Halakhah su Deuteronomio 8:78

The Smag (Sefer Mitzvos Gedolos) wrote in the seventeenth positive commandment: It is a positive commandment to justify the judgement on all events as it says, "you shall know with your heart that when a man chastens his son, Hashem your G-d chastens you" (Deut. 8:5). Until here are his words. And us, Children of Israel are tired from the times, without rest for close to two thousand years- we are obligated to know that this is for our benefit and our merit, like the prophet Zachariah said, "I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call my name and I will answer them. I will say, 'they are my people', and they will say, 'Hashem is my G-d'" (Zechariah 13:9). The explanation of that which is written: to believe with total belief that all of our troubles and all of our being jolted is not on the path of revenge, G-d forbid, but rather to refine us. If not so, we would not have any remainders over the course of the many centuries, and there is no sign or great wonder from this that we have stood such for such a long period of time as this. For this is only the supervision of the Almighty over us, that has not disappear nor will disappear for even one moment, like a father who supervises his only son and agonizes him for his benefit. A proof for this: Surely, for all time in exile "he will call me name and I will answer him" (Psalms 91). Meaning, when we pray to Him, the Almighty,- He answers us in every time of trouble and distress. "I will say, 'they are my people', and they will say..." (Zechariah 13:9). Meaning, that we surely see this entire prolonged period of time the nation of the Children of Israel travel on the path of Torah and commandment, He Almight calls us "my people" and we call him, "G-d of Israel".

One also has to careful when about to say birkat ha-mazon to remove the knife from the table. The reason for this practice is because the table is called an “altar,” and just as on an altar we have been warned not to brandish something made of iron over it, as it is said, “do not build it [an altar] of hewn stones, etc.”¹⁹⁴Ex 20:22. The rule of Torah is that if one makes it into an altar of hewn stones with a tool of silver or flint, it is permitted. For the point of the prohibition is not against it being hewn, but rather because it is hewn with something made of iron, i.e., a sword, and Torah kept it far from the tabernacle, when it is written: “gold, silver, and copper,”¹⁹⁵Ex 25:3. but does not mention iron there. And likewise with the sanctuary it is written, “No hammers or axe or any iron tool was heard in the House when it was being built.”¹⁹⁶I Kings 6:7. The reason is because that is the power of Esau with what he was blessed from his father’s mouth; this is what is meant by “By the sword you shall live,”¹⁹⁷Gen 27:40. and it is written, “but Esau I hated.”¹⁹⁸Mal 1:3. Therefore it is kept far from the sanctuary. And likewise at the table we have been warned to remove the sword from it, because the sword is something destructive¹⁹⁹The pun ha-herev hu ha-mahriv is lost in the translation. and the source of destruction, the opposite of peace, and it does not belong in a place of blessing, i.e., peace. For indeed the altar and the table prolongs a person’s days, while a sword shortens them, and it makes no sense to brandish something that shortens over something that prolongs life.²⁰⁰Mekhilta Yitro (end).

Birkat ha-mazon is from the Torah, as it is said, “When you have eaten your fill, you shall bless the Lord your God.”²¹⁹Deut 8:10. The complete verse is “When you have eaten your fill, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which he has given you.” And they taught in a baraita:²²⁰B. Berakhot 48b. “you shall bless” – this is the blessing “ha-zan;” “the Lord your God” – this is birkat ha-zimmun (“the blessing of invitation”); “for the land” – this is the blessing “ha-aretz” (“for the land”); “good” [ha-tovah]– this is the blessing “boneh Yerushalayim.” And therefore it says “the good hill country [ha-har ha-tov] and the Lebanon.”²²¹Deut 3:25. I have only a blessing after the meal; from where do I get before it? Scripture says “”which He has given you” – from the moment He has given it to you, you are obligated to bless Him. Our rabbis z”l taught in a midrash: Moses instituted the blessing “ha-zan” for Israel when the manna fell down for them; Joshua instituted the blessing “ha-aretz” when he led them into to the land, and David and Solomon instituted “boneh Yerushalayim.”²²²B. Berakhot 48b. And you will also find in the story of the manna a hint at the blessing “ha-zan” in the manna itself, as it is said, “In the morning you shall have your fill of bread,²²³Ex 16:12. and you shall know that I the Lord am you God” – this knowing will occur when remind yourselves of it when you say a blessing over eating the manna. The fourth blessing, “ha-tov ve-ha-metiv,” was instituted at Yavneh. Our rabbis z”l needed to make reference in the blessing “ha-aretz” the Torah, and also refer in it to the covenant (brit), and for them to mention brit before Torah,²²⁴In B. Berakhot 48b-49a it says that Torah was given through three covenants, while the covenant of circumcision was given through thirteen covenants. R. Bahya explains the point of this allusion in what follows. so it would be said like this: “brit and Torah, life and food, for your brit which you sealed [upon us] and your Torah which you taught us.”²²⁵A quotation from a version of birkat ha-mazon used by R. Bahya and his contemporaries, but slightly different from the version we use now. And the reason that they needed to mention both in the blessing “ha-aretz” was to instruct us that it was because of the Torah that we merited the inheritance of the Land.²²⁶And so the Tur, and Rashi’s commentary on b. Berakhot 48b. And this is the reason for the setting up of the stones upon which “the whole Torah” is written, and this is what is meant by “to [le-ma’an] enter the land.”²²⁷Dt 27:3. Le-ma’an means literally “for the sake of” R. Bahya alludes to stones Moses instructed the Israelites to set up in Dt 27:2-3: “As soon as you have crossed the Jordan into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones. Coat them with plaster and inscribe upon them all the words of this Torah when you cross over in order, to enter the land that the Lord you God is giving you.” Le-ma’an – “for the sake of” this Torah “you will enter the Land.” And in my opinion, in “to [le-ma’an] enter the land,” “le-ma’an” means “so that you are able to enter,” that is to say, “Insofar as I am commanding you to write on them the whole Torah, so you will have the power to enter the land, because the power of the Torah will cut out [yakhritu] ²²⁸R. Bahya’s word choice here is rich in relevant connotations. “Cut out” – yakhrit – is from the root of the same verb “karat” used in the Biblical expression “to cut a covenant”- likrot brit – that is, to make a covenant, and also used for the punishment of someone who violates the covenant, e.g., as in Ex 12:15: “Whoever eats leavened bread from the first day to the seventh day [of Passover], that person shall be cut off [nikhreta] from Israel.”the enemies of the land, so that you will inherit it.

