Sneezing: Does It Mean It's True?

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I. Recap

Last week we discussed sneezing and its diverse meanings across cultures. In Judaism, sneezing signifies good sign when it occurs during shemoneh esreh, indicating Heaven's favorable response to prayer. We also discussed the custom of pulling one's ears after sneezing, prevalent among Galician and Lithuanian Jews. This article examines the tradition of blessing someone who sneezes and the significance of sneezing in relation to truth.

II. Blessing One Who Sneezes

Unlike yawning, sneezing prompts us to offer blessings and wishes of wellness. What drives this distinctive response? The custom of blessing someone after sneezing dates to Mishnaic times¹,  yet its purpose remains is not discussed. The Midrash² explains that since the creation of heaven and earth, humanity had never known illness. Instead, when someone sneezed, their soul would depart through their nostrils, whether they were traveling or in public. Ya’akov Avinu prayed to Hashem, pleading, "Please don't take my soul before I can share my wisdom with my children and household." Hashem granted his request, as evidenced by the verse: "After these events, Yosef was told, 'Behold, your father is ill.'" News of Ya’akov’s illness astonished people worldwide, marking the first recorded instance of mortality since creation. As the Midrash notes, sneezing once signaled life's departure, so we now wish life to counter its original implication.³

After being blessed following a sneeze, the individual responds with "baruch tichye" and the person who offered the blessing replies, "lishuatecha kiviti kol hayom" (For your salvation, God, I wait).⁴

However, there are exceptions regarding when to offer a blessing and when not to.

1. a) In the Bet Midrash, blessing to one who sneezes is omitted.⁵ This is done to maintain uninterrupted Torah study in the Bet Midrash, which takes precedence over responding to sneezes. ⁶
2. b) To minimize choking risks, our sages recommended refraining from speaking, including post-sneezing blessings, during meals. ⁷
3. c) According to the Ben Ish Hai, one who sneezes in a synagogue requires no blessing. ⁸

III. Sneezing Confirming The Truth

In the Bukharian community, when someone sneezes while speaking or listening, others say, "Amen" or "True," indicating the truthfulness of the spoken words. In Yiddish culture, a sneeze during speech is met with "g'nossem tsum emes" ("The sneeze confirmed the truth"), affirming the statement's veracity. Similarly, English speakers use phrases like "sneezin' to the truth," "sneezing on the truth," or "the sneeze confirmed the truth" to whimsically validate the preceding statement. Does this custom have any validity from a Torah perspective?

Rabbi Avraham Hirschowitz ⁹ suggests the reasoning lies in the acronym "Emet" (truth), derived from "Elisha Mesharet Tishbi" (Elisha's servant, Tishbi). When the servant sneezed, as written in Kings II (4:35), "The child sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.” Our Rabbis interpreted that Prophet Elisha said the child would revive, and before returning to life, the child sneezed seven times. This indicates that the child's sneeze confirmed Elisha's words as true. Thus, the custom is to say "Amen" or "True" when someone sneezes during conversation, hinting that their words are confirmed true, just like the child's sneeze validated Elisha's prophecy.

Nevertheless, this custom likely originated from non-Jewish influences during the Jewish people's prolonged exile. This is so in Russian culture where sneezing after someone makes a statement is believed to validate its truthfulness. This whimsical notion suggests that a well-timed sneeze serves as a cosmic seal of approval, confirming the veracity of the preceding assertion. When someone sneezes immediately following a declaration, it's humorously interpreted as the universe's endorsement, implying that the statement is genuine and authentic.

Although a possible reason was suggested earlier, it doesn't necessarily imply that the custom originated from that specific reason. It's unlikely that non-Jews adopted this practice from Jews, as there's scarce historical evidence, except for one Sefer written 100 years ago. Logic suggests the opposite: Jews likely borrowed this custom from their non-Jewish neighbors.

 

¹  Berachot 53a

תניא נמי הכי של בית רבן גמליאל לא היו אומרים מרפא בבית המדרש מפני בטול בית המדרש

²  Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer (Chapter 52) and Yalkut (Remez 67)

³  Mishna Berurah 230:7

דארז"ל דמתחלה לא היה אדם חולה כלל אלא היה הולך בשוק ומתעטש ומת עד שבא יעקב אבינו וביקש רחמים על הדבר

 ⁴ ibid

מי שמתעטש וחבירו אומר לו אסותא יאמר לו ברוך תהיה ואח"כ יאמר לישועתך קויתי ה

⁵  Rambam Hilchot Talmud Torah 4:9

יד [ט] אין ישנים בבית המדרש. וכל המתנמנם בבית המדרש, חכמתו נעשית קרעים קרעים; וכן אמר שלמה בחכמתו, "וקרעים, תלביש נומה" (משלי כג,כא). ואין מסיחין בבית המדרש, אלא בדברי תורה בלבד:  אפילו מי שנתעטש, אין אומרין לו רפואה בבית המדרש; ואין צריך לומר, שאר הדברים. וקדושת בית המדרש, חמורה מקדושת בתי כנסייות

⁶  Shulchan Aruch Y.D 246:17

אין משיחין בבית המדרש אלא בדברי תורה אפילו מי שנתעטש אין אומרים לו רפואה בבית המדרש וקדושת בית המדרש חמורה מקדושת בית הכנסת:

⁷  Shulchan Aruch O.C 170:1

אין משיחין בסעודה שמא יקדים קנה לושט ואפילו מי שנתעטש [פי' שטדנודאר"י בלע"ז] בסעודה אסור לומר לו אסותא

⁸  Ben Ish Hai, Year I, Vayikra 17

⁶  Otzar Kol Minhagei Yisroel (Siman 39, Letter Bet)

הטעם משום כי "אמת" ראשי תיבות: אלישע משרת תשבי. וכמי שאצלו היה הנער מתעטש, כמו דכתיב: "ויזורר הנער" - ויהי כן הדברים הנאמרים מפי האיש המדבר חיים וקיימים