Should One Who is Awake After Hasot Recite Birkot Ha’shahar at That Point?

Halacha allows reciting the Birkot Ha'shahar – morning blessings – already from Hasot (halachic midnight). The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in his work Rav Pe'alim, brings the teaching of the Rashash (Rav Shalom Sharabi, 1720-1777) that one who is awake at Hasot should recite Birkot Ha'shahar immediately after Hasot even if he plans on going back to sleep. According to the Rashash, immediately after the Hasot is the preferred time for reciting the morning blessings. However, the Ben Ish Hai elsewhere – in Ben Ish Hai (Parashat Toledot) – rules that this practice should not be followed, and one who plans on going to sleep after Hasot should wait until morning before reciting the morning blessings. Hacham Ovadia explains that in Rav Pe'alim, the Ben Ish Hai referred to the ideal practice, which follows the deep Kabbalistic teachings of the Rashash. The work Ben Ish Hai, however, presents practical guidelines for the average laymen, and for them, it is best not to recite Birkot Ha'shahar at night, after Hasot. If they do, they might forget in the morning that the had already recited the morning blessings, and will thus repeat them. These blessings will then all have been recited in vain. Or, they might remember to omit the morning blessings, but will omit also Birkat Ha'Torah, which must be recited upon waking in the morning. Therefore, as a practical matter, it is best for the vast majority of people not to recite Birkot Ha'shahar at night after Hasot, and to instead wait until the morning. Interestingly, the Ben Ish Hai makes an exception on the nights of Hoshana Rabba and Shabuot, when everybody remains awake throughout the night in the synagogue. The likely explanation, as Rav Yisrael Bitan writes, is that when everyone is together in the synagogue, they can remind one another in the morning to recite Birkot Ha'Torah but not Birkot Ha'shahar, and so there is no concern. This is not the common custom, as even on Hoshana Rabba and Shabuot, people generally recite the Birkot Ha'shahar in the morning, and not after Hasot. Nevertheless, it would not be incorrect for a person on these occasions to follow the practice of the Rashash and recite Birkot Ha'shahar at night, after Hasot, if he ensures that he will remember not to repeat them in the morning, and to recite Birkat Ha'Torah.