Halakhah su Salmi 145:15

Whether denial of rights to animals is, or is not, barbaric is a value judgment regarding which reasonable men may differ. Whether or not Judaism actually denies such rights to animals is a factual matter which is readily discernible. The Bible abounds in passages which reflect concern for animal welfare. Concern for the welfare of animals is clearly regarded as the trait of a righteous person: "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast; but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel" (Proverbs 12:10). Divine concern for the welfare of animals is reflected in numerous passages: "And His tender mercies are over all His works" (Psalms 145:9); "The eyes of all wait for Thee, and Thou givest them their food in due season. Thou openest Thy hand and satisfiest every living thing with favor" (Psalms 145:15-16); "He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry" (Psalms 147:9); "Who provides for the raven his prey, when his young ones cry unto God and wander for lack of food?" (Job 38:41); "… and should not I have pity on Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons … and also much cattle?" (Jonah 4:11); and "Man and beast thou preservest, O Lord" (Psalms 36:7). De minimis, these verses serve to establish the theological proposition that divine mercy extends, not only to man, but to members of the animal kingdom as well.

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.

In both of those guises the blessing oseh ma'aseh bereshit is designed to underscore the notion that there is no sharp distinction between the miraculous and the natural. Nes, or miracle, and teva, or nature, are two sides of the same coin. Ramban, in numerous passages in his Commentary on the Pentateuch,¹³See, for example, Genesis 7:17, 35:13 and 46:15; Exodus 6:12; Leviticus 18:29 and 26:11; and Deuteronomy 11:13. eloquently formulates a distinction between a nes nistar, or a hidden miracle, and a nes nigleh, or an open miracle. The miraculous nature of hidden miracles is obscured by virtue of the fact that to the beholder the result appears simply as the manifestation of natural occurrences. Open miracles are perceived as the suspension of the natural order. Perhaps even more emphatic are the comments of R. Meir Simchah of Dvinsk, Meshekh Hokhmah, Parasḥat Beḥukotai. Meshekh Hokhmah comments that miracles are not designed as ends in themselves; on the contrary, a nes is entirely instrumental. Miracles are designed to impress upon us that all of teva is a nes; nature is miraculous; the natural order is the greatest of all miracles. The temporary suspension of that order is designed to make us realize that the order and regularity of nature is born of divine decree and subject to divine will. The problem for mankind is that we have become desensitized. Every day the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. We take that for granted, with the result that such phenomena no longer strike us as wondrous. From time to time it is necessary for us to be jolted out of our intellectual complacency. Observation of an extraordinary phenomenon is an occasion to be reminded that miracles are built into the principles governing the universe as variations in the regularity that is the hallmark of nature.¹⁴See Avot 5:6; Bereshit Rabbah 5:4; and Shemot Rabbah 21:16. See also Rambam, Commentary on the Mishneh, Avot 5:6; idem, Guide to the Perplexed, Part II, chaps. 25 and 29; and Ḥasdai Crescas, Or ha-Shem, Part II, p. 5. Miracles are designed to impress upon us that, in reality, teva is the greatest of all miracles. That is why, declares Meshekh Hokhmah, "one who recites hallel ha-gadol every day commits blasphemy" (Shabbat 118b). If a person recites hallel every day it is because he feels he must give thanks for what he perceives as miracles performed on his behalf on a daily basis. But God does not perform overt miracles on a daily basis; He does not disturb the laws of nature with any frequency. To presume that He does so is a form of blasphemy. But at the same time we are charged with recognizing that nature itself is miraculous. That is why, explains Meshekh Hokhmah, a person who recites ashrei thrice daily is assured of a share in the World to Come (Berakhot 4b). The omnipotence, grandeur and majesty of God is manifest in the ordinary, but regular and ongoing, phenomena described in ashrei: "You give them their food in due season. You open your hand and satiate every living creature with favor" (Psalms 145:15-16). Recitation of ashrei serves to acknowledge that the phenomena we regard as natural, ordinary and run of the mill are really miracles wrought by God.