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Following "reciting-the-blessing-of-meshaneh-habriyos-who-makes-creatures-different":

  1. what does a man that falls into that category, e.g. a midget, says upon himself?

  2. Does he have to see himself (like in a mirror) or just look at his body?

  3. How often does he say the blessing (if any)?

Al Berko
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  • ShuA OC 224:1 . – Double AA Jul 09 '19 at 22:16
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    What’s wrong with the question to downvote it? – Al Berko Jul 09 '19 at 22:18
  • @DoubleAA https://www.sefaria.org.il/Shulchan_Arukh%2C_Orach_Chayim.224.1?lang=he&with=all&lang2=he "הרואה מרקוליס או שאר עכו"ם"? – Al Berko Jul 09 '19 at 22:21
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    @AlBerko I think he means the Rema there, that we don’t make these Berachos since we’re used to seeing them. – DonielF Jul 09 '19 at 23:49
  • BTW many find the term "midget" offensive; prefer "person with dwarfism." – Shalom Jul 10 '19 at 00:15
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    @AlBerko a resultant question might be "does a person with dwarfism, raised in a family of similar sized people make a bracha when seeing a non-dwarf sized person"? (that is, is the bracha based on the percentage of population or the exposure of the individual) – rosends Jul 10 '19 at 00:33
  • Why are you choosing a dwarf as opposed to the other people who have this bracha said on them? – robev Jul 10 '19 at 00:46
  • Reviewing the answer to a previous question on this bracha, it says that one should not insult the other by saying this bracha. Pirkei Avot suggests that one should not demean himself. So, following that idea, perhaps, one should not say this bracha regarding himself. Why would one want to do that? – DanF Jul 10 '19 at 02:38
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    At what point did the fellow not see himself for 30 days? Al, you have outdone yourself this time IMHO. :) Maybe no brachah but can they recite the verse: "...B'chol dor vador chayav adam liyros es atzmo..." – David Kenner Jul 10 '19 at 03:10
  • @DanF To your last comment - if we accept the Brochos as Rabbis' decrees (like חוקים), we're probably not allowed to mix it with our feelings. One recites דיין האמת on unpleasant truths. – Al Berko Jul 10 '19 at 09:54
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    Ummm.. these brachos cannot be said unless one hasn't seen the object for 30 days. So unless this person had his eyes bandaged for 30 days or was unconscious, it wouldn't apply. – Danny Schoemann Jul 10 '19 at 12:09
  • @DannySchoemann A good point, but it is only aposteriori, this exempts him from saying additional Brochos, but not from the Brocho apriori. – Al Berko Jul 10 '19 at 19:41
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    @DavidKenner not everyone has mirrors. So if he doesn't see his own face for 30 days, would that qualify? Or does seeing his own hands and feet disqualify the person with dwarfism from saying the beracha? – larry909 Jul 11 '19 at 08:18
  • Isn't this beracha based on the premise of seeing something out of tye ordinary? If you see something everyday is there any room to posit that the beracha wasn't meant for such a situation? – larry909 Jul 11 '19 at 08:19
  • @larry909 This is exactly what this question is trying to figure out - the premises of the Brocho. It seems that nobody really deals with it seriously. On the other hand, there are two types of ordinary - objectively and subjectively. if the Brocho is set on something that's objectively strange - a midget should say a Brocho on himself, think of the Brocho on seeing the sea - I don't think many people see anything out of ordinary in seas, and still. If it is subjective, you might be right. – Al Berko Jul 11 '19 at 11:07

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