One should not engage in conversation after the cup of blessing, and one should not say the blessing over a “cup of tribulations.” What is a “cup of tribulations”? A second cup. The reason for this is that pairs are bad luck. As they taught in a baraita, “Whoever drinks double – that is, a pair of cups – should not say the blessing, because of the verse “Be proper to meet your God, O Israel.”³²³Am 4:12: “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” (JSB), but this midrashic use of the verse picks up on the connotation of nakhon – being proper or correct – from the root of the imperative verb hikon “prepare.” And the reason for prohibiting pairs is because of witchcraft and beings composed of two who rule over anyone who eats and drinking something in pairs. And another reason to distance oneself from “twos” is that that are separated from the power of One, for pairs come from the power of “twos.” So in order to fix one’s heart on unity and distance oneself from dualistic faith, like what is alluded to in Scripture, “Do not mix with shonim,”³²⁴Pr 24:21: “Do not mix with dissenters” (JSB). However, R. Bahya is clearly playing on the connection between “shonim” – literally, “those who differ” and shnayim – “two. In other words, he reads the verse as, “Do not mix with dualists.” The Talmudic prohibitions on pairs probably had something to do with their Babylonian cultural context, i.e., the dualistic Zoroastrianism of the Sassanid Persian empire. those who believe in twos or more. Therefore they prohibited pairs even for things eaten and drunk, for it is appropriate for natural matters to be a sign and symbol of appropriate practices and beliefs,³²⁵Literally, “appropriate matters.” But some mss. of R. Bahya’s text read “intellectual and spiritual matters,” making his point clearer. in that you already knew that true beliefs thus require actions. And you see that in the story of Creation, it was not said, “that it was good” on the second day.³²⁶That expression ki tov, which appears after the descriptions of what was created on the other five days in Genesis 1, is conspicuously absent at the end of the account of day two. For we follow what they said in Genesis Rabbah, that on it dissent and Gehennah were created, and without a doubt, with things like these created on it, it is a dangerous day, on which it is prohibited to begin any work, as our rabbis z”l said, “One does not begin things on the second day, because whoever adds something to one, there’s no good in him [or it], and thus it was called yom sheni – “day two,” which is from the expression shinui – “change.” For in One there is no change, which is what is written: “For I am the Lord, I have not changed.”³²⁷Mal 3:6. But the second day was the beginning of change, and from then on, change in what was created is desirable, and on the rest of the days after it we have found basis for an accusation against all of them, e.g., on the third day God said, “Let the earth bring forth fruit trees,” but it actually brought forth only “trees bearing fruit.”³²⁸Gen 1:11,12. R. Bahya picks up on the slightly different phrasing: “fruit tree bearing fruit” (1:11) vs. “tree bearing, to imply that the earth did not do exactly as God commanded. Similarly on the fourth day the moon made an accusation saying, “It isn’t fair for two kings to use one crown.”³²⁹B. Hullin 60b. This is the midrash told there:
And God made the two great lights? but later it says: “the great light and the small light”! The moon said before the Holy One: Master of the world, is it possible for two kings to use one crown? God said to her: Go and diminish yourself! She said before God: Because I asked a good question, I should diminish myself? God said: Go and rule both in day and in night. She said: What advantage is that? A candle in the daylight is useless. God said: Go and let Israel count their days and years by you. She said: They use the daylight [of the sun] to count seasonal cycles as well…Seeing that she was not appeased, the Holy One said: Bring a (sacrificial) atonement for me that I diminished the moon! This is what R. Shimon ben Lakish said: What is different about the ram of the new moon that it is offered “for God” (And one ram of the flock for a sin offering for God…Numbers 28:14). Said the Holy One: This ram shall be an atonement for me that I diminished the moon. And likewise on the fifth day, God killed the male Leviathan,³³⁰Though in his commentary to the Torah on Gen 1:4, R. Bahya uses the version of this midrash found in b. Bava Batra 74b: God castrated the male Leviathan and killed the female Leviathan. For had they mated with one another, they would have destroyed the world. which can be interpreted as He hid the heavenly light. And likewise on the sixth day, Adam sinned and changed the will of Ha-Shem, and about this it is said, “altering his face, you sent him out.”³³¹Job 14:20, which R. Bahya interprets as “you (Adam)– changed God’s face, and so ‘made” Him (God) send you out of the Garden of Eden.” See how the second day is the cause behind all of this, because all of these things come from its power and follow it. To the extent it said “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel,”³³²Am 4:12. who is one, and it added “O Israel,” who is the one singular nation of the one God, as it is said, “And who is like Your people, one nation on earth,”³³³I Chr 17:21. you should prepare and direct yourself to meet the One. So you should not eat or drink things in pairs, so that you will not think dualistic things in your heart.

So you see that there are seven blessings a person is required to say over the table, and they are netilat yada’im, ha-motzi’, bore pri ha-gafen, and birkat ha-mazon, (which counts as four blessings). And these are found and practiced all the time, and if you count mayim ahronim, you have eight blessings. And if one drank a fourth of wine from the cup of birkat ha-mazon, he says over it the blessing Al ha-gefen ve-al pri ha-gafen “For the vine and the fruit of the vine;” and with this blessing we have nine. And if there is about be a change of wine, one says the blessing Ha-tov veha-metiv; now we have ten. And if different kinds of fruit are about to be served, whose blessings are not equivalent,³³⁴I.e., if saying one doesn’t exempt one from saying the blessing for another kind of fruit that requires its own blessing. one says the blessing over the one kind of fruit, and then repeats it over another kind of fruit;³³⁵As is the practice in Tu Bishvat seders, a later early modern development in Jewish table rituals. I describe this briefly in “The Original Tu B’Shvat Seder: Pri Etz Hadar” in the blog The Jew and the Carrot. and now we have twelve, though it doesn’t matter which of these two you do first.³³⁶In other words, this rule applies to a situation only where one fruit does not have precedence over another, but rather simply each requires a blessing of its own. But if the blessings are equivalent, even though one of them is from one of the Seven Species, one goes with the preferred and more desirable kind first.³³⁷According to Maimonides, as brought in O.H. 211:2, if one kind is more desirable than another, regardless whether their blessings are equivalent or not, regardless whether they are from the Seven Species or not, one blesses the more desirable kind first (Chavel). And whoever sets the priority of fruits on the basis of the verse, follows the same sequence of priority for blessing:³³⁸B. Berakhot 41a. “a land of wheat and barley, etc.”³³⁹Dt 8:8: “a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and date honey,” the classic source for “the Seven Species” for which the land of Israel is renown and praiseworthy. Wheat and barley refer to bread, which if it comes as part of dessert, one says the blessing She-ha-kol over it, and does not precede it with Boray pri ha-etz. If one is served dates and pomegranates, one says a blessing over the dates first, and then one over the pomegranates, because dates are two words from “the Land,” while pomegranates are five words from “the Land.”³⁴⁰In other words, even though pomegranates precede date honey in the list of fruits in Dt. 8:8, the word “land” – referring to the Land of Israel- is mentioned twice, once at the beginning of Dt 8:8, the second time interrupting the list. Since the second “land” interrupted the topic, whatever after it is closest to it, is more important than something further from the first mention of land, i.e, pomegranates. (Chavel). And since the point of the verse is the connection of the fruits to the Land, because “date honey” is syntactically closer in this regard to the word “land” than “pomegranate,” which is five words distant from the first “the land,” dates take precedence over pomegranates. Hence one says the blessing over dates first.

