Eikev 5782 - You Are What You Eat: Birkat HaMazon
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Friday, August 19, 2022
After Shabbat lunch on Saturday mornings, we recite Birkat HaMazon. As slowly as we sing it, it is often too fast to get in all of the words. At the same time, even with the abbreviated version we use at Agudath Achim, I have heard quite a few people groan about how long it takes to get through our prayer after eating. Even with all the length of Birkat HaMazon, the commandment to bless after eating comes from a single line in Parashat Eikev (Deuteronomy 8:10) - *sing*:
וְאָכַלְתָּ֖ וְשָׂבָ֑עְתָּ וּבֵֽרַכְתָּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ עַל־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַטֹּבָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָֽתַן־לָֽךְ׃
And you shall eat, and you shall be satisfied, and you shall bless Adonai your God for this good land that God has given to you.
We can see this one verse as a couple of different commandments: First - You shall eat, and you shall be satisfied. When you eat, eat enough that you don’t feel hungry, regardless of the numbers on the scale. Eat the amount and type of food that will make you feel physically and emotionally good. If something is getting in the way of you having enough food to eat, and then, enjoying that food, you must do everything in your power to return to eating with satisfaction. That includes asking for help, whether medical, financial, or emotional.
Second - you shall bless Adonai your God for this good land. In the Jewish tradition, before and after eating, we thank God for the food we eat. As we have spoken about here before, those simple steps of thinking about the specific category of food blessing, grabbing a siddur to help, and saying the words on the page gives us time to reflect on the power and origin of the food we put in our bodies. Only thanks to our farmers, factory workers, grocery store clerks, and of course, our God, our bodies are able to turn food into nutrients, flesh, and energy. We are what we eat, but we certainly don’t get there on our own. When we practice food blessings, we not only fulfill a commandment from our God, but also, we practice the vocabulary of gratitude that we should use towards everyone who affects our lives each day.
Although the traditional Jewish blessings that come before we eat are brief and accessible, Birkat HaMazon, the blessing we eat after bread, can remain more challenging. [Later] onight, I’d like to share my own English interpretation of Birkat HaMazon that you are welcome to adopt, to share, to borrow from, and to adjust to your own experience of food and of God:
Even as God has done such good for us, may God impress us more each day.
Then, shall we be moved to praise God with every word and action.
In the embrace of Jewish community, may God’s name feel sweet upon our lips.
Just as God has sustained us today, God sustains all creatures, converting food into an infinite variety of life and love. May God continue to sustain us, our community, and our fellow Creations.
Thank you, God, for the holidays that let us celebrate with food and family. Thank you for the history that has brought us to the plenty we have enjoyed today.
As we take comfort in this Shabbat day, may we remember our duty not only to receive, but to give, as well. May you guide us and teach us how to observe this Shabbat, how to best praise you, and how to contribute to the many hands and lands who brought us this food.
Barukh atah Adonai, al ha-aretz v’al ha-mazon. Blessed are you Adonai, upon the land and upon the sustenance.
As much good as we experience today, may You, God heal our heartbreak and bring us true peace. Barukh atah Adonai, bonei v’rahamav Y’rushalayim. Blessed are you Adonai, who builds and has mercy for Jerusalem.
God of every name - our Parent, our Ruler, our Creator, our Sustainer, never cease the blessings you provide us. May our Merciful One always be present, ruling over us, blessing and enjoying blessings, granting us all the resources we need, and giving great good to the hosts of our meal.
May the One who enacts peace in God’s high places make peace upon us and all Israel. Adonai gives great strength to God’s people, through wisdom, through justice, and through the food we eat.
Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu v’al kol Yisrael, v’imru, Amen. Adonai oz l’amo yitein, Adonai y’varekh at amo vashalom.
