Does anyone know of a single resource for all of birkat hamazon, which includes melody recordings for additional passages like al hanisim, yaale veyavo, retzei, shir hamaalot, etc?
Food Insecurity and the Birkat Hamazon: Parshat Eikev
Hi all! Here is the sermon that I gave tonight at my student pulpit. I hope that you enjoy!
Shabbat Shalom! This week’s Torah portion, Parshat Eikev, continues Moses’s epic goodbye speech to the Jewish people. Moses spends much of the parsha reminding the Israelites of the Covenant between us and God, preaching about our devotion to God, and the importance of performing mitzvot... so that bad things won’t happen. It’s as if this is the Jewish version of eternal damnation! Within those commandments, includes the mitzvah of thanking God for our food.
A few moments ago, I read about the bounty of food that the Jewish people will receive upon entering the Land of Israel. Just like we did after our beautiful Shabbat dinner as a sacred community, in Parshat Eikev we are commanded to thank God for what we eat.
It’s no secret that I love food. I love cooking and tasting, and learning how to create new and interesting dishes. I come by it honestly, it runs in my family. My brother and I come from a long line of foodies. Our talented mom passed her love down to us, which was passed down from each generation before her. I’m sure that you wouldn’t be surprised to learn that I love Mahene Yehuda, Jerusalem’s open air market or “shuk”. You can pick up almost anything in the Jerusalem Shuk from strawberries and cucumbers to halava and the gooiest and delicious rugelach.
During my first year of Rabbinical School on Friday mornings, you could normally find me in Mahene Yehuda grabbing my pre-Shabbas falafel, my weekly fruits and veggies, and all of the supplies for Shabbat dinner. Wandering through the Shuk on a Friday morning before Shabbat can be overwhelming at best. Being present in such a holy market, always reminded me of how lucky many of us are to have such an abundance of food in our lives. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel speaks about having “radical amazement” for our beautiful world, and this week’s Torah portion reminds us to maintain this “radical amazement” for the food that we are so grateful to enjoy.
“When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall thank Adonai your G-d”
The rabbis of the Talmud used this verse as the basis of why we as Jews recite the Birkat Hamazon for our bounty of food. Medieval commentator Maimonides argues that "‘you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless’ so you will remember the slavery of Egypt…” Like Maimonides alluded to, this commandment allows us to stop, and be mindful of the challenges that we have endured as a people.
I need to mention the elephant in this conversation. While we blessed God for our food, 42.2 million Americans will to bed hungry tonight. That is more than 1 in 8 people, including 13.1 million children and 5.6 million senior citizens. There are so many people who face malnutrition in the world, that their numbers exceed the populations of the United States, Canada, and the entire European Union combined. That includes 34 million children.
I was recently struck by a letter, from a camper named Esther to her rabbi regarding the Birkat Hamazon. Esther writes:
“Dear Rabbi: The kids in our bunk were having a discussion last night whether or not we should say Birkat Ha-mazon, (the blessing for food), [that] the whole camp chants after every meal at Camp Ramah. Earlier in the day, we had a discussion about the millions of people who are suffering from starvation throughout the world. Thousands die from hunger daily. We, therefore, wonder whether we should thank God, who in the words of the Birkat Ha-mazon, ‘feeds the whole world with Their goodness, with lovingkindess and tender mercy… who provides for all Their creatures whom They have created.’ Can we say these words without feeling hypocritical?” Love, Esther
Blessed are you Adonai our God ruler of all, who... feeds all…?
How can we thank God for feeding all of us, when so many people are hungry? Time and time again, our tradition teaches us to help those who most need it. From Abram and Sarai who feed three desert wanderers, to the literature of the prophets who, in the words of Jeremiah, teach that we must do what is “just and right,” and of Isaiah, who reminds us to “share our bread with the hungry.” On Passover, we’re reminded that matza is “the bread of affliction [that] our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt.” We are called upon to “let all who are hungry come and eat [and to] let all who are in need come share our Passover” meal, because, as it is said in Proverbs, “צְדָקָ֥ה תְרֽוֹמֵֽם־גּ֑וֹי,” “tzedakah exalts a nation.” Contributing our time, effort, and goods to help others is a cornerstone, possibly the cornerstone of Judaism.
But Josh, how can we thank God for feeding all of the people of the world, “הַזָּן אֶת הכל,” while every human being does not have enough food to eat? Is this prayer “just and right”? Is the recognition of our “radical amazement” for our bounty of food appropriate when “הַזָּן אֶת הכל,” feeder of all, is so questionable?
