Conclusion of Birchat HaMazon

Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook in his commentary on Tefilla, Olot Reiya, writes that the act of eating is one of the most physical/ materialistic acts there is and that food has the power to lower man to the point where he is focused only his personal animalistic pleasure. He explains that this is the very reason Chazal, based on the Torah commandment, instituted the Birchat Hamazon, which he calls the “עיגמ ושארו הצרא בצומה םלוס המימשה” , the ladder whose feet are on the floor but whose top reaches to the sky, and enables us to ללכה תוממור לא טרפה תולפשמ תולעל, to rise up from the lowness of the self-centered individual to the heights of the klal, the greater community. (Olot Reiya 1, p.362)

Over the past couple of months, we’ve explored the bentching, noting how we start off with a simple thank you for food, but then expand to many more lofty concepts including the past, present, and future, our goals as a nation, the need for the Beit HaMikdash, and gratitude for all the details Hashem takes care of for us in every situation.

As we reach the end of the bentching, we take advantage of this ןוצר תע to insert our own requests in the HaRachaman section.

Having climbed up the ladder and gone through the bentching process, we specifically choose requests that reflect the essence of the nation’s spiritual aspirations.

Our first set of HaRachamans focus on bringing recognition of Hashem to the world:

– דֶעָו

We request that Hashem’s Kindgom be revealed to all forever and ever.

We ask that Hashem’s Shechina bring blessing to the world, causing all those around to bless Him.

And we hope that Hashem will continue to be recognized and praised throughout the generations.

The next section of HaRachamans focus briefly on our individual needs, because if those aren’t taken care of, we can’t focus properly on our goals and mission as a nation:

We requests that Hashem grant us הסנרפ (job and sustenance) in a respectful way.

We ask that Hashem bring us bracha in our homes and on our tables.

We requests that Hashem bless our families. But even those personal requests are interspersed with our lofty communal requests: ourselves that much closer to the ultimate purpose of the world.

We request that Hashem break the yoke on our necks so that we can walk with pride to (and in) our homeland.

Let us conclude our study of Birchat HaMazon with the powerful words of Rav Kook –

אוהש ,יטרפה ונוזמ ךרע ריכהל ילארשיה שיאל יואר"

We ask that Hashem send Eliyahu Hanavi with the good news that Mashiach is coming.

And finally, we put in a request for our ultimate goal – the bringing of Mashiach and Olam HaBa, which will ultimately lead to peace and harmony in the world “

”.

By going step by step from the biting and swallowing of food to the ultimate request for Mashiach, we have slowly moved up the ladder from the lowest point on the ground to the heights of Shamayim, bringing

“It is proper for a Jew to recognize the value of his individual portion of food. With each bite, he lays one additional stone in the building of a broader and more holy and sublime world. How greatly his soul should be lifted up in the knowledge that he is sitting at the table before Hashem” (Olot Reiya)

May we be zocheh to really focus on our bentching and to reach these great heights on a daily basis.