'We use the phrase "Blessed are you."
What is the blessing?
There are naive people who believe that just as a person likes to be praised, so too does God - but it is clear that this is not true. The Gemara (Berachot 33b) tells about a prayer leader who spoke many words of praise toward Heaven, and Rabbi Chanina said to him, "Have you finished all of your Master's praises?"
...The concept of a blessing appears frequently in the Torah, and in many cases, it is not related to praise, but rather is an expression of the desire for an abundance ... for success...
To understand the concept of blessing, let's use an analogy: The sun's rays affect everything. The sun never ceases to radiate; sometimes its effect is noticeable and sometimes it is not. A field with seeds and plants will be grown by the sun, while in a field without seeds, the sun will not cause anything to grow. Similarly, a person hiding in a cave will not enjoy the sunlight.
There is an abundance of life that comes from the Holy One, blessed be He, and without that abundance, nothing would exist. But the recipient will receive according to the capacity of their vessel and their awareness of that abundance. What needs to be developed is the awareness of the divine abundance that fills all worlds. The more we do this, the more we will see the patterns of action of the Holy One, blessed be He. ...By reciting a blessing, we express our awareness, and desire for the increased manifestation of God in the world, and in doing so, we essentially expose ourselves to the rays of that abundance."
