B'rakha at mealtimes

[By Grace]

Why did Yeshua say a b'rakha before the meal instead of after, as Torah instructs?

Then he took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking up toward heaven, made a b'rakhah, broke the loaves and began giving them to the talmidim to distribute to the crowd.

(Does anyone know where the verse is about saying a blessing after the meal is completed? I read it somewhere, but can't find it! Maybe I just made all this up? ^_^ :scratch: )

[MyLittleWonders]

The NASB reads that he took the loaves and blessed them ... I would think maybe just like the kiddush - Blessed are you O Lord our God King of the Universe who brings forth bread from the earth. ... Also, is it from Deuteronomy 6 that the command to say "grace" after meals ... you will eat, be satisfied, and thank the Lord ...

Gotta go eat lunch! ;)

[By Grace]

The NASB reads that he took the loaves and blessed them ... I would think maybe just like the kiddush - Blessed are you O Lord our God King of the Universe who brings forth bread from the earth. ... Also, is it from Deuteronomy 6 that the command to say "grace" after meals ... you will eat, be satisfied, and thank the Lord ...

Gotta go eat lunch! ;)

That's it! But I'm not finding it in Deut 6--maybe I'm skimming too fast. Baby's up, gotta go!

[Talmidah]

That's it! But I'm not finding it in Deut 6--maybe I'm skimming too fast.


Deut 8:10 And you will eat and be sated, and you shall bless the Lord, your God, for the good land He has given you.

[MyLittleWonders]

Thanks Talmidah - that is what I was trying to think of! :D

[By Grace]

That's it, Talmidah! Todah! Muchas gracias! Merci! Thank you very much!

[Sephania]

Yes, we bless the L-RD before we eat and thank him after we are full. There is a post around here somewhere that has the full Prayers after Meal ( Birkat HaMatzon) in it. Is that what you are looking for Jill?

:)

[By Grace]

Yes, we bless the L-RD before we eat and thank him after we are full. There is a post around here somewhere that has the full Prayers after Meal ( Birkat HaMatzon) in it. Is that what you are looking for Jill?

:)

So you're supposed to do both? I read somewhere a few months ago that Jews say a b'rakha after the meal instead of before, then I mentioned it to my mom, and she pointed out that Yeshua said the blessing before. So then I was confused.

[Sephania]

Are you sure you didn't misread Birkat for Bracha? :confused:

I never heard, and have never seen any Observant Jew say a brakah after dinner.

Your mother is correct, but the thing is, that Christians have always seen this as they are blessing the food, when in reality, if you know the brachot for all different things you know that you are blessing the L-RD for these things you have to eat which he created. If you 'bless the food' you are basically usurping what he already did when he created it.

[MyLittleWonders]

So, we say "Blessed are you, O Lord our God ..." before we eat because we are blessing Him for creating the food to begin with? And then we thank Him after eating for satisfying our needs? (I'm trying to wrestle my western/gentile/christian brain around this. ;) ) I have the whole Birkat that I think you linked ... that is what is said after eating, yes? Is this done at every meal or just the longest one (presumably dinner)? Thank you for being so patient with the questions. :)

[Sephania]

So, we say "Blessed are you, O Lord our God ..." before we eat because we are blessing Him for creating the food to begin with? And then we thank Him after eating for satisfying our needs? (I'm trying to wrestle my western/gentile/christian brain around this. ;) ) I have the whole Birkat that I think you linked ... that is what is said after eating, yes? Is this done at every meal or just the longest one (presumably dinner)? Thank you for being so patient with the questions. :)

I don't follow perfect tradition, but use the "outline" just like I don't believe we are to pray using the "L-RD's prayer" but rather to use it as a guide.

Yes Baruch Atta Adonai....................... Yes we are to bless him, to regocnize it is through his provision we are now sitting down and enjoying --------fill in the blank. But we aren't blessing him for blessing it, we are saying he is blessed because of these things he has already done. In doing so we honor him as the provider of all things good. For example the Hamotzie, the blessing of the L-Rd for bread, which many say for everything and that's OK.

Baruch atta Adonai Elohenu Melech ha Olam Hamotzie lehem ha'aretz.

Blessed are you O, L-RD our G-d, KING of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth."
With this we don't only recognize that he created these things but has provided that they are still being brought forth from the earth for us to eat and live. ( When there is a famine it is because he has withheld, nu?)

So, And then we thank Him after eating for satisfying our needs?

Yes, first when you sit down to eat you see the provision, his love of providing,( not the one who bought it for the money you have to purchase comes from the job he allows you to have.:) ) then you bless him for this, then you eat. When you are done, you are full and satisfied, your stomach is not having hunger pains and you are thankful at this point for this and thus the birkot hamatzon, prayers after meals. You don't have to say all that is written, but do acknowledge this. We say the long version after dinner. But say after eating breakfast or a snack ( yes a snack too~ ) thanks should be given to him, for he has provided.

