As I usually do when I feel he has a unique (or perhaps not so unique, but useful) insight into an issue raised in the CR, I’ll try to convey R. S.R. Hirsch’s approach to Brachos.
R. Hirsch viewed the word “bracha” as related to “beraichayim” – knees. In his view, the purpose of a bracha is not for the giver to actually bestow the content of the bracha on the recipient. Rather, the purpose of a bracha is to make a definite mission statement that the giver or recipient is to internalize and strive to realize.
When we say “Baruch Atah Hashem . . .” we are not blessing God. Rather we are verbalizing a state or self-realization that we should internalize. Before we do a mitzva, we are to verbalize and strive to really appreciate why we are doing the mitzva – “asher kidishanu b’mitzvosav . . .” (exactly what that means is another long discussion). When we eat somthing, we must verbalize and internalize the idea of where it comes from, why we are eating it, and what the fact that the food is available to us means in terms of how we should utilize it in accordance with the Torah. When we are mispallel (which R. Hirsch understands to mean an act of self-reflection and self-judgement), we verbalize and hopefully internalize the idea of where our health, wealth, security, intellect, ect. comes from, what we need to be doing in order to merit these gifts, and how we are to use them once they are given to us.
Thus, Baruch Atah Hashem – You Hashem (middas harachamim) set goals and objectives for us, Elokeinu Melech haolam – You God (midas hadin) evaluate us based on our realization and fulfillment of these goals, then the rest of the bracha, which verbalizes the goal He has set for us in the particular circumstance (a mitzva, eating a food, ect.), and urges us to fully internalize the import of this goal and strive to accomplish it in our everyday life.