I’m curious what you all think of these two different answers:
Answer #1: The Cyber Rav, Rabbi Rafi Rank, from Jewishpost.com, argues that “‘hazan et hakol’ [can be translated] to mean that God feeds us in ways that human beings cannot, that is, God feeds us and sustains us with Torah,” with learning, and with Jewish values. The Cyber Rav argues that because the first part of the blessing talks about God feeding us with goodness, the text isn’t referring to food, but to how we are divinely fed with “understanding, the motivation, [and] the imperative to do what is right and just. This is the whole idea of not living by bread alone. We require other things that are just as important as bread, if not more so.”
The Cyber Rav sees the issue through a metaphorical lens. Does God feed all who recite the Birkat Hamazon with Jewish values instead of food? Is that the “et hakol,” “the all,” of the prayer? Is this just a metaphor?
Answer #2: Esther’s rabbi also has a wonderful response. He argues that because food insecurity is a human-made problem caused by greed and uncompassionate people, it is our job to fix the issue. He believes that if we affirm “God’s goodness in providing food for all, we [will] rededicate ourselves to making that fact a reality.”
The rabbi believes that we should recite our thanksgiving for food “louder and louder, until that blessed day comes, when everybody will be able to say the Birkat Ha-mazon in a world where none will go hungry.” In a way, the rabbi found a loophole where he both urged Esther to continue the tradition of reciting the Birkat Hamazon with her community while cleverly reminding her, and her bunkmates, of the importance of using a loud voice in creating a change. In the task of fixing our world, Tikkun Olam, our voices can have a transformative effect on society.
As a young college student preparing donations at my home congregation’s soup kitchen with my family, I still remember my mom nearly breaking down as she put herself in the shoes of one of the many families that we were helping. My mom imagined what our life would have looked like if she and my father could not feed my brother and I. For my mother who passed her love of food to her children, the holy work that we were doing encouraged her to think about life differently. This moment continues to inspire me to help as many people as possible put food on their tables.
On the New York campus of the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, we host a weekly soup kitchen in our basement on Monday nights. Although I often can’t make it to volunteer due to other commitments, I always tell people about it on the subway, or on the streets when asked for help. Yes, sometimes people blow me off, and often I get strange looks from other New Yorkers, but a conversation that I had a few months ago with an older woman continues to inspire me. As I exited the platform in a rush to get up the stairs and to my next destination, a woman with big beautiful eyes approached me for help. Although I don’t remember much of what we said to one another, the gratitude that welled up in her eyes and on her face was indescribable. I shared with her a very human moment, a very sacred moment, and a moment filled with compassion and respect for one another.
הַזָּן אֶת הכל...God feeds all: This act fed my soul. The beautiful gift of love that I know God has granted all human beings, fed my soul. My soul was nourished because I used my voice to help God feed us all.
Esther’s rabbi ends his letter with the same call that I give to you this Shabbat. In parshat Eikev, we are called upon to thank God for the endless supply of food that exists for all of us. The parsha reminds us to make the world a less hungry place, thus feeding our souls in the process.
Let’s continue this holy work together in order to help others access food in the United States, Israel, and around the world. But also, we must teach others about this grave injustice. If you have a chance, please visit Mazon.org or pick up a flier from me after our Tefilla. “Mazon: a Jewish Response to Hunger” is a Jewish organization which provides educational resources to millions, many of which I used to prepare this sermon. They also create opportunities for Jews to provide their time, labor, and finances to make the dream of “,הַזָּן אֶת הכל”, “who feeds all”, a reality.
The following appears in midrash: When you are asked in the world to come, “What was your work?” and you answer, “I fed the hungry,” you will be told, “This is the gate of Adonai, enter into it, you who have fed the hungry.”
I'm really in love with the idea of wind chimes where each chime has a line of the Home Blessing on it. But that doesn't seem to be a thing that exists for purchase right now. And I am not skilled enough with metal or ceramic to make my own wind chimes. Anyone know of Jewish artists who work with metal and/or ceramic and/or musical instruments who would be available for commission to bring my dream of Birkat Habayit wind chimes into reality?
Mod here. Anon is asking for recommendations of artists willing to make a wind chime of this nature. If you don’t think doing so is alright or have opinions on how it should be specifically done (e.g. how to refer to God/Hashem on them), please put that in a different post; ask box is always open.
Hi! I'm a prospective convert working from a Reform/Progressive FOR. I'm wondering whether there are any restrictions on or prohibitions for writing your own brachot? Like, if felt that I needed a specific blessing for something that doesn't already exist in the liturgy, could I write one (hypothetically)? If yes, is there any relevant halacha or customs that one should know about; and if no, what's the reasoning? I'm coming from a Reform/Progressive FOR but I welcome other perspectives.
