Our Shabbos Bentching Holds the Key to Heavenly Blessing
The Pinnacle of Pleasure
Previously, we discussed the Sfas Emes teaching us that when we reflect on the immense good we have—and how that good is given to us by Hashem, Who knows our every need—we internalize the reality that we truly do possess everything. This brings us closer to the Shabbos feeling that all our work has been done, and we want for nothing.
This yesod gives us a fresh and discerning insight into the Birchas HaMazon of Shabbos.
It is written in the Sefer Agra d’Kalah (authored by the Bnei Yisasschar) that our יתירה נשמה, which we receive every Shabbos, waits an entire Shabbos for the pinnacle of Shabbos. What is this climax? The Birchas HaMazon of Shabbos! Our bentching at our seudos is the pinnacle of pleasure for our יתירה נשמה, which comes down to This World every week, waiting for this experience.
A Time of Thanks
The simple reason the Shabbos bentching brings such pleasure to the neshamah is because this is when we give thanks for all the good in our lives. But the words of the Sfas Emes lend a deeper insight:
In bentching, we give thanks for many specific things that we have been given—for the land of Eretz Yisrael, for our covenant with Hashem, for the life and kindness that we have been given, among other gifts and blessings. And then we say, ...לך מודים אנחנו הכל ועל for everything, we thank You. We give thanks for everything in our lives.
One may ask, what is the connection? Why is the blessing for our food and sustenance the time to give thanks for everything we have?
A Time of Opportunity
The answer is that the time when we thank Hashem for the shefa in our lives is precisely the time to reflect on everything else in our lives! This is the opportunity to look around and say: I have been given plentiful food from the Source of shefa—from a place that contains everything—which means that Hashem gives me everything.
The time when we’re satiated by the food that Hashem gave us is the time to become moved and overwhelmed with the knowledge that it—and everything else—comes from Him, the Source of shefa. This is a time to maximize the potential in the shefa that we have been given, and to utilize the opportunity to understand that the Ribbono shel Olam gives us everything.
Past, Present, and Future
Indeed, the entire bentching is designed in this way. We give thanks for all the blessings in our life—past, present, and future—and even for the rebuilding of Yerushalayim—because we utilize the time of receiving shefa to reflect on the reality that everything is from Hashem.
Often, we’ll call a friend to relate an incredible instance of Hashgachah Pratis that transpired in our lives. Mamash a revelation from Hashem! But the truth is that every time we eat a piece of bread, we’re experiencing gilui Elokus! When a Yid sees that the Ribbono shel Olam has showered him with shefa, he grabs the opportunity to give thanks for everything! He recites the words of bentching with such pleasure and gratitude and joy!
For this reason, we conclude bentching with the words of ...שנתברכו כמו ...כל מכל בכל just as our forefathers have been blessed... with everything, of everything, and for everything. This is how our Avos lived, and this is what we’re doing today. These words—authored by the greatest tzaddikim in the history of Klal Yisrael, and through which we fulfill our d’Oraisa obligation to bentch—are an opportunity to be maximized by giving thanks for everything we have been given.
On Shabbos, We Can More Easily Internalize This
We are commanded to eat three meals on Shabbos—and these seudos are a great and important aspect of Shabbos. We sit with the Shechinah, we sing zemiros, and the meals become a time of reflection and contemplation and connection with Hashem. But the Bnei Yisasschar is telling us that the pinnacle is actually the Birchas HaMazon at their conclusion—for this is the time we recognize the reality that everything is from Hashem, and that we have been given everything. Shabbos is the optimal time to internalize this, for it is then that the outer layers are removed, and the gilui Elokus is greater.
During the weekdays, there’s no obligation to wash for bread. But when Shabbos comes, we must take משנה לחם and wash, and then reach the pinnacle of Shabbos, which is the Birchas HaMazon. In bentching lies the potential for a person to remember: “I thank Hashem for everything... for all the shefa that comes directly from the Source, and through this He essentially gives me everything. Just as bread itself contains numerous ingredients, so too does our shefa contain many ingredients. The Ribbobo shel Olam gives me so much; He always cares about me.”
The Purpose of Our Meals
When we utilize this opportunity to thank for everything, then our bentching is indeed the pinnacle of Shabbos. This is the power that lies in the bentching of Shabbos, and as noted, Shabbos is the optimal time to reflect on this reality.
Thus, the entire purpose of the Shabbos meal is so we can bentch after eating. The Ribbono shel Olam says to us: Sit down to a meal and rec-
