Addressing God in blessings – Ask the Rabbi
Q. Why do blessings first address God as “You” and move to the third person, “He”?
A. The Rashba (Shlomo ibn Adret, 1235-1310) says this illustrates the two great principles of Judaism – that God exists, and that His nature is known only to Himself.
The blessings begin “Blessed are You”, which shows we accept that God is, but then when we say something about Him we stand back and say “He” and “His” (e.g. “He sanctified us with His commandments”) because His true nature is concealed from us.
