Bracha

Bracha is the Hebrew word for blessing, the very noun whispered a hundred times a day in Jewish prayer before food, before wine, before the first light of morning. As a name it sits entirely in that devotional air. The guttural ch at the end, pronounced like the ch in Bach, gives it an earthy finish that resists English softening. Long a favorite in religious Ashkenazi households, Bracha has also belonged to writers and activists, including the Hebrew poet Bracha Serri. Weighty in meaning, unfussy in sound. A name offered like something placed carefully on a table.