BRACHA - BLESSING

Petra Hadžidaova
Jan 11
3 min read

Before and after every meal I am said,

sometimes over vegetables or fruit,

sometimes over bread.

A praise to the LORD above,

a thank you for His provision and love.

(1)

INTRODUCTION

Every meal and experience is a gift from God. It is a Jewish and Christian practice to pray a blessing before and after each meal and also to speak a blessing at other occasions. The Hebrew word for blessing is bracha. There are blessings spoken before eating (bracha rishona) and after blessings spoken after eating (bracha acharonah). There are also blessings spoken when seeing a natural phenomenon, after hearing good news, or smelling pleasant aromas, on the mitzvot and on special occasions.

WHAT IS A BRACHA?

A Bracha is a means of recognizing the good God has given us. It is a “please” and a “thank you” to the Creator for the sustenance He has bestowed upon us. (2)

It is more than simple courtesy. With the very first words we bless God, Creator of all. Rather, Baruch ata Adonai, is not so much a blessing of God as it is a humble acknowledgment that He is the Sustainer of all. (2)

The word bracha shares a root with the word berech, meaning knee. In reciting a bracha, we are bending our knees to God. (2)

It also shares a common root with the word breicha, which means “wellspring”. This suggests that reciting a bracha releases a wellspring of blessings from the heavens. (2)

ALL THE DIFFERENT BRACHOT

There are different brachot out there. Firstly, we have the bracha rishona spoken before eating. Then we have the bracha acharonah spoken after eating. A blessing is also spoken after smelling good aromas, hearing good news, or upon seeing a natural phenomenon. Then there are the blessings spoken over the mitzvot, as well as blessings on special occasions. (3)

BRACHOT BEFORE EATING

There are six blessings before eating that one can mention:

HAMOTZI: BLESSING OVER BREAD
MEZONOT: BLESSING ON GRAINS
BOREI PRI HAGAFEN: BLESSING ON WINE AND GRAPE JUICE
BOREI PRI HA’ETZ: BLESSING ON FRUIT
BOREI PRI HA’ADAMAH: BLESSINGS ON VEGETABLES
SHEHAKOL: BLESSING ON ALL OTHER FRUITS (3)

GRACES AFTER MEALS

BIRKAT HAMAZON: recited after partaking of a meal that includes bread
AL HAMICHYAH: recited after eating food from the five grains. Anything that gets the fore-blessing "Mezonot" gets the after-blessing "Al Hamichyah."
AL HAGAFEN: recited after drinking wine or grape juice.
AL HAARETZ V’AL HAPEIROT: recited after eating special fruits with which the Land of Israel was blessed: grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates.
BOREI NEFASHOT: recited after eating or drinking other food and drinks

CONCLUSION

God is the owner of this whole world. He daily blesses us immensely with all we require and need. It is a common practice of many religions to speak a blessing before and after eating food. This blessing is called a bracha in Hebrew. There is the bracha rishona, bracha acharonah, the blessing upon seeing a phenomenon, a blessing spoken after smelling a good aroma, and after hearing good news. Then there are the blessings spoken over the mitzvot, as well as blessings on special occasions.