However, you could be roused and open the eyes of your heart to the way of the wisdom of Kabbalah, that blessings are not just the private individual’s need alone, that something in them meets a “need” of the One Above, as Scripture says, “And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God.” This verse permits the heart to understand the secret of blessings, and you will not find in the whole Torah anywhere that the Holy One Blessed be He commands us to bless His name unless it is with “Amen.” And because of this David said, “I will bless Your name”³⁴⁵Ps 145:1.and likewise he said, “Thank Him, and bless His name,”³⁴⁶Ps 100:4. and many other sayings like this. Accordingly you need to comprehend that blessings aren’t for the private individual’s needs at all, and that they are not only an expression of thanks, but they are an expression of addition and increase, as in the connotation of “He will bless your bread and water.”³⁴⁷Ex 23:25. And understand this statement of the sages z”l, when that said at the end of the chapter “The one who receives” on the topic of the creditor:³⁴⁸B. Bava Metzia 114a:
Scripture says (Dt 24:13) “that he may sleep in his cloth and bless you,” thus excluding hekdesh, which needs no blessing. Does it not? But it is written, “And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God.” (Dt 8:10) But Scripture says, “And it shall be accounted to you as righteousness [i.e., charity].” (Dt 24:13) Hence it [the law of returning] holds good only for him [the creditor] for whom the act of righteousness is necessary, thus excluding hekdesh [as a creditor], which does not require righteousness. “that he may sleep in his cloth and bless you,”³⁴⁹Dt 24:13. If you’ve taken a pledge of clothing from a poor person for a loan, you must not keep it overnight, but rather, “when the sun goes down, you shall restore to him the pledge that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; it will be an act of righteousness – tzedakah – before the Lord your God.”someone who needs a blessing, namely, a private individual, but if it is hekdesh, it doesn’t need a blessing,³⁵⁰That is, if the person pledges something that is hekdesh – property consecrated for use in the Temple for which no blessing is required, hence it must be an exception to Dt. 24:13, which specifies a blessing. “it would be an act of righteousness,” to the One to whom all acts of righteousness already belong. The sages z”l explained this with the interpretation that hekdesh requires a blessing, but does not require tzedakah. And they made this even clearer in tractate Berakhot, “R. Ishmael said to him, ‘Bless me, my son,’”³⁵¹B. Berakhot 7a. and in tractate Shabbat, “The Holy One Blessed be He said to Moses, ‘You could have helped Me,’”³⁵²B. Shabbat 89a. – this deals with the matter of blessings.³⁵³In each of the these examples, someone like “the man who has everything” asks for something from someone clearly his inferior, with a lot less of his own to give. And they also said that the Holy One Blessed be He desires the prayer of the righteous who are much smaller in number than the rest of the large nations, even though they are not “a numerous people, the glory of a king.”³⁵⁴Pr 14:28. But rather, certainly the expression “you shall bless” is an expression of addition and increase, and it connotes a brekhah – a “pool” gushing from its source, and thus we mention in our prayer titromam and titbarakh – “you shall be exalted and be blessed,”³⁵⁵In the blessing Yotzer Or in Shahrit. and in the language of the Kaddish – yitbarakh va-yishtabah, va-yitpa’ar, va-yitromam, vayitnasay. And it also has the connotation of berekhah – “kneeling” and bowing down, to He to whom every knee (berekh) must bend. And so you will find in the Book of Bahir, “What is the meaning of berakhah? It is the “tongue” of the “knee” – berekh, as it said, ‘and to You every knee must bend and every tongue give homage’³⁵⁶Is 45:23.– the One to whom every knee bows down.”³⁵⁷Sefer Ha-Bahir, Ot 9. Behold, this is among the mysteries of the Torah, and the whole issue of kavvanah – “intention”- in prayer follows it, but it is not right to explain and expand upon this further in writing.

Son of Man who’s made from four, Do taste my bread, calm your belly’s roar.

And it is necessary that you know that human eating is nothing but an illusion, that it is not a true thing or a real activity, that it is something deceptive, something that keeps changing as it goes through the internal organs in a sequence of causes and effects. But ideas refined through wisdom, and by the attachment of one’s thought to the light of the intellect to the Upper Wisdom is itself “real and lasting eating,” as in the way that our Sages of blessed memory interpreted the verse: “‘And they envisioned God, and they ate and drank.’¹²Ex 24:11. R. Yohanan says, ‘real eating,’ [akhilah vada’it], as it is said, ‘In the light of the face of the King – life!’¹³Prov.16:15. And it is necessary for you to think hard about this verse, why it was necessary to say, ‘they envisioned,’ and why wasn’t it written as it was just before, ‘they saw?¹⁴Ex. 24:10. But rather because it specified ‘they saw’ so you would not understand [what happened next] as actual seeing with the sense of your eye, it follows that it was necessary to say ‘they envisioned’ immediately afterward to teach you that this wasn’t this prior kind of ‘seeing’ [re’iyah], but rather seeing by means of prophecy, and that is why it said, ‘And they envisioned [va-yehezu] God, and they ate and drank,’ from the term for prophetic “vision” [mahzeh]. And the explanation of the Scripture ‘And they envisioned God, and they ate and drank,’ is that the leaders merited to see with the prophecy of ‘a glass that does not reflect,’ without a barrier, while the rest of Israel had a barrier, and Moses really “saw” directly.¹⁵That is, the leaders’ prophetic vision was better than the Israelites’, but not as direct as Moses.’ “And they ate and drank,” that is to say that their eating and drinking by this vision was indeed “real eating.” And it is also possible to interpret “And they ate and drank” as that they saw by prophecy the very attribute from which they “ate and drank,” that is, from the very same attribute from which the manna came to them, which is the principle behind all their material support, about which matter it is written, “She rises while it is still night,”¹⁶Prov. 31:15. and it is written “Here I am causing it to rain down.”¹⁷Ex 16:4. And you already knew that this was material support that occurred at night, for this is to what ‘She rises while is still night’ is referring. And thus the manna used to come down during the third watch of the night, when the Israelites were sleeping in their beds in the desert. And on the next day they would get up early in the morning and find their sustenance ready for them. This is the meaning of what is written: “So they gathered it every morning.”¹⁸Ex 16:21. And thus you will find in First Temple that the rains used to fall on Wednesday and Shabbat nights, and on the next day they would get up early in the morning to do their work, without wasting any time. And so you also find with King Hezekiah, who said, “Master of the World, I myself don’t have the power in me to pursue enemies, or to sing a victory song, but I sleep on my bed, and you do it.” And the Holy One Blessed be He replied to him, “You sleep in your bed while I do it,” as it is said, “That night, an angel of the Lord struck down 185,000 in the Assyrian camp.”¹⁹2 Kings 19:35. This story about Hezekiah is a midrash from Lam. R. 30. It was about him (or this) David spoke when he said, “In vain do you rise up early and stay up late…He provides as much for His loved ones while they sleep.”²⁰Ps 127:2. The meaning of the Scripture is that what the other peoples achieve through hard work, by getting up early and staying up late to eat the bread for which they toil,²¹An allusion to Ps 127:2. R. Bahya hints here that food “served” to Israelites without any toil, that is, good things God prepares for them while they are asleep, is angelic food. As R. Bahya put in his preface, “Our food is not their food. Their [the angelic beings’] food is conceived in their mind, when they see the face of their Maker. Our food is meager bread, water, and tears, gotten by hard work and toil.” It is like the food Adam ate before the Fall.God provides to His loved ones while they sleep! This is the thing the Holy One provides to the one He loves, at the hour when he’s asleep, with no need to bother about it at all. And from now on any reference to “they ate and drank” means nothing other than a reference to “real eating,” or to eating the manna that was the offspring of the Upper Light – which is “real eating.”