[Sephania]

Tell me what you ate for breakfast or lunch and I will give you an example. :)

[By Grace]

Are you sure you didn't misread Birkat for Bracha? :confused:

I never heard, and have never seen any Observant Jew say a brakah after dinner.

Your mother is correct, but the thing is, that Christians have always seen this as they are blessing the food, when in reality, if you know the brachot for all different things you know that you are blessing the L-RD for these things you have to eat which he created. If you 'bless the food' you are basically usurping what he already did when he created it.

Ooooooooooooohhhh, well, that makes sense!

But how can we bless G-d? Isn't He the very source of blessings?

[Sephania]

King David: Bless the L-RD O my soul and all that is within me, bless his Holy Name! Some believe that this was the start of Blessing the L-RD, here in the Psalms where the phrase "Bless the L-RD" is prominant.

There is a particular formula as you know.

Baruch atta Adonai, Elohenu, Melech haOlam. Blessed are you O L-RD our G-d, king of the universe....................

This is not dissimilar to what Yeshua taught, OUr Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy, may your kingdom come!

Blessed are you directs the praise to him personally and then proclaimes our relationship with him, OUr L-RD , our G-d, the KING over all the universe.

There are three basic catagories for Brachot.

1. Blessings for things we enjoy
2. Blessings for the honor of performing a mitzvah
3. Blessings of thanksgiving and praise.

Things we enjoy would be food, sunlight, a cozy bed, a soft breeze, a warm house, clothing, good health, etc.

Blessings for mitzvot, would be for when you put on headcovering, tie on tzitzit, Shabbat blessings, and the performance of any other mizvah.

Thanksgiving and praise I think is self explanatory. but an example upon waking, Blessed are you o L-rD our G-D, King of the universe who has given me good rest and caused my soul to return unto me and awoken me this morning to a new day!

We are to bless him in all things, this lesson we learn from Job.

The L-RD gives the L-RD takes away, Blessed be the name of the L-RD!

Noah's blessing to his son Shem had this beginning , Blessed be the L-RD G-d of Shem , Abrahams servent blessed the L-RD many times.There are many examples in the tenach, here are some from the NT:

Zacharias blessed the L-RD in Luke 1:68, Simeon upon seeing the newborn Salvation of Israel, blessed G-d in Luke 2:25-32. Sh'aul in his opening to the Corintians blessed the L-rd G-d of Israel, and the father of Yeshua our Messiah,Also in his letter to the Ephesians he does similarly. Go to 1Kefa and see him also bless the L-rD G-d Father of Yeshua the Messiah.

[Sephania]

Yeshua makes a spontanious braka of thanksgiving:

21 At that moment he was filled with joy by the Ruach HaKodesh and said, "Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank you because you concealed these things from the sophisticated and educated, yet revealed them to ordinary people. Yes, Father, I thank you that it pleased you to do this. 22 "My Father has handed over everything to me. Indeed, no one fully knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." ( Luke 10)

[By Grace]

Duh--you'd think I hadn't spent any time reading Scripture lately, it's all over the place there! ;) Thanks for explaining some of the meaning behind the Brachot. I'm still having a hard time accepting the written prayers as part of my prayer life; I tend to personalize my prayers more. But I can see how they would be good guidelines for things that I might not have thought about yet.

I have another question, a little OT, but something you said reminded me. I'll PM you, though, b/c I'm not sure I want to start a big debate on it...

[shmuel]

Are you sure you didn't misread Birkat for Bracha? :confused:

I never heard, and have never seen any Observant Jew say a brakah after dinner.

But "birkat" is simply the construct of "berachah". It means "blessing of"


Birkat Hamazon is a construct chain. That is why the definite article (ha) appears only on the last word.

S

[Sephania]

Baruch, I have recently learned means to bow down. We say blessed , but the ancient meaning is to bow the knee thus reverence towards the Holy One .




What Is a Bracha?



Barbara White



The word “Baruch is traditionally translated “blessed.” Our Siddur uses “praised.” That may be because in the Siddur, “baruch” appears in passages that praise or thank God.



Yet we have other Hebrew words for praise: the verbs “l’hallel” and “l’shabe-ach.” Why do we need the word “baruch”?



Hebrew is built on 3-letter roots. Thus, “baruch” and “bracha” are different forms of the same root. “Baruch” is an adjective describing the state of being “baruch” (whatever that may turn out to be), and “bracha” is a noun meaning something that bestows the quality of being “baruch.”



When we pray, our brachot—that’s the plural of bracha—are directed toward God. But we also bestow brachot on people. On Friday nights, for example, parents “baruch” their children.



How can we “baruch” both God and other people? Does “baruch” mean the same thing in both cases?



“Baruch” has the same root as “berech,” knee; thus, “baruch” refers to kneeling to God to acknowledge God’s ultimate power. A line in one of the Psalms makes this explicit (Psalm 95:6).

[By Grace]

So if "baruch" refers to kneeling to God, does that mean we also kneel to our children when we bless them?

[Sephania]

I take it as we a kneeing to HaShem and asking him to watch over them, and give them what is in our hearts.