Halakhah su Deuteronomio 8:8

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.

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."