Therefore the reverent person ought to have his intention connected to the higher things, and have his eating be to sustain his body alone and not to be drawn to physical pleasures, for being drawn to physical pleasures is the cause for the loss of both body and soul, and the cause for forgetting the point, for out of eating and drinking he will become full of himself [lit., lift up his heart] and stumble into great pitfalls and sins, and do things which should not be done. See how Joseph’s brothers sold him only in the middle of eating and drinking, as it is said, “They sat down to a meal, and looking up…”²²Gen 37:28. While eating the brothers looked up and saw the Ishmaelites to who they sold Joseph. R. Bahya expands upon this more fully in his commentary to the Torah on this verse. And for this reason the Torah said not to eat on Yom Kippur, which is the day of judgment for criminal cases involving people, because one’s eating might cause his soul to sin. And they even said in civil cases dealing with monetary compensation: “akhal ve-shatah al yorah” – “Don’t instruct right after eating and drinking!”²³A rhyming proverb in the Hebrew. Yorah, which means to instruct or teach, is the same verb used in the Biblical passage from Lev. 10:11 that R. Bahya cites. It is from the same Hebrew root as the word Torah. R. Bahya subtly makes another point here besides the obvious one that people are inclined to make bad judgments right after they’ve eaten and drunk. Namely, with this wordplay and the analogy to the Biblical priests, he’s reiterating his general contention that engaging in torah is a sacramental priest-likeactivity, even when done by non-priests – i.e., rabbinical torah scholars, or even ordinary Jews fasting on Yom Kippur. Why is this so? From what is written, “Drink no wine or other intoxicant, you or your sons,”²⁴Lev 10:9, addressed to Aaron and his sons, that is, the priests. and connected to it, “to instruct [le-horot] the Israelites.”²⁵Ibid., 10:11. When they were commanded to instruct [le-horot], they were warned to avoid wine, because wine confuses the mind, and it does not distinguish between the holy and the profane, which is why it is written “to distinguish.”²⁶Ibid., 10:10. All this is proof that eating and drinking causes human beings to move themselves away off the track of Torah and worship, and to cast aside all the statutes of Ha-Shem, may He be Blessed. All this is caused when one has eaten and is satisfied, and therefore the Torah commanded, “And you shall eat and be satisfied, and you shall bless” (Deut 8:10). That is to say, after you will have eaten and have been satisfied, and you are close to throwing off the yoke of the commandments, “You shall bless YHWH your God” at the very moment you need to bless Him, so that you will take upon yourself the yoke of His rule and bless His name. And this in my opinion is the meaning of the Scripture, “In all your ways, know Him;”²⁷Prov 3:6. it means even at the time of eating when you are close to forgetting Him and to severing your reason from your mind, at that very moment, “know Him” and cleave to Him. And if you do this, “He will straighten your paths,”²⁸Prov 3:6. He will straighten your ways on the paths of life, namely, the soul’s successful attainment of the world to come. If so, then a person ought to eat only for the sustenance of his body alone, and it is forbidden for him to pursue any sort of pleasure unless it is to make his body healthy and make the eyes of his intellect clear-sighted. In order for his body to be healthy and strong, he should pursue what pleases [his intellect] and his Creator, for his organs are combined and possess the capacity exactly in the measure that enables him to bear the yoke of the Torah and its commandments, which is the point of the verse written about the tribe of Issachar, “he bent his shoulder to bear the burden” (Gen 49:15), which is the same language used to refer to the giving of the Torah, “He [God] bent the sky and came down” (2 Sam 22:10). And anyone whose intention is this, is an angel of the Lord of Hosts, but whoever does not direct their intention to this end, is “likened to the beasts that perish.” (Ps 49:13,21). “You can see for yourself”²⁹1 Sam 24:12: Re-eh gam re-eh – “you can see for yourself” (JSB). Joseph the righteous, who was noted for his quality of reverence [yir’ah], from what is written, “I am a God-fearing man”³⁰Gen 42:18. and “Am I a substitute for God?”³¹Ibid. 50:19. hinted at this point when he said, “take something for the hunger of your houses and be off.”³²Ibid. 42:33. He comes to instruct and to teach people to know that they should only eat to break their hunger, not to fill their belly and be drawn by the taste, which is base and to be scorned, because that is a disgrace to us, utter waste, and a thing which has no point to it. And do not say that this because it was a time of famine, because when Joseph was “a prince and commander of peoples,”³³Is 55:4.and the treasuries of the king were under his control, he had the power to supply bread and food to his father and brothers, as in the other the years of plenty. However, instead he made it known to us that this is the way of Torah and fear of Ha-Shem (may He be blessed!), that a person should only eat, satisfy himself, and fill his belly to satisfy his soul.

