Eikev Shabbat morning
Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Congregation B’nai Israel
8/4/18
(Sang opening of Birkat)
https://www.sefaria.org/Siddur_Ashkenaz%2C_Berachot%2C_Birkat_HaMazon?lang=bi
The words of Birkat Hamazon are familiar to many--and over the next few weeks will become familiar to us all. How long do those words take to say? Just a few minutes! I have said that my intention is not to change everything here, however, my goal is that we are always striving. When the great Jewish philosopher Franz Rosenzweig was asked if he wrapped Tefillin regularly, his iconic answer was “not yet.” No would mean he wasn’t interested. “Not yet” says that I’m on the journey. I’m not quite there at this moment, but I look forward to the time when I do. All of us are on that journey. All of us have the capability of adding to our Jewish lives. All of us can make small changes that will bring more yiddishkeit into our lives.
In that vein, one small change you might have noticed here is at kiddish. After we have some time to schmooze, to chat, to eat, to spend time with one another, the bentchers come out. Together we will thank the Holy One, thank the universe, thank sisterhood, thank each other for the gift of eating together. In this way, we bring a little ruach, a little more spirit to our gathering. In the months to come, I hope this will lead to some time for zemirot, to singing together, but one thing at a time.
Why Birkat? Why start here? This week’s parsha, Ekev, in the very first aliyah, which I read this morning tells us why:
Chapter 8, vs 10 10 “When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.”
The very first Tractate of Talmud, Brachot, speaks of blessings. Discussing Shema, Amidah, and yes, grace after meals, on daf 47, we find a commentary on this verse.
Just as the Gemara connects one story to another, this section reminds me of a story in my own life. A decade ago, I was once finishing a lunch in the food court of a mall in Jerusalem. Sitting with me was an Orthodox rabbi I had known in college. As we prepared to say the Grace After Meals, he wondered aloud about people’s quest for spirituality. He said he could not understand how some Jews described themselves as “spiritual but not religious” but that many of those very people did not say Thanks to Gd after they ate. He said “How can you take the great blessing, that is eating, being blessed to have enough to eat in such an insecure world and NOT thank Gd for such good fortune!” I was glad he spoke rhetorically, since I had no good answer to his challenge! It made me think about my own difficulty in saying Birkat Hamazon, Grace after Meals, regularly, and he thus encouraged me to say it more often.
For us today, this is a great lesson. Elsewhere in Brachot, it says that one of the reasons the Jews merited the land was that they blessed Gd even when they were NOT satisfied with their food, with their portion. It is hard enough to offer thanks when we are satisfied, but to find it in our hearts to appreciate Gd when we do NOT have enough is even more challenging.
Returning to the 47th daf/page of Brachot. On that page I will see conversations about waiting for others to be served and bless their food before eating; when to say “Amen” to the blessings of others; how much food a waiter needs to eat to join a group who would like to say Grace after meals; the fact that a convert is not Jewish until he/she has gone to the mikvah (ritual bath); and can you have a minyan of 9 plus a Torah? As you can see, some of those subjects are clearly related to Grace after Meals and others seem like tangents, but very interesting ones. For more details, you’ll have to look at it yourself.
The Talmud regularly demonstrates associative thinking. Like many of us, it starts discussing a topic, then gets sidetracked. For some modern thinkers, this is incredibly annoying--why can’t they just stick to a topic, but for others, the side notes are what they are coming for, those little pictures of Talmudic life, of Judaism in another era. Yet, how many of us do exactly the same thing. We are telling a story about our hilarious uncle, and then rather than finishing the story, we tell three others before getting back to the point. On a side note, the books of Midrashim, Genesis Rabba, Sifra, Sifrei, include many early rabbinic sermons. They start and end with a verse and tell many other stories in between--with the goal being to create a web of connections bringing you from the beginning to the end. When Chasiddic rebbes would teach on Shabbat, this style was also very common, starting with a verse from the parsha, touching here and there and everywhere in rabbinic literature before coming back to the original to teach a lesson or a principle. In some ways we have changed, in others we have stayed the same.
From our holy Torah we learn that if we can eat and be satisfied, then we can find it in our hearts to be thankful to Gd for all of our gifts. Many of us are good at the eating. Some of us are pretty good at thanking Gd. It is the being satisfied part that is challenging. We may desire that which we do not have, that which our neighbors or friends or those on TV have. If we live our lives in that space, we can find ourselves wanting, as in lacking and also wanting, as in wanting more. As I mentioned earlier, we gain merit for offering thanks, especially when we are not completely satisfied. The funny thing is that once we offer thanks, we find that we ARE satisfied. Think about eating dinner. How often do you go back for seconds? What happens most of the time if you wait ten minutes--you realize you are full and don’t need those seconds! If we took that time to thank Gd, we would realize we do not actually need anymore. We have enough. If we flip the order around, if we offer thanks second, we can find that missing satisfaction.
