Saying Grace. Giving Thanks. Saying the Blessing.<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s that little prayer that we offer up to G\u2013d in thanks for the food on our table. It usually goes something like \u201cwe thank thee, o L\u2013rd, for these thy gifts,\u201d or perhaps like this; \u201cplease bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies and our bodies to thy service.\u201d My mom\u2019s cousin, Stevie, once offered grace by saying \u201cwe thank thee L\u2013rd for our bread and meat, now let\u2019s turn over our plates and eat.\u201d If I recall correctly, he had a good whipping over that one. Regardless of their beginnings and their middles, they all end pretty much the same way, with \u201camen.\u201d There is, however, a potential problem with grace \u2014 a seemingly big problem. Though I\u2019m sure we could all use some brushing up on our grace content, the problem I\u2019m talking about is more of a question: When is the right time to say grace? This question has prompted many to seek the answer, including yours truly.<\/p>\n

Saying Grace, by Norman Rockwell<\/p><\/div>\n
If you\u2019re like me, then you grew up in the typical Christian environment where grace was typically said with everyone holding hands (sometimes standing, sometimes not), and it was said before eating the meal. Always before, never any other time. It\u2019s like it was etched in stone somewhere that grace always precedes a meal. I never questioned it because it was the normal and most routine thing in the world. Whether at home, in Sunday school or at church, it was always taught that way: grace is said first. Period.<\/p>\n
Now, fast forward about forty years to the point where I\u2019m now an observant Jew. For those that missed it, you can read all the details here<\/a>. I\u2019ve learned in Judaism that there is a blessing (b’rakhah) said\u00a0before<\/em> the meal (Kiddush), and grace (Birkat Hamazon) is said\u00a0after<\/em> the meal. Confusing? Kind of, but not quite…really. Both are based on Torah but grace is specifically based on\u00a0Deuteronomy 8:10 (CJB) which says<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you will eat and be satisfied, and you will bless Adonai your G\u2013d for the good land he has given you.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Read that verse again. Did you catch how its worded? \u201c\u2026you will bless Adonai\u2026<\/em>\u201d not the meal. That is interesting, isn’t it? It is very significant as it is instructing us to bless G\u2013d himself for what he has done for us. So, in a way, it’s not really saying grace at all. But then again, it is, because everything from G\u2013d deals directly with his grace.<\/p>\n
The b’rakhah (blessing) before the meal somehow got transformed into saying grace, which is, for the most part, strictly a Christian tradition. It stems from Yeshua’s words at the last supper when he and his talmidim (disciples) celebrated Pesach (Passover). Yeshua said the Jewish b’rakhahs but then he said “drink, this is my blood…” and “eat, this is my body” (Matthew 26:27). And no, he wasn’t teaching them to be cannibals or the first wave of a vampire army. He was teaching them to be grateful \u2014 to be thankful \u2014 for the ultimate sacrifice that he was making \u2014 laying his life down for humanity.<\/p>\n
The beginning of Saying Grace in Christianity is based on Yeshua’s feeding of the 5,000 as written in Matthew 14:19-21 and Matthew 15:34-36. In the King James translation, this says<\/p>\n
19 \u00a0And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up into heaven he blessed and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.<\/p>\n
20 \u00a0And they did all eat and were filled; and they took up of the fragments that remained, twelve baskets full.<\/p>\n
Matthew 14:19-20<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Interesting phrasing there in verse 19, isn’t it? “He blessed and brake.” Not, “he gave thanks,” but “he blessed.” He gave a blessing, the b’rakhah for bread. This is a significantly Jewish thing to do, and definitely not a Christian act. If we look at this in the Complete Jewish Bible, which is a direct translation from the original Hebrew and the Greek (and the most accurate), we read<\/p>\n
19 \u00a0After instructing the crowds to sit on the grass, he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, made a b’rakhah. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the talmidim, who gave them to the crowds.<\/p>\n
Matthew 14:19<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There is no “Saying Grace” or “Giving Thanks” here, only a b’rakhah. Okay, so what is this b’rakhah? It is a blessing, and in Judaism there is a blessing for\u00a0everything<\/em>. In this case, Yeshua said the b’rakhah for bread, which is (translated of course):<\/p>\n
Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
As you can see, this blessing is just that, a blessing. In every instance of Yeshua “saying the blessing,” he is literally saying a blessing and not, technically, giving thanks. Even in Acts 27:35, Paul says a b’rakhah before breaking bread while he was aboard ship in a bad storm.<\/p>\n
