Parshat Ekev
18 Av 5763
August 16, 2003

Daf Yomi: Zevachim 68

Guest Author:
Rabbi Sholom Steinig

Young Israel of Bayside, NY

 

In Parshas Ekev we find the well-known source for the Biblical mitzvah of Birkas HaMazon, bentching after meals. The words in the Torah read, "Ve-achalta ve- savata u-vayrachta," "You shall eat, you shall be satisfied, and you shall bless." The sequence of eating, being satisfied and then blessing teaches us that only the blessing after eating is the fulfillment of the Torah commandment. Saying the blessing before eating is a mitzvah mi-d'rabonon, a rabbinical mitzvah.

 

The Talmud in Tractate Brachos presents the idea of blessings before food as a kal va-chomer, an inference derived from a more obvious case. If we bentch after eating, when we are satisfied, how much more so must we say a blessing before eating, when we are still hungry! But is this so? It seems more natural to bless HaShem when my stomach is full, and I am grateful. To understand the difference between the two situations, we must understand the nature of the blessings being said.

One of the students of Rav Chaim Volozhin explained the difference between Brachah, blessing, and Hoda-ah, giving thanks. Hoda'ah is an expression of appreciation for what was done on one's behalf, in the past. As opposed to this, a Brachah is an expression of faith and trust in the belief that it is the way of HaShem to provide for us, and that it will be that way always. It is the power of saying Brachos that creates our special bond with HaShem. Anyone can give thanks for what was received, but only a true believer gives praise for what is yet to come. King David alluded to this in the Ashrei when he wrote, "Yo-ducha HaShem kol ma'asecha, va-chasidecha yevorchucha," "All Your works (all the nations of the world) will give thanks to You, HaShem, but Your righteous ones (Israel), will bless You." It is the nature of Israel to recite Brachos, implying trust in the future, and not just express thanks for the past.

It would seem, then, that it would have been more appropriate for the Torah to command, "Ve-achalta ve-savata ve-hodata," "You shall eat, you shall be satisfied, and you shall give thanks." Isn't reciting the bentching after eating only a hoda'ah, an expression of appreciation for what we received? A look at the text of the bentching shows that it is really much more. When we say the words, "Lo chasar lonu, ve'al yechsar lanu mazon l'olom va'ed," "We have never lacked, and we will never lack food, forever," we give thanks and then elevate the Hoda'ah to the level of Brachah by including this statement of trust in HaShem for the future. And now we can understand the reasoning of the Gemara. If when satisfied we still make the effort to declare our trust in HaShem to provide for us, then how much more so do we pour out our expressions of trust in G-d-- that He will give us food--when we are in need, and still hungry.

Commenting on Pirkei Avos, the Ra'av, Rav Ovadiah Bartenura, makes a curious comment about the bentching. The Mishnah teaches in the name of Rabbi Shimon that, "Three who have eaten together at one table and have not discussed words of Torah, it is as if they have eaten offerings to the dead (idols)." The Ra'av here comments that if one said the bentching, one has fulfilled the requirement to discuss Torah at the table! It seems outrageous to say that saying the blessings after the meals in fulfillment of a Torah requirement would also relieve one of the obligation of saying a D'var Torah!

Perhaps the Ra'av was really commenting on the state of affairs in bentching, today no less than in his day. We eat with passion and energy. When it comes time to bentch, though, we often do so lethargically, as an afterthought before leaving the table. (This is why it is so refreshing to watch a community bentching in a Yeshivah elementary school or summer camp, where the bentching is given the energy it deserves.) Suppose, instead of mumbling through the bentching in a few moments, one took the time to say it out loud, as a D'var Torah, enunciating the words clearly so that all may hear them, and presenting the bentching as a model in how to daven, how to express thanks and faith in HaShem in a respectable way. For those who have the tendency to rush through the bentching, especially when eating in public, in a group of three or more, the Ra'av warns that this is murdering the prayer, and equates the meal to one eaten in honor of idols--lifeless and pointless. If the Ra'av could write his concerns about the proper way to bentch in his day, in the 1400's, how much more so do we have to try to re-capture the summer camp spirit when we Bentch today.

Of course, the Torah had warned us just a few verses earlier that love of food and reliance on the material aspects of HaShem's creation is not as important as the spiritual aspect. Torah and Mitzvos are more important than the food we eat. Still, HaShem permitted us many foods that are delicious, and there is certainly nothing wrong with partaking of and enjoying them.

It is recorded that the Maggid of Mezritch was introduced to a wealthy man known for his piety. The Maggid asked the man what he ate, and the man responded, "Bread with salt." The Maggid immediately ordered the man to start eating meat and drinking wine, like other wealthy people. When he was asked later why he responded so forcefully to the wealthy man's attempts at reducing materialism in his life, the Maggid responded, "If a rich man eats meat and drinks wine, he will see that even the poorest of men must have no less than bread and salt, and he will provide for him. However, if a rich man eats bread and salt, he will imagine that the poor man could eat rocks!"