5) And the speaker of lashon hara also transgresses (Devarim 8:11): "Take heed unto yourself lest you forget the L–rd your G–d," which is an exhortation to the proud of spirit, for since he mocks and ridicules his friend, he apparently considers himself wise and "a man among men." For if he knew his own faults, he would not deride his friend. And the statement of Chazal in Sotah (4b) on the severity of the sin of pride is well known, viz.: Because of it his dust does not wake for the resurrection, he is considered an idolator, the Shechinah wails over him, and he is called "an abomination." And, especially, if in shaming his friend he honors himself, he certainly transgresses this negative commandment, aside from our Rabbis' (in their holy spirit) having "cut him off" from the world to come, saying (Yerushalmi Chagigah 12:1): "One who honors himself by the shame of his friend has no share in the world to come."

(Hay) Even though there are people that are required to engage in some business,¹⁸Meaning that their financial circumstances prevent them from devoting all of their time to Torah study, without reliance upon miracles. the give and take (purchasing and selling) must be done with faith. And this is the beginning of a person’s judgement [by God at the end of his life]. As [so] is it written in the second chapter of Shabbat,¹⁹Shabbat 31a. “Rav²⁰In the standard editions of the Talmud, the author of this statement is Rava and not Rav. said, ‘When a person is brought to judgment, they say to him, “Did you give and take faithfully?’”²¹The simple understanding of this is that he was honest in his business dealings, but R. Heller understands it here to mean that he had faith that God is the source of his success in business. And this is [understood] according to that which is found there, “‘And the faith of your times shall be a strength […]’ (Isaiah 33:6) – ‘Faith,’ that is [a reference to] the Order of Zera’im²²The first of the six division of the Mishna and Talmud. (Seeds).” And it is written there in Tosafot (s. v. emunat) in the name of the Talmud Yerushalmi, “[It is because] he has faith in the Life of the worlds, and sows [seeds].”²³Although Tosafot cites the Talmud Yerushalmi, such a phrase is not found in our text, but it is found in Bamidbar Rabbah 13:16. And this is as opposed to those who engage in commerce and say, “It is my strength and the power of my hand, etc.”²⁴See Deut. 8:17 and its context. But rather one who plants [trustingly] flings his seeds, fixes his soil and covers them. [And] there they will be destroyed, lost and rot until the Lord has mercy upon him and ‘brings down the dews [and] makes the wind blow’ – [then] ‘he will reap with gladness and carry his sheaves.’ And that is why seeds are called faith. And it is likewise fitting that all [business] be with faith – meaning that he trusts that what he buys, sells, borrows or lends is like flinging his seeds into the ground; and that [only] through the kindness of God is his desire [to profit] accomplished. And this is the understanding of “Did you give and take faithfully?” [In the continuation of this passage in Shabbat 31a], they then also ask him, “Did you sharpen [matters of] wisdom?” And [this] is elucidated in the Duties of the Heart in the Section on the Reckoning of the Soul:²⁵Rabbi Bachya Ibn Paquda, Chovot HaLevavot 8:3:5.
He should reckon with his soul about his tarrying to understand God’s Torah and [about] his peace of mind about not mastering its contents; whereas he does not do this with a book that came to him from the king, if he is in doubt about its understanding because of similarities in the writing or the words, or the depth of the topic, etc. But rather he would put all of his heart and soul into mastering its contents, and he would be very distressed until he understood [the king’s] intention by it, etc. How much is he [then] obligated to expend multiple more efforts until he understands the Torah of his God, which is his life and his salvation, etc.? And how, my brother, did you permit yourself to excuse yourself from it, and to suffice yourself with what appears to be its content and that which is revealed from its simple meaning, and to be negligent with the rest? [See there.]
And with this a Jewish man should be awakened to how greatly he is required to answer the aforementioned question, “Have you sharpened [matters of] wisdom” and not just sufficed with simple understandings. True, due to the actual lucidity of the earlier ones’ minds, they did not require so much deep sharpening, like ‘us here today.’ And even in the days of the Amoraim,²⁶The scholars of the Talmudic period (ca. 220-500 CE). Here, and frequently, the distinction is being made between them and the scholars of the Mishnaic period (ca. 10- 220 CE), known as the Tannaim. they said (Eruvin 53a), “We are like a finger in wax with regard to logical reasoning.” And all the more so do we – who are orphans of orphans – require so much time to understand even one logical argument of the earlier ones, may their memory be blessed. And much sharpening is required for this.

This conclusion was, in fact, espoused by an anonymous interlocutor who consulted R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski with regard to whether it is permissible to introduce foodstuffs into the intestines rectally without violating Yom Kippur restrictions. That anonymous writer opined that such an act was biblically forbidden upon pain of the same penalty as the swallowing of food by mouth. R. Chaim Ozer, Teshuvot Aḥi'ezer, III, no. 61, peremptorily dismisses this contention by citing the interpretation of the verse "who fed you in the wilderness with manna … that He might afflict you" (Deuteronomy 8:16)⁴Actually, apparently citing Yoma 74b from memory, Aḥi‘ezer quotes the earlier verse “and He afflicted you and caused you to hunger and fed you manna” (Deuteronomy 8:3) from which the point emerges with even greater clarity. It is not at all clear why Yoma 74b cites Deuteronomy 8:16 rather than Deuteronomy 8:3. adduced by the Gemara, Yoma 74b. On the basis of the association of "affliction" with "eating" in the verse cited, the Gemara demonstrates that the "affliction" commanded on Yom Kippur is abstention from food, rather than some other form of self-denial. Accordingly, argues Aḥi'ezer, violation of the commandment mandating "affliction" on Yom Kippur occurs only if hunger is assuaged by "eating"; hunger that is assuaged other than by means of swallowing food in the normal manner is yet regarded as "affliction."⁵Cf., Teshuvot Binyan Ẓion, no. 35. Aḥi'ezer also cites Minḥat Hinnukh, no. 313, who maintains that there can be no violation of the Yom Kippur prohibition other than through both "enjoyment by the intestines" and "enjoyment by the palate." Minḥat Hinnukh maintains that this is also the position of Resh Lakish with regard to the prohibition against partaking of forbidden foods. The dispute between Rav Yoḥanan and Resh Lakish occurs in the context of a discussion of an individual who swallows a quantity of forbidden food equivalent to half an olive, regurgitates what he has swallowed, and swallows it again. Resh Lakish asserts that the individual has derived nutritional benefit (hana'at mei'av) from only a half-olive quantity of forbidden food and hence the individual incurs no penalty. Rav Yoḥanan disagrees and asserts that, since the palate has twice derived pleasure from forbidden food equal in measure to a half olive by swallowing the same half olive twice, the result is that the palate has experienced pleasure equivalent to that derived from food equal in measure to an entire olive and hence punishment is incurred. Yet, even according to Resh Lakish, no penalty is incurred unless the forbidden food is swallowed by mouth as is evidenced by the provision that if the food is encased in other substances, thereby depriving the palate of pleasure, no penalty is incurred. In a like manner, argues Minḥat Hinnukh, with regard to Yom Kippur, all maintain that a violation of the prohibition occurs only in the presence of both "enjoyment by the intestines" and "enjoyment by the palate." Accordingly, concludes Aḥi'ezer, even according to Minḥat Hinnukh and Hatam Sofer, there can be no infraction of the prohibition against eating on Yom Kippur unless food enters the stomach through the mouth. This position is also espoused by Teshuvot Ketav Sofer, Oraḥ Hayyim, no. 117; Teshuvot Kol Aryeh, no. 74; and Teshuvot Maḥazeh Avraham, no. 129.⁶See also R. Dov Berish Weidenfeld, Teshuvot Dovev Meisharim, III, no. 88 and additional sources cited in Likkutei He’arot al She‘elot u-Teshuvot Ḥatam Sofer, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, no 127, sec. 9.

