Why do we answer amen to our own beracha of Boneh Yerushalayim towards the end of Birkat HaMazon, when there is another beracha afterwards? Why do we not answer amen at the end of the second beracha before Shma?

What is the problem with saying an unnecessary beracha? When is it praiseworthy to answer amen to your own beracha, and when is it improper?

What are some of the rules that surround the saying of "Amen"? How can we resolve an obvious contradiction between two halachot in the Rambam about answering Amen?

If a person hears a beracha from someone else but does not say "Amen," has he nonetheless fulfilled his obligation?

Can a person make a beracha for someone else, even if he is not participating in the action associated with the beracha? For example, can a person make a beracha over blowing shofar even if he already heard the shofar? What about over bread if he isn't going to eat?

If a person says a beracha "in his heart" without articulating the words, has he fulfilled his obligation? What about if he speaks between making the beracha and doing the action (such as eating) related to the beracha?

Can a person alter the basic formulation of the berachot? Can he say them in any language, or only in Hebrew?

What are the three categories of berachot that Chazal established?

Are berachot - blessings - a Torah requirement? What does a beracha do: sanctify the food, or something else entirely? And why does the Rambam say that "tasting" food does not require a beracha, when he also says that a person cannot eat even the smallest amount without making a beracha first?

Join Rabbi Scott Kahn as he explicates the Kinot of Tisha B'Av on the Maimonides Minute Special.

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