We are all familiar with the saying “you are what you eat”. It is indeed remarkable how significant of a role food plays in our lives. Our food very directly impacts how we think and feel. We celebrate special occasions with special food. Seudos, meals on holy days, are a meaningful part of our Shabbos and Yom Tov experience and people savor nostalgic memories of the special dishes “my mother used to make” for those meals. In this week’s parsha, the Torah teaches us about food as a point of connection with Hashem, a central component in our relationship of trust and gratitude with G-d. In this section of the parsha we are taught about the mitzvah of birchas hamazon, grace after meals.
“You will eat and you will be satisfied, and bless Hashem, your G-d, for the good Land that He gave you.” (Devarim 8:10)
The simple understanding of this mitzvah is an obligation to thank Hashem for providing us with food. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch comments that birchas hamazon is “no mere formal giving thanks for the meal that we have eaten.” Rather, “…our birchas hamazon consists of four berachos, which together comprise all the factors out of which the concept ‘Jew’ forms itself under G-d’s general guidance of the world and His special guidance of Jewish history, and so makes it clear to every Jewish contemporary time what its mission and its task is.”
I will offer a condensed version of Rabbi Hirsch’s commentary regarding birchas hamazon, but I strongly encourage you to see his own words in his commentary on Pentateuch (Devarim 8:10).
Bread – Contrary to what one might have thought, our Torah obligation to thank Hashem is not for the “extras” that we enjoy but could live without. Rather, the only food that requires birchas hamazon according to the Torah, is bread, the most basic necessity. This represents our firm belief that even the barest necessities of life are not within man’s power alone to supply, but that the simplest means of existence is a direct gift of G-d. Even bread which requires a lot of human input, threshing, winnowing, grinding, sifting, kneading, proofing, baking, would be impossible without Hashem’s blessings causing the grain to grow and develop with the physical components to produce delicious bread.
First Beracha – We recognize G-d as the source of sustenance not only for ourselves, the Jewish people, but for all of mankind and all G-d’s creations. He does this, not to fulfill some sort of obligation, but out of His kindness, grace, pity, and goodness. We trust in His eternal goodness, and that He will continue to provide sustenance forever.
Second Beracha – “But though the fate and the mission of the life of every human being is near to G-d, the fate and the mission of the Jewish people is still in special relationship to Him and His rule of the world, a relationship which He has proved by promising and giving the Land of Israel to the Jews for all times.” The special Jewish historical position, and the promise of the Land of Israel began with the forefathers. It is due to the covenant with Avraham, the bris milah, the study of Torah and fulfillment of Hashem’s mitzvos to which we owe this special relationship. For this reason, all of these are mentioned in the second beracha of birchas hamazon. The very land that embodies our special status is the conduit through which Hashem showers us with His blessings of sustenance and prosperity. This is expressed by the language of the Torah itself when it commands us to recite birchas hamazon. After commanding, “you shall eat and be satisfied and bless Hashem your G-d,” the Torah adds, “on the good Land that He gave you.”
Third Beracha – The special bond between Hashem and the Jewish people is optimized, and receives its permanent expression, through Jerusalem, Zion-the Beis HaMikdash, and the Davidic Dynasty. Throughout the duration of King David’s dominion and the existence of the Beis HaMikdash, this beracha took the form of a prayer for the preservation of the bearer of the national future. Since the destruction and the exile, this prayer formed itself into a prayer for the rebuilding of the Old Jerusalem.
Fourth Beracha – Upon completing the first three berachos, we have fulfilled our Torah obligation of birchas hamazon. The fourth beracha was added by the Chachmei Yavneh, the Rabbinic Council in Yavneh, after the failure of the Bar-Kochba revolt. Bar Kochba’s rebellion was our nation’s last hope of escaping the crushing weight of the Roman Empire. After many battles and more Roman casualties than any other Jewish rebellion, Rome eventually defeated Bar-Kochba. The final stand took place at the fortress at the city of Betar. After a long siege, the Roman forces broke through the walls of the city and invaded Betar. The aftermath of that defeat was horrific. The enraged Romans had an unquenchable thirst for revenge, and they mercilessly slaughtered Jewish men, women, and children. As an act of vengeful cruelty, the Romans did not allow the hundreds of thousands of Jewish bodies that filled the city of Betar to receive proper burial; they left them to rot. The Betar massacre took place on the 9th of Av, we mourned this tragedy among many other tragedies last Thursday on Tisha B’av. Years later, on the 15th of Av, we were granted permission to bury the bodies of Betar. Miraculously, their bodies were preserved and were able to receive a proper burial. The fourth beracha of birchas hamazon, “hatov v’hameitiv”, was composed after this miracle. “Hatov”, Hashem is good, for He did not allow the bodies to rot, “v’Hameitiv”, He does good, for He brought them to proper burial (Talmud Bavli, Berachos 48B).
Rav Hirsch identifies two messages that are conveyed by the fourth beracha of birchas hamazon:
- To learn from Bar-Kochba’s mistake, and never again attempt to restore the Jewish State with our own military might. Rather we must leave our national future entirely to Hashem’s management.
- Secondly, that the memory of the Betar massacre should be perpetuated through giving thanks, that even the preservation of their dead bodies and proper burial were acts of Divine kindness.
Zimun – When three adults eat a meal together, they recite birchas hamazon together as well. Rav Hirsch explains that this too has deep ethical meaning. The struggle for food and the pursuit of wealth and prosperity are liable to set man against his fellow as competitors. Eating and reciting birchas hamazon together frees us of such selfish thoughts by calling to mind thoughts of G-d’s goodness which he directs to everyone.
Rav Hirsch’s commentary reveals the many layers of depth and meaning that are contained in birchas hamazon. Reciting birchas hamazon with understanding and intent of all that is contained in these holy words is much more than simply saying grace after meals. It is an opportunity to transform a simple meal into an uplifting experience, thereby strengthening our bond with Hashem and renewing our appreciation of His goodness, our trust in His sustenance, and what it means to be a Jew. May Hashem