בִּלְבִישַׁת טַלִּית קָטָן בַּבּוֹקֶר בְּיָדַיִם נְקִיּוֹת וּבְמָקוֹם שֶׁמּוּתָּר לְבָרֵךְ, מְבָרְכִים "עַל מִצְוַת צִיצִית" - כֵּיוָן שֶׁאֵין בְּטַלִּית קָטָן שֶׁלָּנוּ שִׁעוּר עִטּוּף. אִם אָסוּר לְבָרֵךְ, אֲזַי קוֹדֶם הַתְּפִלָּה - אִם אֵינוֹ לוֹבֵשׁ טַלִּית גָּדוֹל - יְמַשְׁמֵשׁ בְּד' צִיצִיּוֹתָיו וִיבָרֵךְ אָז.

When putting on a tallis katan1 in the morning — if one’s hands are pure2 and he is in a place where it is permitted to recite a blessing3 — he should conclude the blessing with the words, …al mitzvas tzitzis,4 since a tallis katan of the kind we wear is not large enough to enable one to enwrap himself in it.5 If [while dressing in the morning one is in a place where] it is forbidden to recite a blessing, and if one does not wear a tallis gadol [while praying], he should handle the four tzitziyos before the Morning Service6 and recite the blessing […al mitzvas tzitzis] at that time.

To Fill In the Background

In the Holy Tongue, a shared etymology is meaningful. For example: The word for blessing (berachah: ברכה) shares a root with a number of seemingly unrelated words. For a start: bereichah — apool, a place to which the water on the surrounding slopes flows down. It also shares a root with the noun berech — a knee, a joint that enables a person to lower the higher parts of his body. Hence it is also related to the verb lehavrich, which means bringing an animal (such as a camel) down to its knees. The very same verb also signifies the practice of fastening a low branch down with an inverted forked twig and embedding it the ground, in the hope that it will strike roots and ultimately produce a satellite tree.7 The common theme of all these words has to do with drawing something downward.

And indeed, the function of a berachah is to elicit and bring down to this world a flow of Divine light and creative energy that already exists in a higher realm8 and is ready and waiting for its cue — that berachah.9

A blessing is thus contrasted in Chassidus with a prayer (tefillah), whose typical formula begins with the phrase, Yehi ratzon… — “May it be G‑d’s will that…,” which is a request that G‑d initiate a will that had previously not existed.

Both blessing and prayer initiate change; the mode in which they operate differs. A blessing is conveyed by a person who has the potential to smooth the path for Divine influence to descend. Prayer is a process through which a person penetrates to his inner core and awakens an unbounded inner dimension of G‑dliness. This awakens an aspect of G‑dliness Above that is not bounded by nature’s immediate circumstances and can change them at will.