Somehow, somewhere along the way, the commanded blessing was transformed into “giving thanks” as we know it today. I believe that this is the result of bad (but well-intentioned) translations that have led people astray, as evidenced by the citations written above. As for me and my house, we will stick to following the commandments, even if we do offer up our thanks at the same time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Saying Grace. Giving Thanks. Saying the Blessing.\u00a0It\u2019s that little prayer that we offer up to G\u2013d in thanks for the food on our table. It usually goes something like \u201cwe thank thee, o L\u2013rd, for these thy gifts,\u201d or perhaps like this; \u201cplease bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies and our bodies […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[2,44,92,5],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Kiddush-by-Nachum-Zeev.png?fit=1200%2C627&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5MjSO-hs","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":989,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2016\/05\/17\/the-mystery-of-the-second-suit\/","url_meta":{"origin":1082,"position":0},"title":"The Mystery of the Second Suit","date":"2016-05-17","format":false,"excerpt":"A man once came to the chassidic master Rabbi Yerachmiel of Pshischa with his tale of woe: \u201cRebbe, I am a tailor. Over the years I have earned quite a reputation for my expertise and the high quality of my work. All the nobles in the area order their livery\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/UGRO9505903.jpg?fit=650%2C245&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":905,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2016\/03\/22\/the-gilded-cage\/","url_meta":{"origin":1082,"position":1},"title":"The Gilded Cage","date":"2016-03-22","format":false,"excerpt":"On the surface, the Book of Esther reads as a fable of sorts, filled with drama, suspense and a happy ending. However, keeping in mind that it was written under the rulership and scrutiny of the Persian King, care had to be taken to tell the story without offending sensibilities.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "History"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/UkOD9417323.jpg?fit=1200%2C627&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":887,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2016\/03\/21\/mishloach-manot-for-howard-the-hermit\/","url_meta":{"origin":1082,"position":2},"title":"Mishloach Manot for Howard the Hermit","date":"2016-03-21","format":false,"excerpt":"By Mendy Kaminker, Chabad.org \u201cThis year we\u2019re not going to allow even one mishloach manot (food gift) in the house,\u201d Shira announced as Purim approached. \u201cAll that candy is bad for the children\u2019s teeth, and Passover is coming! How can we clean the house if there are pretzels under the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/FdXw9407527.jpg?fit=1200%2C627&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":954,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2016\/03\/30\/before-i-said-yes-to-tefillin\/","url_meta":{"origin":1082,"position":3},"title":"Before I Said \u201cYes\u201d to Tefillin","date":"2016-03-30","format":false,"excerpt":"In 1975\u201376, my senior year at the University of Washington in Seattle, I lived at the\u00a0Chabad House\u00a0on Campus. Now, don\u2019t get me wrong. I wasn\u2019t observant in the least. My interview went something like this: Rabbi Samuels: \u201cSo\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. tell me about your Jewish background.\u201d Me: \u201cI won the attendance award\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/nOBH9432904.jpg?fit=500%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":787,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2015\/10\/30\/even-higher-than-angels-covenant-conversation-parsha\/","url_meta":{"origin":1082,"position":4},"title":"Even Higher Than Angels - Covenant & Conversation - Parsha","date":"2015-10-30","format":false,"excerpt":"The L\u2011rd appeared to Abraham\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. He looked up and saw three men standing over against him. On seeing them, he hurried from his tent door to meet them, and bowed down. [Turning to G\u2011d,] he said: \u201cMy G\u2011d, if I have found favor in your eyes, do not leave your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Schtuff"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/atgN6934633.jpg?fit=450%2C200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":847,"url":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/2016\/03\/16\/passover-the-real-meaning-of-matzah\/","url_meta":{"origin":1082,"position":5},"title":"Passover: The Real Meaning of Matzah","date":"2016-03-16","format":false,"excerpt":"Your bread is flat, hard, thin and, probably, burned. It's called matzah (also spelled matzoh, matzo, matza, etc.), and you think you're eating it because when your ancestors fled Egypt over 3,300 years ago, they didn't have time to let their bread rise. But is that really the reason? Probably\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Food"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.draherin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/matzah_grain.jpg?fit=539%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1082"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1102,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082\/revisions\/1102"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draherin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}