EVERYDAY BLESSINGS · 2 OF 4
Blessings before and after
Hunger makes us notice what we need. A blessing helps us remember who gives it, both before we enjoy food and after we have eaten.
In this lesson
Begin with the Torah’s order
A berakhah is a blessing addressed to God. We refer to him as Hashem, “the Name,” in ordinary conversation. If these words are new, What is a berakhah? introduces their meaning and the main kinds of blessing.
The Torah is the five books of Moshe (Moses) at the beginning of our Scriptures. In its fifth book, Devarim, Deuteronomy, Moshe addresses our people before entry into the land of Israel. Chapter 8 recalls the wilderness journey and describes a good land with water, crops and bread. In that setting we hear:
וְאָכַלְתָּ וְשָׂבָעְתָּ וּבֵרַכְתָּ
You shall eat, be satisfied, and bless…
English rendering by Messianic Yeshiva
The whole verse means: “You shall eat and be satisfied, and you shall bless Hashem your God for the good land he has given you.” Food and the land that sustains us belong together in this call to gratitude.
1. Put the three actions in order. Whom do we bless, and for what?
Eat → be satisfied → bless. We bless Hashem our God for the good land he has given us. In this verse the blessing follows eating and satisfaction; it is not addressed to the food or to the land.
Remember when you have enough
Verse 11 immediately warns us not to forget Hashem. The following verses describe full stomachs, good houses and increasing possessions. The danger is a proud heart that treats our prosperity as entirely our own achievement. Verse 18 answers by calling us to remember that Hashem gives us the strength to accomplish.
The blessing after eating belongs within this larger movement. We do not stop remembering Hashem once our hunger is gone. Receiving what we need becomes a reason to give thanks, not a reason to forget.
2. “Once my needs are met, I no longer need to think about Hashem.” How does the surrounding passage answer?
Verses 11–18 place the warning precisely in a time of plenty. Satisfaction and success can tempt us to forget their source. The passage joins receiving the land’s goodness with blessing and remembering Hashem, rather than reserving prayer for need.
Two moments, not one repeated act
Rambam, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, opens the Laws of Blessings in his code, the Mishneh Torah, with this verse. In 1:1 he identifies the Torah’s command to bless after eating and being satisfied. In 1:2 he explains that our sages instituted a blessing before enjoying food, and also established after-blessings with their own conditions.
- Before eating
We recognize Hashem before enjoying the food. These blessings belong to the teaching of our sages; that does not make them optional.
- After eating
We give thanks for what we have received. The appropriate after-blessing is a distinct text, not simply the before-blessing repeated.
After a bread meal we encounter Birkat Hamazon, the series of blessings often called “Grace after Meals.” Rambam connects it with bread in 3:11. Other foods have other after-blessings. What and how much we eat, along with the circumstances, matter when learning their use.
3. A learner says, “Deuteronomy 8:10 gives the words to say before food, so there is nothing else to learn afterward.” Repair both mistakes.
The verse places blessing after eating and satisfaction; it does not give the complete text of a before-blessing. Rambam explains the before-food blessing as an institution of our sages. Before and after are distinct moments, and each has its own learning.
Notice what the food is
The Mishnah is an early collection of our sages’ teachings, organized by subject. Its tractate, or book, Berakhot concerns blessings and prayer. The reference 6:1 means chapter 6, mishnah 1. It asks how we bless over produce.
Read these selections. The quoted phrases identify the subjects of the blessings; they are not complete texts for recitation. In the exercises, use their English meanings or short names.
על פירות האילן, הוא אומר בורא פרי העץ
Over the fruits of a tree, one says, “Who creates the fruit of the tree.”
ועל פירות הארץ, הוא אומר בורא פרי האדמה,
חוץ מן הפת, שעל הפת הוא אומר המוציא לחם מן הארץ.Over the produce of the earth, one says, “Who creates the fruit of the ground,”
except for bread, over which one says, “Who brings forth bread from the earth.”
English rendering by Messianic Yeshiva
The full mishnah gives wine its own wording and records a disagreement about vegetables. Here we are working with three distinctions: tree fruit, ground produce and bread. The phrase “except for bread” matters. Bread comes from the earth, yet the Mishnah gives it a distinct blessing.
- בורא פרי העץ
Borei peri ha-etz: creates the fruit of the tree. Often called Ha-etz, “the tree.”
- בורא פרי האדמה
Borei peri ha-adamah: creates the fruit of the ground. Often called Ha-adamah, “the ground.”
- המוציא לחם מן הארץ
Ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz: brings forth bread from the earth. Often called Ha-motzi, “the one who brings forth.”
4. “Bread begins as something grown in the ground, so this passage gives it Ha-adamah.” Which words change that conclusion?
“Except for bread.” The Mishnah singles bread out and supplies Ha-motzi. A broad observation about where something grows cannot erase the distinction the source expressly makes.
Try three supplied cases
For this reading exercise, take an apple as ordinary tree fruit, a carrot as ordinary ground produce, and a plain wheat loaf as ordinary bread. Match these already-identified cases to the three phrases. We are practicing the passage’s categories, not deciding the blessing for an unfamiliar product or a mixed meal.
- An apple, identified as tree fruit.
- A carrot, identified as ground produce.
- A plain wheat loaf, identified as bread.
For each answer, give the short name and the words in the source that support it.
5. Compare the matches and the reasons
- Apple → Ha-etz. The supplied category matches “the fruits of a tree.”
- Carrot → Ha-adamah. The supplied category matches “the produce of the earth.”
- Wheat loaf → Ha-motzi. The passage explicitly singles out bread.
The reasoning uses the food’s supplied classification and the Mishnah’s wording. A new food may require us to establish the classification first.
6. After the bread meal, should you simply repeat Ha-motzi? Explain using the earlier section.
No. Ha-motzi identifies the before-bread blessing. Birkat Hamazon is the distinct series associated with the bread meal afterward. Knowing the before-blessing does not replace learning the appropriate after-blessing and its conditions.
Recall, then check
Close the lesson and write three sentences: the Torah passage’s order and purpose; the difference between before and after; and one distinction in the Mishnah. Reopen the sources to check each sentence.
8. Compare your three-sentence review
“Deuteronomy 8 calls us to eat, be satisfied and bless Hashem, remembering him in the land’s abundance. Rambam distinguishes the blessing before food from the blessings after it. Mishnah Berakhot 6:1 distinguishes tree fruit and ground produce, and singles out bread for Ha-motzi.”
A strong review preserves the sequence and the source distinctions. It does not claim that three food categories settle every practical case.
Next time, recall “eat, be satisfied, bless” before looking back. In a siddur, a Jewish prayer book, find the heading for Birkat Hamazon and a section of blessings before food. Notice that they are different texts with different places in the meal.
Explore the sources
Deuteronomy 8:7–18: land, satisfaction, blessing and the warning against forgetting. Mishnah Berakhot 6:1: the full passage, including wine and vegetables. Rambam, Laws of Blessings 1:1–2: the Torah command and the sages’ institutions. 3:2, 11–12: bread and the distinct blessings before and after. The lesson selects a first reading; use the full sources with your teacher as you develop practice.