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| Praised are Your O Lord,
for the land and for the sustenance. |
Barukh ata adonai al ha'aretz v'al hamazon. |
Page 339 of Siddur Sim Shalom
This is the second bracha of three brachot that
make u the grace after meals known as Birkat Hamazon. Birkat Hamazon
is the series of brachot that is required after eating a meal
that includes bread. For every food that is eaten a specific bracha
is required after consumption as well. This is one of the places
Judaism is different from other religions. Our tradition requires
we acknowledge the source of blessing both before at after we
experience it.
This bracha is an interesting one and can be understood
in two ways. This bracha ends with the idea that we thank God
for the food and for the source of that food the land. We are
grateful for the end product as well as the process by which we
have obtained that produce. When we are truly thankful for something
we take the time to appreciate the source as well as the end result.
When we are proud of a something we have produced we want those
who observe it to recognize the effort that went into it not just
that the final result was exemplary. So too, this bracha reminds
us that we should be grateful for the earth not just the produce.
On another level this bracha recognizes the land
that is central to our existence is the land of Israel. In the
next bracha f Birkat of HaMazon we thank God for rebuilding Jerusalem.
While the bracha that precedes this bracha thanks God only for
the sustaining life with food. This bracha joins the two together,
suggesting that food with a home cannot sustain life.
As it s says in the book of Deuteronomy (8:3) "Not
on bread alone can man exist." We must realize that the land of
Israel, whether we choose to live their or not represents the
homeland for our people. It is the location of our holiest sites.
It is the place where we have historically come together and met
God. It si the place upon which the holy Temple stood. Therefore,
this bracha reminds us of the need to have a spiritual home to
nourish the soul in the same way we nourish the body with food.
This bracha incorporates the dualistic idea of body
and soul into one statement about human survival. This bracha
explores the necessity of a food for the body and sustenance for
the soul.
Copyright © 2001 Rabbi
Yohanan Stein. All rights reserved.
New Jersey Region United Synagogue
of Conservative Judaism
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Ave
Linden, NJ 07036-0390
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2003 New Jersey USCJ. All rights reserved.
Last Updated: July 2003
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