Skip to main content

The Power of a Blessing - Parashat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim - May 5, 2017

In the second parasha, Kedoshim, of this week’s double parasha, the Torah teaches, “When you will come to the land and plant any food tree, you will treat its fruit as forbidden; for three years they will be forbidden to you; they may not be eaten. In the fourth year, all its fruit shall be sanctified to praise Hashem.”

The final phrase of these verses, “all its fruit shall be sanctified to praise Hashem,” is understood by our Rabbis to be the source verse for the obligation to make a blessing prior to eating food – the obligation of bracha rishona. Based on this understanding, our Rabbis teach in Masechet Berachot that it is forbidden to eat food without first making the appropriate initial blessing.

This Gemara in Berachot makes a further point. The Rabbis teach, “Anyone who benefits from this world without making a blessing first is like stealing from the holy things of heaven as the verse states, ‘To G-d is the land and everything that fills it’”.

The Gemara further analyzes this teaching. There are two verses in the Book of Psalms that discuss the relationship between Hashem and the land. L'ashem ha’aretz u’mloa – to Hashem is the land and all that fills it – and another verse – hashamayim shamayim la’Hashem veha’aretz natan livnei adam – the heavens belong to Hashem and the land He gave to mankind.

On the surface, these two verses contradict each other. The first verse conveys that G-d owns the land and everything in it. The second verse conveys that G-d owns the heavens, but that He gave the land to mankind. Both statements cannot be true. Who owns the land and its content – G-d or mankind?

The Gemara offers a curious resolution: the first verse refers to the state of affairs prior to man making a blessing and the second verse refers to the state of affairs subsequent to man making a blessing.

How does a blessing transfer this “ownership” from Hashem to mankind?

Apparently, according to the first verse – everything in this world is identified exclusively for the service of Hashem. Every food, every animal, every human has a purpose – for serving Hashem. A beracha – a blessing in which man acknowledges Hashem as being the ultimate Creator of the food and hence the One who defines its purpose – gives man the right to use it. This beracha gives man the right to use the food because he has now recognized Hashem as the Creator and that the food is now an object that is being used in the service of Hashem.

The bounty of Hashem’s kindness is all around us. Through regular recognition of this kindness, the recitation of a blessing sensitizes us to this reality and helps us realize Hashem’s constant benevolence.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Meaning of the Shofar - Parashat Netzavim 5776 - September 30, 2016

In allusion to George Orwell: all of the passages in the Rambam’s magnum opus – the Mishne Torah – are meaningful; but some are more meaningful than others. One such passage in The Laws of Repentance (3:4) fits this description. Maimonides writes: Even though the sounding of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah is a decree, it contains an allusion. It is as if [the call of the shofar ] is saying: Wake up you sleepy ones from your sleep and you who slumber, arise. Inspect your deeds, repent, remember your Creator. Those who forget the truth in the vanities of time and throughout the entire year, devote their energies to vanity and emptiness which will not benefit or save: Look to your souls. Improve your ways and your deeds and let every one of you abandon his evil path and thoughts. Accordingly, throughout the entire year, a person should always look at himself as equally balanced between merit and sin and the world as equally balanced between merit and sin. If he performs one sin, he tips his...

Honor and Glory - Parashat Termuah 5780, February 28, 2020

This week’s  parasha , Termuah, and next week’s parasha , Tetzave, introduce Hashem’s command regarding the plans for the  mishkan  and its vessels – including the clothing worn by the  kohanim . One of the vessels that Hashem commands to be built is the  menorah  – the candelabra. The description of the plans for the menorah are described in Parashat Terumah and the description of its service is described in Parashat Tetzave. In Parashat Tetzave, the Torah says, “and they will take for you pure olive oil pressed to be lit to raise an everlasting candle.” Each evening the  kohanim  were obligated to light the candelabra with enough oil to last the night. In the morning, the  kohanim  were obligated to fix and relight the  menorah , as necessary, thus ensuring that the candelabra would constantly be lit. The Rambam – Maimonides – explains, based on a later verse, that the  mitzvah  to light the candelabra in the mishk...

Teaching Empathy - Parashat Ki Tetze - September 1, 2017

This week’s parasha , Ki Tetze, presents a summary of many of the mitzvot . In the last section of the parasha , the Torah recounts two sets of commandments. The first set discusses the just treatment of the downtrodden. The Torah writes, “You shall not pervert the judgment of a convert or orphan and you shall not take the garment of a widow as a pledge. You will remember that you were a slave in Egypt and Hashem, your G-d, redeemed you from there; therefore, I command you to do this thing.” The second set discusses the obligations of a harvester to the downtrodden. The Torah writes, “When you reap your harvest in your field, and you forget a bundle in the field, you shall not turn back to take it; it will be for the convert, the orphan and the widow, so that Hashem, your G-d, will bless you in all that you do. When you beat the olive tree, do not remove all the splendor behind you; it will be for the convert, the orphan and the widow. When you harvest your vineyard, you will not...