The simple lesson from this one verse is the secret to a good life. Enjoy, be satisfied and offer thanks. It can be lesson for how we treat one another--enjoy each others presence, recognize and appreciate it within yourself and then share that gratitude with the ones bringing you joy. It can be a lesson for how we relate to Gd and the universe--for food, for comfort, for the very gift of life. As we start looking ahead towards the holidays to come, let us recognize all the good and Gd in our lives and offer thanks.
In the years to come, I hope to create more small opportunities for growth. Lasting growth, lasting change, doesn’t happen overnight. By inserting moments to grow our spirit, to strengthen our faith, in daily life, we can find our capability for hope, love, thanks grow exponentially. I hope to create new opportunities for study, not necessarily change our life study, but small, regular doses. You don’t have to do Daf Yomi with me, but if you want insights into the week’s Talmud study, there is a pamphlet outside with a paragraph from each day’s study. You can work with 929 and read a chapter of the Tanach a day. Just a few minutes can change your life. Shabbat shalom!
Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Congregation B’nai Israel
8/4/18
(Sang opening of Birkat)
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְ-יָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַזָּן אֶת הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּו, בְּטוּבוֹ בְּחֵן בְּחֶסֶד וּבְרַחֲמִים, הוּא נוֹתֵן לֶחֶם לְכָל בָּשָׂר, כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ. וּבְטוּבוֹ הַגָּדוֹל תָּמִיד לֹא חָסַר לָנוּ וְאַל יֶחְסַר לָנוּ מָזוֹן לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד, בַּעֲבוּר שְׁמוֹ הַגָּדוֹל, כִּי הוּא אֵל זָן וּמְפַרְנֵס לַכֹּל וּמֵטִיב לַכֹּל וּמֵכִין מָזוֹן לְכָל בְּרִיּוֹתָיו אֲשֶׁר בָּרָא. כָּאָמוּר, פּוֹתֵחַ אֶת יָדֶךָ וּמַשְׂבִּיעַ לְכָל חַי רָצוֹן. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְ-יָ, הַזָּן אֶת הַכֹּל:
Praised are You, Lord our G-d, Ruler of the universe, who in goodness feeds the whole world with grace, kindness, and compassion. G-d gives food to all living things, for G-d's kindness is forever. Because of G-d's continual great goodness, we have never lacked for food, nor may we ever lack it, for the sake of G-d's great name. For G-d feeds and sustains all, does good to all, and prepares food for all of G-d's creations. Praised are You, Lord, who feeds everybody.https://www.sefaria.org/Siddur_Ashkenaz%2C_Berachot%2C_Birkat_HaMazon?lang=bi
The words of Birkat Hamazon are familiar to many--and over the next few weeks will become familiar to us all. How long do those words take to say? Just a few minutes! I have said that my intention is not to change everything here, however, my goal is that we are always striving. When the great Jewish philosopher Franz Rosenzweig was asked if he wrapped Tefillin regularly, his iconic answer was “not yet.” No would mean he wasn’t interested. “Not yet” says that I’m on the journey. I’m not quite there at this moment, but I look forward to the time when I do. All of us are on that journey. All of us have the capability of adding to our Jewish lives. All of us can make small changes that will bring more yiddishkeit into our lives.
In that vein, one small change you might have noticed here is at kiddish. After we have some time to schmooze, to chat, to eat, to spend time with one another, the bentchers come out. Together we will thank the Holy One, thank the universe, thank sisterhood, thank each other for the gift of eating together. In this way, we bring a little ruach, a little more spirit to our gathering. In the months to come, I hope this will lead to some time for zemirot, to singing together, but one thing at a time.
Why Birkat? Why start here? This week’s parsha, Ekev, in the very first aliyah, which I read this morning tells us why:
Chapter 8, vs 10 10 “When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.”
” וְאָכַלְתָּ, וְשָׂבָעְתָּ--וּבֵרַכְתָּ אֶת-י--ה-ו--ה אֱ--לֹהֶיךָ, עַל-הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַן-לָךְ.
