Whenever one experiences happiness of the heart from the goodness of this world, one is obligated to recite a
bracha. If the goodness occurred to him alone – e.g. eating a new fruit or seeing a friend after a lengthy period– he recites
shehecheyanu.
[1]
With regards to saying
shehecheyanu when reuniting with friends The Rebbe notes that we don’t customarily say
shehecheyanu when reuniting with friends, however he doesn’t accept the reason that one’s joy may not be full hearted – since even one in doubt about his level of joy may still say
shehecheyanu (like on a new fruit) – and concludes that one who truly wishes can make the
bracha.
[2] ( apparently Based on this reasoning , chassidim recited
shehecheyanu the first time they saw the Rebbe.)
When one hears that one’s wife gave birth to a son, he recites
hatov vehameitiv, and this exempts him from reciting
shehecheyanu upon seeing the son if it is within thirty days.
Hatov vehameitiv not said on the birth of a daughter, but what about
shehecheyanu due to the excitement upon first seeing her?
Some
poskim question whether it is a complete joy, in contrast to seeing a friend whom one knows already however seeing a baby one never meet her before so one doesn’t know what he is expecting .
[3] The Alter Rebbe, however, rules that one is to recite
shehecheyanu upon seeing one’s new daughter if he takes pleasure and rejoices in seeing her.
[4] If one mistakenly made the
bracha on someone else’s child, he makes it again upon seeing their own child since that will bring him true joy.
[5] It is important to note that An important condition for reciting the bracha is that the surroundings must be clean and
tzniusdik.
Twins
If one had twin girls, and he sees each one individually, he makes a
bracha on each one. If the twins are a boy and a girl, then the
hatov vehameitiv on the boy covers the girl as well.
[6]
In many communities, we find that some didn’t recite these
brachos upon birth. Some
poskim hold that the
shehecheyanu is optional and not obligatory.
[7] Even amongst Chabad
rabbonim, some held not to say this
bracha; either because we don’t know if the joy is genuine, or due to some other unknown reason.
Other Chabad
rabbonim feel that the Alter Rebbe’s inclusion of these
brachos in
Seder Birkas Hanehenin (a special compilation regarding which brachos one says) demonstrates that this is what we should do, and the Alter Rebbe doesn’t hold that the
shehecheyanu is optional.
[8] They attribute the lack of reciting the bracha by many to influence of other communities, a mistake, or since the area wasn’t sufficiently clean.
[9]
In practice, if you are excited and happy with the birth of your daughter , you can surely recite the
bracha when you see her for the first time.
[10] 