This conclusion was, in fact, espoused by an anonymous interlocutor who consulted R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski with regard to whether it is permissible to introduce foodstuffs into the intestines rectally without violating Yom Kippur restrictions. That anonymous writer opined that such an act was biblically forbidden upon pain of the same penalty as the swallowing of food by mouth. R. Chaim Ozer, Teshuvot Aḥi'ezer, III, no. 61, peremptorily dismisses this contention by citing the interpretation of the verse "who fed you in the wilderness with manna … that He might afflict you" (Deuteronomy 8:16)⁴Actually, apparently citing Yoma 74b from memory, Aḥi‘ezer quotes the earlier verse “and He afflicted you and caused you to hunger and fed you manna” (Deuteronomy 8:3) from which the point emerges with even greater clarity. It is not at all clear why Yoma 74b cites Deuteronomy 8:16 rather than Deuteronomy 8:3. adduced by the Gemara, Yoma 74b. On the basis of the association of "affliction" with "eating" in the verse cited, the Gemara demonstrates that the "affliction" commanded on Yom Kippur is abstention from food, rather than some other form of self-denial. Accordingly, argues Aḥi'ezer, violation of the commandment mandating "affliction" on Yom Kippur occurs only if hunger is assuaged by "eating"; hunger that is assuaged other than by means of swallowing food in the normal manner is yet regarded as "affliction."⁵Cf., Teshuvot Binyan Ẓion, no. 35. Aḥi'ezer also cites Minḥat Hinnukh, no. 313, who maintains that there can be no violation of the Yom Kippur prohibition other than through both "enjoyment by the intestines" and "enjoyment by the palate." Minḥat Hinnukh maintains that this is also the position of Resh Lakish with regard to the prohibition against partaking of forbidden foods. The dispute between Rav Yoḥanan and Resh Lakish occurs in the context of a discussion of an individual who swallows a quantity of forbidden food equivalent to half an olive, regurgitates what he has swallowed, and swallows it again. Resh Lakish asserts that the individual has derived nutritional benefit (hana'at mei'av) from only a half-olive quantity of forbidden food and hence the individual incurs no penalty. Rav Yoḥanan disagrees and asserts that, since the palate has twice derived pleasure from forbidden food equal in measure to a half olive by swallowing the same half olive twice, the result is that the palate has experienced pleasure equivalent to that derived from food equal in measure to an entire olive and hence punishment is incurred. Yet, even according to Resh Lakish, no penalty is incurred unless the forbidden food is swallowed by mouth as is evidenced by the provision that if the food is encased in other substances, thereby depriving the palate of pleasure, no penalty is incurred. In a like manner, argues Minḥat Hinnukh, with regard to Yom Kippur, all maintain that a violation of the prohibition occurs only in the presence of both "enjoyment by the intestines" and "enjoyment by the palate." Accordingly, concludes Aḥi'ezer, even according to Minḥat Hinnukh and Hatam Sofer, there can be no infraction of the prohibition against eating on Yom Kippur unless food enters the stomach through the mouth. This position is also espoused by Teshuvot Ketav Sofer, Oraḥ Hayyim, no. 117; Teshuvot Kol Aryeh, no. 74; and Teshuvot Maḥazeh Avraham, no. 129.⁶See also R. Dov Berish Weidenfeld, Teshuvot Dovev Meisharim, III, no. 88 and additional sources cited in Likkutei He’arot al She‘elot u-Teshuvot Ḥatam Sofer, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, no 127, sec. 9.

Typically, when people recline at the table and enjoy themselves eating and drinking, isn’ttemptation exactly what tricks their instinct by its crafty power to make their nature too proud and make their heart haughty? Because when they eat they’ll be sated, and when sated they’ll be wicked. They’ll throw off any discipline; their tastes will grip their sense, and will pull them by “the cords of falsehood.”²⁸Is 5:18. They won’t distinguish between the sacred and the profane, nor between the cheap and the priceless; they’ll drink and forget what the point was. And thus the prophet, the son of Beeri, when at the Israelites he was piqued and shrieked, “When they were sated, their hearts grew haughty and they forgot me.”²⁹Hos. 13:6. And in the Torah it is written, “[When] your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold have increased, and everything you own has prospered, your heart will grow haughty and you will forget the Lord your God.”³⁰Dt. 8:13-14.

Before reciting the berachah, place both hands on the bread because the ten fingers are symbolic of the ten mitzvos involved in making bread. [The ten are] 1. It is forbidden to plow with a team comprised of an ox and a donkey. 2. It is forbidden to plant diverse species together. 3. The stalks that fall during harvesting must be left for the poor. 4. A sheaf forgotten in the field must be left for the poor. 5. A corner of the field must be left unharvested for the poor. 6. It is forbidden to muzzle a working animal. 7. A portion of grain must be separated and given to the kohein (priestly family). 8. A tenth of the remaining harvest must be given to the Levite. 9. A tenth of the remaining harvest is then separated to be taken up to Jerusalem and eaten by the owner. 10. A piece of the dough is separated and given to the kohein. For this same reason there are ten words in the berachah of Hamotzi, and ten words in the verse (Psalms 145:15): "The eyes of all look expectantly to You" etc., and ten words in the verse (Deuteronomy 8:8): "A land of wheat and barley" etc., and ten words in the verse (Genesis 27:28): "And may Hashem give you" etc. When you pronounce the Name of Hashem, lift up the bread. On Shabbos lift up both loaves, and recite the berachah with concentration, making sure to enunciate clearly the letter hei in the word Hamotzi. Also allow a short pause between saying the word lechem and the word min, so as not to slur over the letter mem. After reciting the berachah, you must immediately eat the bread, because it is forbidden to interrupt between saying the berachah and eating [the bread], even to answer Amein. You should try to eat a kazayis of bread without interruption.

