Eikev

Anyone who’s been to Jewish summer camp will have some kind of relationship with Birkat HaMazon, the blessing said after eating. Whether its the campers enthusiastically cheering and slapping the table, the counselors desparate for the meal to be over so they can get on with their day, or the Jewish professionals fruitlessly trying to keep everyone on task, the singing of Birkat HaMazon is a chaotic and, usually, joyful experience. And all of us have our Torah portion this week, Eikev, to thank for that moment of gratitude.

As Moses continues his speech to the Israelites as they prepare to enter the Promised Land, he has good advice even for us. He pleads with the people to appreciate how God took care of them in the wilderness, and to be grateful for the good land the people will soon be calling home. He warns them that it would be all too easy, eating their fine food and living in their comfortable homes, for them to forget God and “let their hearts grow haughty.” Moses asks them to imagine what it will be like when they are sitting down for a meal in that land flowing with milk and honey, enjoying its plenty, and tells them:

וְאָכַלְתָּ֖ וְשָׂבָ֑עְתָּ וּבֵֽרַכְתָּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ עַל־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַטֹּבָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָֽתַן־לָֽךְ׃

You will eat, you will be satisfied, and you will bless Adonai your God for the good land that has been given to you.

– Deuteronomy 8:10

The solution to being ungrateful, it turns out, is to make gratitude a regular part of your life. Traditionally, one says Birkat HaMazon after eating at least an olive’s worth of bread (which is why some Kosher bakeries have products specifically small enough that you don’t need to say it). Even a small meal requires gratitude, and the rabbis tell us that to eat without blessing is akin to theft.

Personally, I think we probably shouldn’t involve the police when someone forgets to say Birkat HaMazon. I do, however, feel that when we experience life’s miracles, big or small, without taking the opportunity to be grateful, we steal from ourselves. Blessings of thanks help us to practice the Jewish value of hakarat hatov, recognizing the good in our lives and, as Eikev teaches us, this can help us appreciate what we have, avoid jealousy of what others have, and work to help those who do not have enough. So when our young people cheer and clap their way through this blessing, even if I might want them to focus more on the words, I know that they are living out what Moses taught our people so long ago. In the words of Abraham Joshua Heschel, they come to more intimately know that “everything is phenomenal. Everything is incredible; [and to] never treat life casually.” May all of us honour the blessings we have in every moment.

L’shalom,

Rabbi Michael Weiss