BIRKAS HAMAZON I: THANKING HASHEM FORTHE LAND, NOT FOR THE MEAL
TheBiblical source for the obligation to recite Birkas Hamazon, is the verse inDeuteronomy 8:10: …and you shall eat and feel sated, and you shall bless theLord your God for the good land which He has given to you.
Inthis way, the blessing thus addresses God’s gift of the Land of Israel;it does not focus upon the meal that the person has just consumed.
TheHalacha thus views the meal, during which we have (ideally) partaken of theLand’s produce, as a pretext – i.e., as the most appropriate opportunity for giving thanks to God for the Land that hasyielded that produce for us.
Moreprecisely: The feeling of satiation which one receives from havingconsumed the Land’s yield catalyzes the obligation to express to God praise andgratitude for the gift of Land itself.
Toexpress the forgoing in terms of halachic analysis (lomdus):
a. The me’chayev(= that which precipitates the obligation) of Birkas Hamazon is the s’viyah(satiation) from having consumed the Land’s produce.
b. The chalos(the subject and major focus) of the beracha is the Land.
c. Thenature of the beracha is shevach veho’da’ah (praise andthanksgiving).
An analogy to this phenomenon - i.e., wherethe me’chayev and the chalos are not one and the same - appearsin the Asher Yatzar blessing, which we are obligated to recite after the eliminationof bodily waste. The elimination of waste is the me’chayev. i.e., itprecipitates the obligation to recite this prayer. The prayer, however, is chalupon (i.e., it addresses) all bodily systems that God “in His wisdom”has created in order to keep us alive.
TheHalacha may find these strategies necessary due to the practical impossibilityof giving God proper acknowledgement for ongoing gifts, such as the Land ofIsrael (when we are actually dwelling on it) and our various bodily systems.Logically - or theologically - we should imitate certain angelic images,devoting ourselves constantly to thanking and praising God for these amazinggifts which are of constant benefit.
Thisconcept, namely that ideally we should praise God constantly, appearsexplicitly in the Midrash to the final verse in Psalms. The verse reads, Kolha’ne’shamah t’hallel Y-ah, Hallelu’Y-ah [meaning either, May the entiresoul or, May every soul] praise Y-ah, Halleluy-a. The Midrashhomiletically changes the vowel-pointing of ne’shamah [soul] to read ne’sheemah[breath] and proceeds to paraphrase the verse as follows*: For eachand every breath [you take], praise Y-ah, Halleluy-a.*
Notethat this Midrashic interpretation actually constitutes a valid - evencompelling and enlightening – exegesis of the verse. The clause *May all the soul praise God!*articulates no specific meaningful content. This Midrash offers a compellinginterpretation of the phrase, all the soul, by asserting that soulin this contest means “vitality” (as in the clause, “…He blew into him nishmaschaim, the breath of life”). In the final verse of Psalms, “All” in thisphrase means “every aspect of”.]
Thus, the theologically desirable act is, attimes, realistically impossible. An aspect of Jewish spirituality, is the awarenessof the appropriateness of constantly expressing gratitude for Divine gifts fromwhich we derive ongoing benefit, despite our inability to live up to thisideal.
Ina sense, birkos hanehenin - i.e., blessings prior to deriving benefitfrom food and fragrances - may also reflect a concession to the theologicalneed to praise God constantly for His beneficial creations. The me’chayevof this praise is eating the fruit or smelling the fragrance, but its chalosis the amazing reality of God’s having created all fruit trees andsweet-smelling growths.
Ina sense, therefore, we should be constantly praising the Creator for thewondrous aspects of the entire cosmic drama. The Rabbis legislated significantmoments in which to acknowledge Him in a realistic manner. Berachos after eliminatingwaste and prior to enjoying fragrances and food and Birkas Hamazon are examplesof such legislation.