Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Halakhah הֲלָכָה
וְאָכַלְתָּ וְשָׂבָעְתָּ וּבֵרַכְתָּ אֶת ה’ אֱלֹקֶיךָ
You shall eat, and be satisfied, and bless God
These words from our parashah are the source for saying בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוֹן (Birkat Ha-Mazon, Grace after Meals). We talked about it in last year’s Devash for Eikev!
We generally say Birkat Ha-Mazon after meals that include bread. What about when you eat something that isn’t bread? How should you thank God after that?
The rabbis wonder about the category of food called the שִׁבְעַת הַמִּנִים (shiv’at haminim). These are seven species of food that grow in Eretz Yisrael. They appear in our parashah, just two pesukim before the pasuk about Birkat Ha-Mazon:
אֶ֤רֶץ חִטָּה֙ וּשְׂעֹרָ֔ה וְגֶ֥פֶן וּתְאֵנָ֖ה וְרִמּ֑וֹן
אֶֽרֶץ־זֵ֥ית שֶׁ֖מֶן וּדְבָֽשׁ׃
A land of wheat, barley, grapes, figs, and pomegranates.
A land of olive oil and date honey.
How should you thank God after eating these foods? It’s a debate in the Mishnah (Berakhot 6:8)!
- Rabban Gamliel says: Say the full Birkat Ha-Mazon.
- The Sages say: Say a shorter version called בְּרָכָה אַחַת מֵעֵין שָׁלשׁ (berakhah ahat me’ein shalosh).
Sometimes this mini version of Birkat Ha-Mazon is just called בְּרָכָה מֵעֵין שָׁלשׁ (berakhah me’ein shalosh).
The Gemara (Bavli Berakhot 44a) explains the disagreement between Rabban Gamliel and the Sages.
- Rabban Gamliel is noticing that verses 8 and 10 are really close together, so he thinks: It must be that if you eat something from verse 8, you should say Birkat Ha-Mazon that appears in verse 10.
- The Sages believe that verse 9 is an interruption. This means the shivat ha-minim are not directly connected to Birkat Ha-Mazon.
R. Akiva presents a third opinion in the mishnah. He says that any time you eat anything and you feel full afterwards, you should recite Birkat Ha-Mazon.
It’s most common to follow the Sages, and only say Birkat Ha-Mazon after a meal with bread. But there are some contemporary rabbis who think that any complete meal should be followed by Birkat Ha-Mazon. They think you shouldn’t “get out” of Birkat Ha-Mazon if you eat a giant, lavish meal that just happens to not include bread!
In general, we say berakhah me’ein shalosh after eating:
- Grapes, figs, pomegranate, olives, or dates. (Shulkhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim, 208:1)
- Food made from grain that has not been baked into bread, such as noodles, cake, or cookies. (208:2)
-------------------
-------------------
