Class 10 - Tzur Mishelo - Tribute to Birkat haMazon

When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to your God ה׳ for the good land given to you.

Let us say grace.

Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for ever.

With the sanction of those present, We will bless (our God)ֿ of whose bounty we have partaken.

Blessed be (our God) of whose bounty we have partaken, and through whose goodness we live.

...Rabbi Azarya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda: Righteousness at first, and ultimately justice. How so? Abraham would take in passersby. After they ate and drink, he said to them: ‘Recite a blessing.’ They said: ‘What should we say?’ He said to them: ‘Say: Blessed is God, the Most High, whose food we have eaten.’ If he agreed to recite the blessing, he would eat, drink and go. But if he would not agree to recite the blessing, he [Abraham] would say to him: ‘Give me what you owe.’ He would say: ‘What do I owe you?’ He would say to him: ‘A cup of wine costs ten polars, a pound of meat costs ten polars, and a loaf of bread costs ten polars. [After all,] who can provide you with wine in the wilderness? Who can provide you with meat in the wilderness? Who can provide you a loaf of bread in the wilderness?’ When he [the guest] would see the trouble that he was causing him, he would say: ‘Blessed is God, the Most High, whose food we have eaten.’ That is what we have written: Righteousness at first, and ultimately justice...

At mealtime, Boaz said to her, “Come over here and partake of the meal, and dip your morsel in the vinegar.” So she sat down beside the reapers. He handed her roasted grain, and she ate her fill and had some left over.

(42) A man came from Baal-shalishah and he brought the agent of God some bread of the first reaping—twenty loaves of barley bread, and some fresh grain in his sack. And [Elisha] said, “Give it to the people and let them eat.” (43) His attendant replied, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” But he said, “Give it to the people and let them eat. For thus said GOD: They shall eat and have some left over.” (44) So he set it before them; and when they had eaten, they had some left over, as GOD had said.

Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who feedest the whole world with thy goodness, with grace, with lovingkindness and tender mercy; thou givest food to all flesh, for thy lovingkindness endureth for ever. Through thy great goodness food hath never failed us: O may it not fail us for ever and ever for thy great name's sake, since thou nourishest and sustainest all beings and doest good unto all, and providest food for all thy creatures whom thou hast created. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who givest food unto all.

Rav Naḥman said: Moses instituted for Israel the first blessing of: Who feeds all, when the manna descended for them and they needed to thank God...

There is no holy one like the LORD, truly, there is none beside You; there is no rock like our God.

We thank thee, O Lord our God, because thou didst give as an heritage unto our fathers a desirable, good and ample land, and because thou didst bring us forth, O Lord our God, from the land of Egypt, and didst deliver us from the house of bondage; as well as for thy covenant which thou hast sealed in our flesh, thy Law which thou hast taught us, thy statutes which thou hast made known unto us, the life, grace and lovingkindness which thou hast vouchsafed unto us, and for the food wherewith thou dost constantly feed and sustain us on every day, in every season, at every hour.

For all this, O Lord our God, we thank and bless thee, blessed be thy name by the mouth of all living continually and for ever, even as it is written, And thou shalt eat and be satisfied, and thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Blessed art thou, O Lord, for the land and for the food.

I had resolved to adopt you as My child, and I gave you a desirable land—the fairest heritage of all the nations; and I thought you would surely call Me “Father,” and never cease to be loyal to Me.

Rav Naḥman said...Joshua instituted the blessing of the land when they entered Eretz Yisrael...

for great is His steadfast love toward us; the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Hallelujah.

Have mercy, O Lord our God, upon Israel thy people, upon Jerusalem thy city, upon Zion the abiding place of thy glory, upon the kingdom of the house of David thine anointed, and upon the great and holy house that was called by thy name. O our God, our Father, feed us, nourish us, sustain, support and relieve us, and speedily O Lord our God, grant us relief from all our troubles. We beseech thee, O Lord our God, let us not be in need either of the gifts of flesh and blood or of their loans, but only of thy helping hand, which is full, open, holy and ample, so that we may not be ashamed nor confounded for ever and ever.

And rebuild Jerusalem the holy city speedily in our days. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who in thy compassion rebuildest Jerusalem. Amen.

Rav Naḥman said...David and Solomon instituted the third blessing: Who builds Jerusalem, in the following manner: David instituted “…on Israel Your people and on Jerusalem Your city…” as he conquered the city, and Solomon instituted “…on the great and Holy Temple…” as he was the one who built the Temple.

I have now built for You a stately House, a place where You may dwell forever.”

The breath of our life, the LORD’s anointed, was captured in their traps—he in whose shade we had thought to live among the nations.

(13) After [the assembled] finish washing their hands, drying their hands, and reciting grace...

(14) If wine is available, [grace should be recited over a cup of wine]. We bring a cup that contains a revi'it or more...

(15) ...grace does not require wine... (rather, it is a) custom...

GOD is exalted, dwelling on high—[Of old] filling Zion with justice and righteousness.

Sing to the LORD a new song, sing to the LORD, all the earth.

(16) Three times a year—on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, on the Feast of Weeks, and on the Feast of Booths—all your males shall appear before your God ה׳ in the place that [God] will choose. They shall not appear before ה׳ empty-handed, (17) but each with his own gift, according to the blessing that your God ה׳ has bestowed upon you.