Put both hands on the bread when you are about to bless "Hamotzi"; for the 10 fingers are reflective of the 10 mitzvot that are dependent on bread. Additionally, there are 10 words in the blessing of "Hamotzi" and 10 words in the following verses: Psalms 104:14, "He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and grass for the service of man: that he may bring forth bread out of the land." Psalms 145:15, "The eyes of all look to you expectantly, and you give them their food at the proper time." Deuteronomy 8:8, "A land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey." Bresheit 27:28, "May G!d give you from the dew of heaven and fat of the earth, and an abundance of grain and wine."

It is from the roots of the commandment that God wanted in His great goodness to chasten us, 'like a man chasten his child.' As this matter is not natural, but [rather] a sign with the holy people, in order that they learn and take rebuke in the changing of the items that are particularly for their use - and they are clothes of wool and flax, as most usage of people is with them - and they repent through this from their evil way, before the tsaraat breaks out also in their bodies.

To bless God after eating food: To bless God, may He be blessed, after a man eats and is satiated from bread or from the seven types [of food] that are mentioned in the verse (Deuteronomy 8:8) when he is nourished by them. And a loaf made from wheat or barley is called undifferentiated bread; and included in wheat is spelt, and included in barley is oats and rye. And about the seven types that nourish is it stated (Deuteronomy 8:10), "And you shall eat and be satiated, and you shall bless the Lord, your God, for the good land, etc." And this satiation is not the same with very person, but rather every person knows his [own] satiation. And we know the measurement of the satiation of a righteous person is to satiate himself, [by which] I mean to say, only for his sustenance. And the proof that the obligation of the blessing from Torah writ is only after satiation is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said in the chapter [entitled] Mi SheMeto in Berakhot 20b: Rav Avira expounded, etc. until, He said to them, "And shall I not show favor to Israel, as I wrote for them in My Torah. 'And you shall eat and be satiated, and you shall bless' (Deuteronomy 8:10); yet they are exacting with themselves even if they have eaten as much as a kazayit (the size of a large olive) or a kabeitsah (the size of a large egg)." And I will still expand [upon] this statement in explaining this verse and the laws that come out of the laws of this commandment, with God's help. And I will make known the disagreement that exists among our rabbis in its understanding.

To bless God after eating food: To bless God, may He be blessed, after a man eats and is satiated from bread or from the seven types [of food] that are mentioned in the verse (Deuteronomy 8:8) when he is nourished by them. And a loaf made from wheat or barley is called undifferentiated bread; and included in wheat is spelt, and included in barley is oats and rye. And about the seven types that nourish is it stated (Deuteronomy 8:10), "And you shall eat and be satiated, and you shall bless the Lord, your God, for the good land, etc." And this satiation is not the same with very person, but rather every person knows his [own] satiation. And we know the measurement of the satiation of a righteous person is to satiate himself, [by which] I mean to say, only for his sustenance. And the proof that the obligation of the blessing from Torah writ is only after satiation is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said in the chapter [entitled] Mi SheMeto in Berakhot 20b: Rav Avira expounded, etc. until, He said to them, "And shall I not show favor to Israel, as I wrote for them in My Torah. 'And you shall eat and be satiated, and you shall bless' (Deuteronomy 8:10); yet they are exacting with themselves even if they have eaten as much as a kazayit (the size of a large olive) or a kabeitsah (the size of a large egg)." And I will still expand [upon] this statement in explaining this verse and the laws that come out of the laws of this commandment, with God's help. And I will make known the disagreement that exists among our rabbis in its understanding.

And there are those among our rabbis whose opinion it is that the Torah obligated us to recite a blessing after all of the seven species, such as dates, wine and fig-cakes (see Berakhot 12a) - as it obligated us in truth to recite a blessing after those of them that are nourishing - and said that it was said about all of them, "And you shall eat and be satiated, and you shall bless" (Deuteronomy 8:10). And they also said that satiation from Torah writ it only with [as much as] a kabeitsah; as with this [quantity] the mind of a [hungry] person is put at ease. And I see a bit of proof for their words from that which they said at the beginning of the chapter [entitled] Keitsad (Berakhot 35a), in the give and take which is in the Gemara to find the obligation of blessing from the Torah: It is said over there, "Just as the seven species is something that has benefit and requires a blessing; so too, any item that has benefit, requires a blessing." It appears from this that there is no distinction in the seven species between those that give nourishment and those that do not, such that there is an obligation for blessing from the Torah for all of them. But in any event, I saw in Rambam, may his memory be blessed, (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Blessings 1:1 and see 3:12 and Kessef Misneh there) and others are with him, such that it appears to me from their words to say that the central obligation of blessing by Torah writ is only on being satiated in the eating of nourishing food, and not on other species, even if they are from the seven species; such as pomegranates, grapes, fresh figs and dates - since they are not nourishing. As the Torah only obligates on nourishing foods; and because of this, [it] put bread adjacent to the blessing - as it is written (Deuteronomy 8:9), "you shall eat bread in it," and then it reverts, "And you shall eat and be satiated." But we shall listen to the great ones in our generation concerning the laws of the Torah.

And there are those among our rabbis whose opinion it is that the Torah obligated us to recite a blessing after all of the seven species, such as dates, wine and fig-cakes (see Berakhot 12a) - as it obligated us in truth to recite a blessing after those of them that are nourishing - and said that it was said about all of them, "And you shall eat and be satiated, and you shall bless" (Deuteronomy 8:10). And they also said that satiation from Torah writ it only with [as much as] a kabeitsah; as with this [quantity] the mind of a [hungry] person is put at ease. And I see a bit of proof for their words from that which they said at the beginning of the chapter [entitled] Keitsad (Berakhot 35a), in the give and take which is in the Gemara to find the obligation of blessing from the Torah: It is said over there, "Just as the seven species is something that has benefit and requires a blessing; so too, any item that has benefit, requires a blessing." It appears from this that there is no distinction in the seven species between those that give nourishment and those that do not, such that there is an obligation for blessing from the Torah for all of them. But in any event, I saw in Rambam, may his memory be blessed, (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Blessings 1:1 and see 3:12 and Kessef Misneh there) and others are with him, such that it appears to me from their words to say that the central obligation of blessing by Torah writ is only on being satiated in the eating of nourishing food, and not on other species, even if they are from the seven species; such as pomegranates, grapes, fresh figs and dates - since they are not nourishing. As the Torah only obligates on nourishing foods; and because of this, [it] put bread adjacent to the blessing - as it is written (Deuteronomy 8:9), "you shall eat bread in it," and then it reverts, "And you shall eat and be satiated." But we shall listen to the great ones in our generation concerning the laws of the Torah.

