8 months ago

Eikev: We Bless G-d?

This week’s reading contains the commandment to bless G-d after eating bread: “And you shall eat, and you shall be satisfied and you shall bless G-d etc.” (Num. 8:10) • Read More

This week’s reading contains the commandment to bless G-d after eating bread:
“And you shall eat, and you shall be satisfied and you shall bless G-d etc.” (Num. 8:10)
At first glance this is not understood. How can we “BLESS” G-d?!
This doesn’t mean just thanking G-d. that would make sense but blessing G-d doesn’t. If someone is lacking something, a blessing might help him. Like when Isaac blessed Jacob. But G-d lacks nothing. In fact, He creates everything and there IS nothing other than Him (ain od milvado). So what does it mean WE bless G-d?
And why specifically after eating bread?

To understand this, here is a story.

There was once a couple, followers of the Rebbe Maharas’h (Rebbe Shmuel) of Chabad (1834 – 1882), who had no children.
In those days the Jews bore many hardships; hunger, poverty, anti-Semitism and more, but not having children was unbearable.
Being Chassidim, he and his wife went to the Rebbe to ask for a blessing for children but the Rebbe seemed to ignore their request.
They took it as a sign that they weren’t doing enough. They began to give more charity, devote more time to helping others, pray with more sincerity but nothing changed; no children and try as they could, no response from the Rebbe.
Now, one of the most important “innovations” of Chassidim, especially Chabad Chassidim, is to get together and say ‘LeChiam’ (over Vodka or something similar) in order to make Judaism more alive and down to earth.
They call it a “Farbrengen” (get-together) and usually vodka is consumed amidst song, deep words of Torah, Chassidic stories and often dancing.
One night such a Farbrengen was held at our Chassid’s home. About twenty Chassidim participated and as the night progressed both the seriousness and the joy became more intense.
Then, suddenly everything quieted down. His wife peeked in from the kitchen to see what was wrong and when she couldn’t figure it out, she called to her husband and asked him what happened.
He said that they ran out of vodka and because there was no hope of replenishing the supply the Farbrengen was dying..
She boldly walked into the room where they all were sitting and announced; “I can get you vodka; as much as you want. But you have to promise! You must all bless me and promise that I will have a child, ”
Now, usually Chassidim would never agree to such a thing, how could they promise that their blessings would work? Only a Rebbe could do that. But this time, because of the pressing circumstances, they all stood and took turns blessing and promising with all their hearts and at the tops of their lungs.
She put on her coat, slipped out the door into the cold Russian night and returned minutes later with several full bottles of vodka (which till this day no one knows from where) and the farbrengen continued till the morning.
Several months later she proudly announced to her husband that she was pregnant! Their joy was boundless but they decided that there must be something very mysterious going on here and they had to see the Rebbe.
It took a while but they finally got an audience, entered, told the Rebbe the good news and asked their question:
Why was the Rebbe not able to bless them, while the Chassidim not only blessed but their blessings were fulfilled?!
The Rebbe first congratulated them and then replied:
“I saw in the spiritual worlds that if your wife gave birth to a child then shortly thereafter both of you would die. That is why I avoided your requests and pleas for children.
“But the Chassidim don’t know all this.” The Rebbe continued. “They have no idea of these spiritual complications and because “G-d protects the simple” (Psalms 116:6) their simple good hearts not only gave validity to their blessings but the decree has ended. Now you both will have long lives, and be blessed with many G-d fearing children and children’s children.

This answers our question about what does it mean that we bless G-d and why after eating bread?

The Ramba’m (Maimonides) writes that the main goal of Moshiach is to bring about the revelation and blessing of G-d in the entire world. Then there will be no hunger, sickness, war or tragedy and eventually even the dead will rise!!!
In other words; the reason that the world is so confused and negative today is because G-d is concealed. It’s as though the world is sick and revealing G-d will heal it.
And that is what it means to BLESS G-d; namely to REVEAL the Creator in His Creation and make the world ‘healthy’ as it should be.
The first to do this was Abraham, as G-d said to him “and you will be a blessing” (Gen. 12:2) and he passed this ability on to all the Jews. In fact, that is what G-d chose the Jews for…. To bless and perfect this physical world.
And that is why we bless after eating bread.
Because bread is very physical. Besides being the product of many “natural” processes, eating bread keeps the soul in the body, i.e. in this physical world and G-d wants to be “BLESSED” into even these most natural things.
That is why Moshiach is the goal of Judaism:
Only Moshiach will finish what Abraham began: arouse the Jews to unify and make this world into a truly blessed place.
It all depends on us to do as many good deeds and make as many blessings as possible and not much is lacking. We are standing on the merits and self-sacrifice of thousands of years. Now it could be that just one more good deed, word or even thought can bring…
Moshiach NOW!!
Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel