THE POWER OF BIRKAT HAMAZON 馃挮
There's a famous story about Rav Shach zt"l:
A man came asking for a bracha for parnasa. Rav Shach told him,
"Say Birkat HaMazon every time you eat bread, looking inside a bencher." The man did this faithfully and became very wealthy.
Years later, he lost everything and ran back to Rav Shach. The Rav asked, "Did you ever eat bread and not bench looking at the text?"
The man thought and said,
"Yes, once on a plane I didn't have a bencher."
Rav Shach responded,
"Then why did you wash?"
THE TREMENDOUS POWER OF BENTCHING:
馃敼 For Parnasa: The Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 430) teaches: "Whoever is meticulous regarding Birkat HaMazon will have his parnasa available for him in a dignified manner all his life."
馃敼 For Protection: The Steipler Gaon zt"l taught that children who grow up in a home where the mother recites Birkat HaMazon out loud will be protected from illnesses, car accidents, and receive tremendous protection from Heaven.
馃敼 Connection to Eretz Yisrael: The entire Birkat HaMazon is directed toward the Land of Israel! The Torah says: "Ve'achalta vesavata uverachta...al ha'aretz hatova" - we bless H'shem not just for food, but for the Land that produces it. Some authorities explain that the Rambam includes the mitzvah of Yishuv HaAretz (settling the Land) within Birkat HaMazon itself. Every time we bentch - even in the Diaspora - we reconnect to Eretz Yisrael and remember: through the blessing of Israel, the whole world becomes blessed.
馃敼 Sacred Obligation: The Gemara in Berachot (35a) teaches that anyone who benefits from this world without a bracha commits ma'al (a form of theft or fraud). We must acknowledge that everything comes from H'shem.
馃敼 Divine Connection: The Maharal explains that Birkat HaMazon is the most important of all blessings, because the greatest praise to H'shem is recognizing that He provides our sustenance.
The Message: When we bentch with kavanah from a bencher, we're not just saying "thank you"—we're creating a pipeline for all of H'shem's blessings to flow into our lives: parnasa, protection, health, success, and connection to our Land
Photo by Ola Mishchenko on Unsplash

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