Eikev 5773
Judaism has a rich tradition of blessings. We have ways to thank God for everything from returning safely from a long journey to seeing a rainbow, and many religious Jews aim to utter 100 blessings every day. Parshat Ekev is the source of one of the most recognizable Jewish blessings: Birkat haMazon, the blessing after a meal. Blessing our food is not an exclusively Jewish concept, but the Torah tells us that "when you have eaten your fill, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land that He has given you" (Deuteronomy 8:10)-- that is, we thank God after we have eaten. It is one thing to be grateful for our blessings when they are sitting in front of us, and to remind ourselves to give thanks when food is foremost on our minds, but it demands a higher level of awareness and gratitude to remain thankful when the meal has been consumed and we are ready to move on to other matters.
The text of Birkat haMazon presents some readers with a challenge, however. The problematic line reads: "I was young and have grown old, and I have not seen a righteous man forsaken with his children begging for bread." To insinuate that only the wicked have to worry about the origin of their next meal is problematic; many righteous people struggle to make ends meet. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, however, offers a reinterpretation of this line, saying that rather than, "I have not seen a righteous man forsaken," we should read, "I have not watched a righteous man forsaken." We cannot be bystanders who allow those less fortunate to fend for themselves. With this reading, the grace comes full circle: just as we began by thanking God for providing us with food, we conclude with an exhortation to act in a Godly way and provide for others.
Parshat Ekev tells us that the manna, the food God provided to the Israelites in the wilderness, was a test (Deut. 8:16). We also know that "man does not live by bread alone" (Deuteronomy 8:3), so perhaps the true test of the manna is this: if we eat our fill, we will be nourished in body, but if we watch the righteous man's children beg for bread, we will be spiritually starved. The same awareness that allows us to thank God for the food we have consumed must lead us to feed the hungry, thereby nourishing both others' bodies and our own souls.
Shabbat Shalom,
Meggie O’Dell
Rabbinic Intern
