A Sicha
The Commandment of Food Blessings
The Formulations: In his “Order of Blessings,” a guide for the proper manner of reciting blessings before and after food, included in his Siddur, the Alter Rebbe formulates the obligation to recite grace after meals as follows:
“There is a positive mitzvah in the Torah to bless [i.e., recite grace] after meals. As it says, “you will eat and you will be satisfied and you shall bless G-d.”
In his Code of Jewish Law, however, he formulates this slightly differently, writing,
“It is a positive mitzvah... to bless G-d after meals. As it says, “you will eat and you will be satisfied and you shall bless G-d etc.”
This language is drawn from Rambam, but it again appears there with a slight alteration. Rambam writes,
“It is a positive mitzvah to bless [i.e., recite grace] after meals. As it says, “you will eat and you will be satisfied and shall bless G-d your G-d....”
Rambam does not say there is a positive mitzvah to “bless G‑d,” only, to “bless,” unlike the Alter Rebbe in his code. But Rambam does include in his citation from the verse the continuation “bless G‑d your G‑d,” while the Alter Rebbe only includes the portion “bless G‑d,” and alludes to the rest of the verse with “etc.”
The Explanation: The Rambam and the Alter Rebbe’s Code are comprehensive treatments of halacha, while the Order of Blessings in the Siddur are meant to be instructions for how to practically observe each obligation as it arises throughout the day. Consequently, in the Code the Alter Rebbe addresses halachic issues and concerns which may be related to the topic at hand, while in the Siddur he will only narrowly concern himself with the obligation under discussion.
In the verse “you shall bless G‑d” there is a conjunctive word “es” from which the Talmud derives an ancillary obligation for the guest to bless the host, in addition to his obligation to bless G‑d.
In order to emphasize that this obligation is only rabbinic, and not included in the biblical obligation of grace after meals, the Alter Rebbe and Rambam therefore say “there is a positive mitzvah to bless G-d,” thereby excluding the implication of the verse of an additional obligation to bless the host.
This is a concern only in the broader discussion of the laws of grace. In the strictly practical discussion of the Siddur, the Alter Rebbe does not need to address such halachic issues, especially since the law of blessing the host is not included in the Siddur.
By: ProjectLikkuteiSichos.org
Adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
Another distinction between the Code and the Siddur
In the Code the Alter Rebbe provides robust reasoning behind each law, so the student’s grasp of the law is deep and complete. In the Siddur, the Alter Rebbe only provides minimal reasons behind the law, if that reason can elevate the practical observance of the law.
The verse “you shall bless,” continues, “for the good land that G‑d has given you.” The sages derive from this that grace after meals should include a blessing thanking G‑d for the Land of Israel. In his Code, therefore, the Alter Rebbe alludes to this continuation by including “etc.” so the student will have the additional knowledge that this verse is the source for the format of grace after meals.
In the Siddur, however, the Alter Rebbe only provides the portion of the verse that explains why a person should say grace, since the food that has sated you comes from G‑d, it is proper to give thanks. The continuation of the verse that sheds light on the format of grace after meals is not important.
A Final Distinction
This explains a contrasting distinction: In the Siddur, the Alter Rebbe continues, “Whoever derives pleasure from this world without a blessing, it is considered as if he gained private use from Heavenly offerings, as it says, ‘to G-d is the land and its fullness etc.’”
In the Code, however, the Alter Rebbe does not include the “etc.”
The continuation of that verse is “the world and those who dwell within it.” Thus the first half of the verse states that the land of Israel and its fullness belong to G‑d, and the second half of the verse adds that the entire universe with all its inhabitants belong to G‑d.
Because the Alter Rebbe is concerned with practical observance in the Siddur, he goes out of his way to highlight obligations which may be self‑understood, a practice which he does not follow in his Code. Therefore, concerning this theme of blessing G‑d before partaking of His possessions, the Alter Rebbe adds the “etc,” to allude to the obvious, that this applies to everything in this world, not just the materials of the Land of Israel.
Likkutei Sichos vol. 24, p. 67ff.
