Translation:Shulchan Aruch/Orach Chaim/6
6: Laws of Asher Yatzar and Elohai Neshama and their explanations.
1 When one exits the bathroom he should bless "the One who created man in wisdom", because man was created with wonderful wisdom. And some of the commentators explain because the body is like a balloon, and it has many holes, as explained below. And some explain the wisdom is creating the food for Adam before creating him. "U'vara vo nekavim nekavim chalulim chalulim"- i.e. many holes, like mouth and nose and anus, and in addition he created many cannular limbs like heart and stomach and intestines. "That if one of them will be blocked"- one of them is the mouth, that if a baby when he gets out from his mother body can't open his mouth he can't live for "even one hour". And the cannular limbs, if one of them was open one can't live for "even one hour". And it may also be explained that there is a limit for the holes to be blocked and after this limit, one can't live "even one hour". This bracha is relevant to bathroom because the anus and penis are "holes", and intestines and abdomen are "cannular limbs". And furthermore, if one makes his needs more than needed and passes the "limit" he will die, therefore even the "cannular limbs" related to bathroom. "The healer of every body"- for the holes used to give off the wastes bring cure to the body. "And wonderful his deeds"- for the body is full of spirit like a balloon, and with little hole of needle the air goes. And the body has many holes and the spirit remains. Gloss: And it is also possible to explain that it amazes to do what protects the spirit of man internally, and connects spiritual matters to physical matters, and this is all due to the fact that He is the healer of all living things, and so man is put on a path of health and his spirit is preserved internally.
2
Some have the custom to wait to say the blessing on washing the hands until one reaches the synagogue, and they say it along with the rest of the blessings. And Sephardim do not follow this custom.
(And in any case one does not say the blessing twice; one who blesses at home, does not bless in the synagogue, and one who blesses in the synagogue, does not bless in the home (see Chapter 2). And one who learns Torah or prays before entering the synagogue, blesses in the home and not in the synagogue. And even in this situation, there is a custom to say them in the synagogue and not in the home). (Mahari"l, Laws of Prayer).
3 The blessing "Elohai Neshama" does not begin with "Baruch" because it is a blessing of acknowledgement, and these blessings do not begin with "Baruch," as we see in the blessing for rain.
4 Some have the custom that after one person says the birchot hashachar and the others reply with "Amen", one of those who replied "Amen" repeats the birchot hashachar, and everyone says "Amen" after he is done, and everyone who said "Amen" in the beginning does so as well. And one should not object to this and say to them that they already fulfilled the requirement when they first said "Amen," because the original personal saying the blessing may not have had them in mind, and even if he had them in mind, they intend not to fulfill the requirement by his blessing.