Two Minute Torah Podcast

Eikev 5771 by Rabbi Corey Helfand

Where I attended Jewish day school, saying prayers before and after our meals was the norm. When at home, I would ask my parents if we could say Birkat Ha-Mazon (the Jewish take on Grace after meals) like we did at school. My mom would light heartedly reply with her own twist on the traditional blessing, "rub a dub dub, thanks for the grub, yay God!"

In this week's torah portion we learn that "when you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you" (Deuteronomy 8:10). The words I would like to focus on in this verse are "V'achalta, V'savata, U'verachta—You have eaten, you have been satiated/satisfied, and you have blessed." These three words have become the foundation for the modern day Birkat Ha-Mazon blessing for after the meal.

Most often, the Jewish practice is to recite a blessing before completing an action. For example, we say "l'hadlik ner shel Shabbat" and then light the candles; we say Kiddush over the wine and then we drink; we say ha-motzi over the bread and then we eat. Other examples might be saying a blessing and then putting on our tallit or tefillin. Another common practice is to say a blessing upon witnessing an event occurring in nature such as seeing lightning or viewing a rainbow. Regardless, the praise comes to acknowledge God's role in the blessings we have in our lives.

Grace after meals is an exception and its place after the meal cannot be explained by the two above-mentioned categories. Unique to eating a meal, not only do we say blessing before we eat, but we also say a blessing after we eat. So why is food the exception? Rabbi Brad Artson, Dean of the Ziegler Institute of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, says that "it makes a certain kind of sense to pray before a meal, when we have a need to be met. But afterward, we are already satisfied. And God surely does not need our prayers or gratitude." So why then does eating receive special treatment? Rabbi Artson remarks that offering a blessing in general "sensitizes us to the greatest marvel of all: that we exist, and that we are conscious of our existence." Thus, the feeling of being fully satiated after eating a meal is a blessing and a gift that should not go unnoticed. It is not only about being thankful for the gift of food, which we acknowledge in the opening blessing, but it is also about pausing after we finish to be aware of our being content. If it were not for food and drink, how would we continue to celebrate other blessings in our lives?

We as human beings physically work the land to provide ourselves with food to eat. God, however, is the one who deserves praise and thanks for providing us the land, the resources, and even the ability to feel satisfied by the fruits of the earth. Rabbi Artson remarks that the fact "that food sustains us is miraculous. Each meal gives us an opportunity to encounter the unanticipated and unmerited bounty of the universe. Surely such an astounding match of inner need and outer response deserves our gratitude and our attention." Not only is our inner need, the food we desire, worthy of praise, but so too our outer response of feeling filled and satisfied is also worthy of blessing.

Whether a snack or a feast, take a moment to be thankful for the sustenance you have received. Whether the full version of Birkat Ha-Mazon, saying "v'achalta, v'savata' u'verachta," or maybe even offering your own prayer of gratitude, can serve as a simple reminder of the blessings we have in our lives. Now that I think about it, maybe my mom wasn't so far off! May our tables be forever filled with abundant nourishment and our stomachs forever thankful from satisfaction.