Ekev
Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25
Isaiah 49:14-51:3
In Ekev we read, “You will eat and be satisfied and bless.” Our sages explain this verse as a positive commandment. Although this verse is accepted as the basis for the obligatory grace after meals (Birkat Hamazon), our sages deduced from this verse the necessity for saying blessings before we eat as well.
Both the earlier and later commentaries discuss the nature of blessings in general. They ask, “Does the Creator of heaven and earth really need man to bless Him?” By definition the word “need” is not applicable to the Almighty, who is perfect and complete and in need of nothing. What then are blessings for, or rather for whose benefit are they? Like all prayer we are taught that they are for our benefit.
When a person recites blessings on something he enjoys (such as food), he is bearing witness to G-d’s providence in this world and in so doing, man is exalted over all other creatures. Conversely, one who eat without a blessing is in effect denying G-d’s providence.
The Oros Ha Mitzvah explains the connection by referring to the verse in this week’s parashah, “Lest you eat and be satisfied…and your heart will be haughty and you will forget the Lord your G-d” (Deut. 8:12:14).
The Torah understands the psychology of how being full makes people forget their Creator who gives food to all and makes them satisfied. Since man must plant, plow, sow, reap, stack, thresh, winnow, grind, sift, knead and bake before he finally has bread to eat, there is considerable reason to fear that he may begin to believe that whatever he has came to him through his own powers and his own efforts. In order to erase such thoughts from our minds, we are commanded to proclaim our faith in our Provider.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains the need for blessings as a way to elevate our spirituality. After enjoying a meal, having acquired renewed energy and strength, we must recognize that this energy is a gift from G-d, and whatever energy we have must be used to serve Him.
In this same parashah we read, “It is not by bread alone that man can make a life for himself, rather man can live by everything that comes from the mouth of G-d” (Deut. 8:3).
This verse stresses the importance of avowing the origin of man’s sustenance. The word lechem has a double meaning. It can mean “bread,” as in this verse, or it can mean “to fight.” Hirsch explains that bread is the nourishment that man wrests from nature (as described above), competing with his fellow man for the “piece of bread.” So bread symbolizes the combined product of nature and of man’s intelligence, suggesting man’s control over the temporal world. Bread is the physical manifestation of the acumen with which man creates his own sustenance as he interacts with his fellow man to harness nature.
The tragedy starts when he supposes that it is his ability and creativity alone that account for his material success and forgets that the prime factor is G-d’s providence. Every crumb of bread in which we are fortunate enough to partake is due solely to G-d’s goodness. To disregard this fact is to indulge in our greatest delusion.
Sadly, in our daily obligations of providing for our families and ourselves we often fail to acknowledge the hand of G-d. We foolishly believe that it is only our struggle to wrest our bread from nature, by whatever means we deem correct. With such an approach we will ultimately forgo any concern about whether our efforts are within G-d’s laws.
Moreover, when we begin to believe that our livelihood is strictly dependent on our own efforts, then our concern for livelihood becomes a never-ending struggle depriving us of the time and vitality necessary for spiritual pursuits. Saying a blessing before and after eating protects us from the nasty trap of this faulty reasoning as it elevates us spiritually and reminds us from whence cometh all of our blessings.
Shabbat shalom.