A sick person who ate on Yom Kippur and recovers to such a degree so that he is able to bless (the food he ate, to say the Grace after the meal¹³⁷The Grace after meals, Birkhat ha-Mazon, ברכת המזון, is a central part of the home liturgical service. Its obligation is considered biblical from the verse: "Thou shalt eat and be satisfied and bless the Lord thy God for the good land which He has given thee", (Deuteronomy 8:10). It has four parts to it and it should be said only after bread has been eaten. When bread has not been eaten, a shorter version of the Grace is recited.
The first blessing, Birkhat ha-Zan praises God for providing food for all His creatures. The second blessing, Birkhat ha-Areẓ, expresses Israel's special thanks for the good land God has given it. It speaks of the redemption from Egypt, the covenant of circumcision and the revelation of the Torah. The third benediction, Boneh Yerushalayim and also Neḥamah, consolation, asks God to have mercy on Israel and to restore the Temple and the Kingdom of David. These blessings also include a plea for God to always sustain and support Israel. This was the core of the Grace after Meals, but after the destruction of Bethar during the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 C.E. a fourth blessing was added, Ha-tov ve-ha-metiv. It thanks God for His goodness praying that He may fulfill specific desires. This is followed by special petitions which begin with the word Ha-Raḥaman, "May the All-Merciful…" This part of the prayer was once for personal desires but it then became standardized. The number of petitions vary. The Sephardi rite has fifteen while the Ashkenazi only has nine.
The Talmud (Ber. 48b) ascribes the origin of each of the benedictions to different Jewish heros and events. The first was originated by Moses when he saw manna fall, the second by Joshua when he conquered Ereẓ Israel, the third by David and Solomon and the fourth by the rabbis at Jabneh although it might actually date back to as early as the reign of Hadrian.
The Birkhat ha-Mazon, on Sabbaths and festivals is usually preceded by Psalm 126, which reminds us of Zion and its restoration among our earthly delights. Whenever three or more men have eaten together one of the men begins the Grace by summoning the others, (Ber. 7:1-5), "Gentlemen, let us say Grace", (in the Sephardi rite it is "with your permission"), and the others reply "Blessed be the name of the Lord henceforth and forever." The leader repeats that statement and says, "With your consent (the Sephardim say, "With the permission of heaven"), let us now bless Him of whose food we have eaten." The others respond, Blessed be He whose food we have eaten and through whose goodness we live." This whole introduction is called zimmun (Ber. 45b). The Talmud states that this must be said also by three women who eat together. The zimmun becomes somewhat longer when the number of people together goes to ten, a hundred, a thousand, and ten thousand. Now we insert the word Elohenu, "Our God" in the third line when ten or more eat together. Grace used to be followed by a cup of wine and there was a discussion if this was only when the grace was said with zimmun or also individually, (Shulḥan Arukh, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, 182:1). The custom now is to have the wine only on Sabbaths, festivals, and special occasions.
On Sabbaths and festivals special sections are added to the third blessing, Boneh Yerushalayim, these are Reẓeḥ and/or Ya'aleh ve-Yavo and an additional petition is added in series of Ha-Raḥaman. Special Ha-Raḥaman petitions are inserted for New Moons, Rosh HaShanah, Sukkot, Passover, and Shavuot. On Ḥanukkah and Purim the special Al ha-Nissim, "about the Miracles", section is said during the second blessing which is devoted to the thanksgiving.
The Grace at a wedding feast is slightly different. The third line of the zimmun is supplemented by "Blessed he our God in whose abode is joy, of whose food we have eaten, and through whose goodness we live" and then the seven wedding benedictions are recited at the end of the Grace. The Grace at the house of a mourner is also changed. The end of the third benediction has a special prayer substituted, the text of the fourth blessing is changed as is the zimmun. At a circumcision ceremony, the wording of the zimmun changes to fit the occasion. The Ha-Raḥaman petitions also allow for passages to be inserted by children, guests or masters of the house.
The Birhat ha-Mazon is the only prayer commanded by the Torah but the words were developed by man. Therefore under certain circumstances and for children different, shorter versions have been developed which at least mention the land and Jerusalem. When bread is not eaten another form of Grace is said. It is called Berakhah Aḥronah, a "final benediction" and what is said depends on what is eaten. When one eats of food from the five species of grain; wheat barley, rye, oats, and spelt, wine, or fruits of Ereẓ Israel, a short Grace is said, which consists of one benediction with an insertion for the type of food eaten and for the special nature of the day if it is the Sabbath or a festival. It is called Berakhah Me'ein Shalosh, "a benediction summarizing the three" regular benedictions. For any other food a short benediction called Ve-Lo-Khelum, "nothing" is said. It is also known by its first two words, Bore Nafashot.
Editorial Staff, E. J., v. 7, pp. 838-41.) he has to mention Yom Kippur in “יעלה ויבא״¹³⁸Ya'aleh ve-Yavo, יעלה ויבא, "May our Remembrance rise and come and be accepted before Thee" is a special insertion made to the third blessing of the Grace after the Meal, Birkhat ha-Mazon, (see footnote 137) called Boneh Yerushalayim, which speaks about the restoration of the Temple and the Kingdom of David. It also asks God to have mercy on Israel. The blessing includes a plea for God to sustain and support Israel. The insertion of the Ya'aleh ve-Yavo is made on the festivals and New Moons and the Reẓeh on the Sabbaths. Both are inserted when the Sabbath falls on a festival. Since Yom Kippur is a fast day, there is no special insertion which specifically mentions Yom Kippur in the Birkhat ha-Mazon which is the Grace after Meals, of which there are not to be any on Yom Kippur. According to the Shulḥan Arukh if one must eat on Yom Kippur for reasons of health and then is able to, he must recite the Grace after Meals, and in the third blessing, the Boneh Yerushalayim he must insert the Ya'aleh ve-Yavo prayer which states that it is indeed a holiday, and at the time in the prayer when the specialness of the festival is mentioned, the person must also say "Yom ha-Zikharon ha-Zeh, "This Day of Remembrance" which indicates it is Yom Kippur.” in his Grace after the meal, namely in the benediction called “בונה ירושלים¹³⁹Boneh Yerushalayim, בונה ירושלים, the third blessing in the Grace after Meals; see footnotes 137 and 138.”