Source and Text
The scriptural source for the requirement to say birkat hamazon is Deuteronomy 8:10 "When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the L your God for the good land which He gave you".
Birkat hamazon is made up of four blessings. The first three blessings are regarded as required by scriptural law:
- The food: A blessing of thanks for the food was traditionally composed by Moses in gratitude for the manna which the Jews ate in the wilderness during the Exodus from Egypt.
- The land: A blessing of thanks for the Land of Israel, is attributed to Joshua after he led the Jewish people into Israel.
- Jerusalem: Concerns Jerusalem, is ascribed to David, who established it as the capital of Israel and Solomon, who built the Temple in Jerusalem.
- God's goodness: A blessing of thanks for God's goodness, written by Rabban Gamliel in Yavneh. The obligation to recite this blessing is regarded as a rabbinic obligation.
After these four blessings, are a series of short prayers, each beginning with the word Harachaman (the Merciful One) which ask for God's compassion.
There are several known texts for birkat hamazon. The most widely available is the Ashkenazic. There are also Sephardic, Yemenite and Italian versions. All of these texts follow the same structure described above, but the wording varies. In particular, the Italian version preserves the ancient practice of commencing the paragraph inserted on Shabbat with Nachamenu.
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