The very first Tractate of Talmud, Brachot, speaks of blessings. Discussing Shema, Amidah, and yes, grace after meals, on daf 47, we find a commentary on this verse.
Just as the Gemara connects one story to another, this section reminds me of a story in my own life. A decade ago, I was once finishing a lunch in the food court of a mall in Jerusalem. Sitting with me was an Orthodox rabbi I had known in college. As we prepared to say the Grace After Meals, he wondered aloud about people’s quest for spirituality. He said he could not understand how some Jews described themselves as “spiritual but not religious” but that many of those very people did not say Thanks to Gd after they ate. He said “How can you take the great blessing, that is eating, being blessed to have enough to eat in such an insecure world and NOT thank Gd for such good fortune!” I was glad he spoke rhetorically, since I had no good answer to his challenge! It made me think about my own difficulty in saying Birkat Hamazon, Grace after Meals, regularly, and he thus encouraged me to say it more often.
For us today, this is a great lesson. Elsewhere in Brachot, it says that one of the reasons the Jews merited the land was that they blessed Gd even when they were NOT satisfied with their food, with their portion. It is hard enough to offer thanks when we are satisfied, but to find it in our hearts to appreciate Gd when we do NOT have enough is even more challenging.
Returning to the 47th daf/page of Brachot. On that page I will see conversations about waiting for others to be served and bless their food before eating; when to say “Amen” to the blessings of others; how much food a waiter needs to eat to join a group who would like to say Grace after meals; the fact that a convert is not Jewish until he/she has gone to the mikvah (ritual bath); and can you have a minyan of 9 plus a Torah? As you can see, some of those subjects are clearly related to Grace after Meals and others seem like tangents, but very interesting ones. For more details, you’ll have to look at it yourself.
The Talmud regularly demonstrates associative thinking. Like many of us, it starts discussing a topic, then gets sidetracked. For some modern thinkers, this is incredibly annoying--why can’t they just stick to a topic, but for others, the side notes are what they are coming for, those little pictures of Talmudic life, of Judaism in another era. Yet, how many of us do exactly the same thing. We are telling a story about our hilarious uncle, and then rather than finishing the story, we tell three others before getting back to the point. On a side note, the books of Midrashim, Genesis Rabba, Sifra, Sifrei, include many early rabbinic sermons. They start and end with a verse and tell many other stories in between--with the goal being to create a web of connections bringing you from the beginning to the end. When Chasiddic rebbes would teach on Shabbat, this style was also very common, starting with a verse from the parsha, touching here and there and everywhere in rabbinic literature before coming back to the original to teach a lesson or a principle. In some ways we have changed, in others we have stayed the same.
From our holy Torah we learn that if we can eat and be satisfied, then we can find it in our hearts to be thankful to Gd for all of our gifts. Many of us are good at the eating. Some of us are pretty good at thanking Gd. It is the being satisfied part that is challenging. We may desire that which we do not have, that which our neighbors or friends or those on TV have. If we live our lives in that space, we can find ourselves wanting, as in lacking and also wanting, as in wanting more. As I mentioned earlier, we gain merit for offering thanks, especially when we are not completely satisfied. The funny thing is that once we offer thanks, we find that we ARE satisfied. Think about eating dinner. How often do you go back for seconds? What happens most of the time if you wait ten minutes--you realize you are full and don’t need those seconds! If we took that time to thank Gd, we would realize we do not actually need anymore. We have enough. If we flip the order around, if we offer thanks second, we can find that missing satisfaction.
The simple lesson from this one verse is the secret to a good life. Enjoy, be satisfied and offer thanks. It can be lesson for how we treat one another--enjoy each others presence, recognize and appreciate it within yourself and then share that gratitude with the ones bringing you joy. It can be a lesson for how we relate to Gd and the universe--for food, for comfort, for the very gift of life. As we start looking ahead towards the holidays to come, let us recognize all the good and Gd in our lives and offer thanks.
In the years to come, I hope to create more small opportunities for growth. Lasting growth, lasting change, doesn’t happen overnight. By inserting moments to grow our spirit, to strengthen our faith, in daily life, we can find our capability for hope, love, thanks grow exponentially. I hope to create new opportunities for study, not necessarily change our life study, but small, regular doses. You don’t have to do Daf Yomi with me, but if you want insights into the week’s Talmud study, there is a pamphlet outside with a paragraph from each day’s study. You can work with 929 and read a chapter of the Tanach a day. Just a few minutes can change your life. Shabbat shalom!
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| Still grateful for spending time in Israel last year |
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