Jewish Meal Experience and Birkat HaMazon

Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, Ph.D., Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

It is normal for blessings over food to refer to the means, or "delivery system," by which food comes to us. Apples, for instance, call forth the blessing “Blessed are You ... who creates the fruit of the tree.” Potatoes get “Blessed are You ... who creates the fruit of the earth.” So referring to God as the One who "brings forth bread from the earth" is not altogether unexpected.

But bread does not actually come from the earth, except in its raw form as grain—so the blessing ought to have referred to the grain, not to the finished product, bread.

Gil Marks, Encyclopedia of Jewish Food

There is no way you can practice Judaism religiously or culturally without food. Food has been intrinsic to Jewish ritual, life and culture from the outset. What is the very first act that the Israelites in Egypt are commanded to do? It’s to have a communal meal—roast lamb and herbs, some nice shwarma. And with that, the beginning of the Jewish people is through a meal. The famous joke—“They tried to kill us, we won, now let’s eat”—is not really that far from the truth. Within the Jewish legal framework is an understanding that various rituals are accompanied by a seudat mitzvah, or celebratory meal, whether a bris or a baby naming or a bar mitzvah or a wedding. Any sort of life cycle event is accompanied by a seudat mitzvah. Some foods are almost sanctified by their use in these meals or holidays and rituals.