Tehillim 104 – Blessing over Bread

Tehillim 104 – Blessing over Bread from Tehillim

Tehillim 104:14 - “Matzmiach chatzir lab'hemah ve'esav la'avodat ha'adam, lehotsi lechem min ha'aretz” - (You cause grass to grow for cattle and plants for people to cultivate, so that through his labor man may bring forth bread from the earth). When reciting the blessing over bread, we hold it with both hands, using all ten fingers, corresponding to the Ten Commandments associated with bread. We turn to the Creator of the universe and recite the blessing: “Baruch Atah… hamotzi lechem min ha'aretz.” (Shulchan Aruch 167) Hidden within these words is one of the deepest secrets concerning the emergence of man into this world. This pasuk reveals that man resembles the Creator in his ability to create and complete His creation. “And then,” He said, “you will eat and be satisfied, and you will bless the L-rd, your G-d, for the good land that He has given you”. (Devarim 8:10) We are the Creator’s workers. Through our hands, He plowed the earth, sowed it, cultivated the harvest, transformed grain into flour, kneaded the dough, shaped it, and baked our bread. In the blessing, we say “hamotzi” (who brings forth) in the present tense. In this way, we affirm that the process of creation continues and that we cooperate with the Creator. We sit at the table as though before the altar of the Temple. We pronounce “ha” and summon the Shechinah, the Creator’s Presence, to accept our offering—that is, the bread. Then we eat the bread and rejoice before Him. His will and His energy are embedded in the foundation of bread; His holiness is present in this bread. Our right to this bread is affirmed by the blessings recited before and after eating. Only with a blessing do we acquire the right to all of life’s blessings. We recite the blessing when we have at least a kezayit (28 grams) of bread. (Shulchan Aruch 168) And 28 is the gematria of the word “koach” (strength). (“The Bread of Our Life,” A. Davydov)