Dear Friends,
Commonly, in Jewish life, most know that we offer a blessing before we eat – the haMotzie – thanking God for the bread which will soon become our meal.
Yet, not all are familiar with the blessing – much longer – which is recited following the meal,”Birkat haMazon,” known generally as “Grace after the Meal.” It has a bouncy chanted melody, and it includes a number of somewhat familiar lines, including this verse from this week’s Torah portion, which establishes the foundation of the Birkat haMazon: “When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Eternal your God for the good land given to you.” (Deut. 8:`10)
Yes, it is one thing to be thankful for the food which is on the table, about to be eaten, and to express an anticipatory appreciation. It is another to have the discipline after eating, when one is sated and perhaps sleepy from a full belly, to be able to stop and offer an extended prayer, before rising from the table. That is the real message of Birkat haMazon: just as we don’t jump into our food and eat like an animal, without cognition of the bounty coming from God and God’s earth, so too we don’t depart from the meal without recognizing our good fortune at having been well-nourished.
Ultimately, Judaism teaches us that the highest mitzvah is discipline and awareness.
This is true, whether in guiding our culinary behavior, or in recognizing the majesty of a sunset, or to sit and study for a period every day, or to not walk past a beggar on the street, or in greeting another person at the doorway: the endeavor to be a holy person, or to live a life marked by moments of holiness and meaning, requires a healthy measure of personal discipline.
We cannot be Godly and be incognizant of the world around us. Holiness requires awareness.
And, in the most bsxic act of eating – hopefully three times a day – we have the opportunity to not only open our mouths, but to open our minds and our souls, and to include a moment of mindfulness and awareness in our simple acts.
“When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Eternal your God for the good land given to you.”
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
Commonly, in Jewish life, most know that we offer a blessing before we eat – the haMotzie – thanking God for the bread which will soon become our meal.
Yet, not all are familiar with the blessing – much longer – which is recited following the meal,”Birkat haMazon,” known generally as “Grace after the Meal.” It has a bouncy chanted melody, and it includes a number of somewhat familiar lines, including this verse from this week’s Torah portion, which establishes the foundation of the Birkat haMazon: “When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Eternal your God for the good land given to you.” (Deut. 8:`10)
Yes, it is one thing to be thankful for the food which is on the table, about to be eaten, and to express an anticipatory appreciation. It is another to have the discipline after eating, when one is sated and perhaps sleepy from a full belly, to be able to stop and offer an extended prayer, before rising from the table. That is the real message of Birkat haMazon: just as we don’t jump into our food and eat like an animal, without cognition of the bounty coming from God and God’s earth, so too we don’t depart from the meal without recognizing our good fortune at having been well-nourished.
Ultimately, Judaism teaches us that the highest mitzvah is discipline and awareness.
This is true, whether in guiding our culinary behavior, or in recognizing the majesty of a sunset, or to sit and study for a period every day, or to not walk past a beggar on the street, or in greeting another person at the doorway: the endeavor to be a holy person, or to live a life marked by moments of holiness and meaning, requires a healthy measure of personal discipline.
We cannot be Godly and be incognizant of the world around us. Holiness requires awareness.
And, in the most bsxic act of eating – hopefully three times a day – we have the opportunity to not only open our mouths, but to open our minds and our souls, and to include a moment of mindfulness and awareness in our simple acts.
“When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Eternal your God for the good land given to you.”
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
