Devarim | Birkat HaMazon (1), by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom

A ubiquitous prayer, one of the few commanded in the Torah, is sourced in this week's parasha. Devarim 8:10 - "When you eat and are satisfied you shall bless Hashem, your God, for the good Land which he has given you." - this is known as Birkat haMazon. In this shiur, we explore the textual sources for the three (or four, or five) Berakhot that are mandated by the Torah as part of Birkat haMazon and examine some core Talmudic passages which interpret these verses, in various fashion, to establish the core of this prayer-sequence. In part 2, we will look at the development of the text of Birkat haMazon.

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