings.
If you sleep a fixed sleep before 2:00, you should recite the blessings over the Torah before learning. Since the poskim disagree whether the blessings over the Torah should be recited again upon the second rising, it is preferable that you have in mind not to fulfill your obligation with the blessings over the Torah, or that you intend to fulfill it with the blessing of Ahavat Olam in the prayer.
With blessings,
Binyamin Shmuali
