16 Av 5783 – 3 August 2023
“…and you shall eat and be satiated and bless Hashem your G-d…”
This is normally understood to mean that after we have eaten enough to feel satisfied; we should thank Hashem for the food.
Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin offered a beautiful way of understanding this verse based upon an unusual way of parsing it: You will eat, and then you will be satiated when you bless Hashem!
According to the Talmud, we are not supposed to benefit from any of the worlds produce until we first say a blessing acknowledging G-d as its source (Berachot 35a). Someone once quipped that most people say a blessing in order to be able to eat. But a righteous person eats in order to be able to say a blessing!
By Rabbi Michael Skobac
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