Tue, October 8 2024
6 Tishrei 5785
Rabbi's Sermons
Bereshit - Genesis
- Parshat Bereshit: Oct. 26, 2019, October 1, 2021, October 2, 2021
- Parshat Noah: Nov. 2, 2019, October 8, 2021, Oct. 29, 2022
- Parshat Lekh-L'kha: Nov. 9, 2019, Oct. 31, 2020, Oct. 31, 2020 - Part 2, Oct. 15, 2021
- Parshat Vayeira: Nov. 16, 2019, Nov. 7, 2020, Nov. 7, 2020 - Part 2, Oct. 22, 2021, Oct. 23, 2021
- Parshat Hayei Sara: Nov. 14, 2020, Oct. 30, 2021
- Parshat Toldot: Nov. 30, 2019, Nov. 21, 2020, Nov. 6, 2021
- Parshat Vayeitzei: Nov. 28, 2020, Nov. 13, 2021
- Parshat Vayishlah: Dec. 14, 2019 , Dec. 5, 2020, November 20, 2021
- Parshat Vayeisheiv: Dec. 12, 2020, Nov. 27, 2021
- Parshat Miketz: Dec. 4, 2021
- Parshat Vayigash: Jan. 4, 2020, Dec. 26, 2020, Dec. 11, 2021
- Parshat Vay'hi: Jan. 11, 2020, Jan. 2, 2021
Shemot-Exodus
- Parshat Sh'mot: Jan. 18, 2020, Jan. 18, 2020 - Part 2, Jan. 9, 2021
- Parshat Va'eira: Jan. 25, 2021
- Parshat Bo: Feb. 1, 2020, Jan. 23, 2021
- Parshat B'shalah: Jan. 30, 2021, Jan. 15, 2022, Feb. 3, 2023, Feb.4, 2023
- Parshat Yitro: Feb. 15, 2020, Feb. 6, 2021, Feb. 6, 2021, Feb. 21, 2022, Feb. 22, 2022
- Parshat Mishpatim: Feb. 22, 2020, Feb. 18, 2023
- Parshat T'rumah: Feb. 29, 2020, Feb. 29, 2020 - Part 2, Feb. 20, 2021, Feb. 4, 2022, Feb. 5, 2022, Feb. 25, 2023
- Parshat T'tzaveh: March 7, 2020, Feb. 27, 2021, Feb. 12, 2022, Feb. 11, 2022
- Parshat Ki Tisa: March 14, 2020, March 6, 2021, February 19, 2022
- Parshot Vayak'heil-P'kudei: March 21, 2020, March 13, 2021, February 26, 2022, March 18, 2023
Vayikra-Leviticus
- Parshat Vayikra: March 20, 2021, March 11, 2022, March 24, 2023, March 25, 2023
- Parshat Tzav: April 4, 2020, March 27, 2021, March 19, 2022
- Parshat Sh'mini: April 18, 2020
- Parshot Tazria-Metzora: April 25, 2020, April 17, 2021, April 2, 2022, April 20, 2024
- Parshot Achrei Mot-Kedoshim: May 2, 2020, April 24, 2021, May 7, 2022, May 3, 2024, May 10, 2024
- Emor: May 9, 2020, May 1, 2021, May 13, 2022, May 14, 2022, May 6, 2023
- Parshot B'har-B'hukotai: May 8, 2019, May 16, 2020, May 7, 2021, May 21, 2022, May 28, 2022, May 24, 2024, May 31, 2024
Bamidbar-Numbers
- Parshat Bamidbar: May 15, 2021, May 20, 2023, June 7, 2024
- Parshat Nasso: June 6, 2020, June 6, 2020 - Part 2, May 22, 2021, June 10, 2022, June 2, 2023, June 14, 2024
- Parshat B'ha'alotcha: June 13, 2020, June 13, 2020 - Part 2, June 9, 2023, June 10, 2023, June 21, 2024
- Parshat Sh'lach: June 20, 2020, June 20, 2020 - Part 2, June 5, 2021, June 28, 2024
- Parshat Korah: June 27, 2020, July 18, 2020, July 24, 2023, July 5, 2024
- Parshot Chukat-Balak: June 26, 2021, July 12, 2024, July 19, 2024
- Parshat Pinchas: July 11, 2020, July 11, 2020 - Part 2, July 2, 2021, July 3, 2021, July 22, 2022, July 23, 2022, July 26, 2024
- Parshot Matot-Masei: July 18, 2020, July 18, 2020 - Part 2, July 10, 2021, July 30, 2022, August 2, 2024
D'varim-Deuteronomy
- Parshat D'varim: July 25, 2020, July 25, 2020 - Part 2, July 17, 2021, August 6, 2022, August 9, 2024
- Parshat Va'et'hanan: Aug. 1, 2020, July 24, 2021, August 12, 2022, August 13, 2022, Aug. 16, 2024
- Parshat Eikev: Aug. 8, 2020, July 31, 2021, August 19, 2022, August 20, 2022
- Parshat Re'eh: August 7, 2021, August 30, 2024
- Parshat Shoftim: September 7, 2019, Aug. 22, 2020, August 14, 2021, August 14, 2021 - Part 2, September 3, 2022, September 6, 2024
- Parshat Ki Teitzei: Aug. 29, 2020, August 20, 2021, September 13, 2024
- Parshat Ki Tavo: Sept. 5, 2020, Sept. 5, 2020 - Part 2, August 28, 2021, Sept. 17, 2022, Sept. 20, 2024
- Parshot Nitzavim-Vayeilech: Sept. 11, 2021, September 24, 2022, Sept. 27,2024
- Parshat Ha'Azinu: Sept. 26, 2020, October 4, 2024
- Parshat Haberakhah
Rosh HaShanah: Sept. 19, 2020, Sept. 19, 2020 - Part 2, Sept. 19, 2020 - Part 3, Sept. 20, 2020, Sept. 7, 2021, Sept. 8, 2021, Sept. 9, 2021, Sept. 26, 2022
Yom Kippur: Sept. 28, 2020, Sept. 16, 2021, October 5, 2022
Sukkot: Oct. 3, 2020 , Sept. 20, 2021
Passover: April 3, 2021, April 23, 2022, April 7, 2023, April 12, 2023 April 27, 2024
Rosh Hodesh: April 22, 2023
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