By Marco Del Monte
Translated and adapted from the book Imrei Noam, Parashat Ekev, Maamar dalet by Rav Yoram Abargel ZZ”L
In our Parashah it is commanded: “And you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless the Lord your G-d” (Deut. 8:10).
From this verse is deduced the command to recite Birkat Hamazon, that is, the Grace after Meals, after eating bread. The reading of this prayer contains many blessings resulting from its recitation. One of these consists in receiving a great abundance of Parnassah (sustenance). This consequence derives from the kavvanah, meaning intention or concentration that one puts into the reading of Birkat Hamazon, as the Sefer Hachinuch reports (Mitzvah 430): "Whoever is careful in the recitation of Birkat Hamazon will have their food available with dignity for all their days." It is no coincidence that the verse of the Torah preceding the command of the Grace after Meals cited at the beginning is: "A land where you will eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing" (Deut 8:9) — meaning precisely thanks to the fact of eating bread and fulfilling the mitzvah of Birkat Hamazon, "you will lack nothing." A further blessing is a consequence of reading Birkat Hamazon, namely that of being protected from any harm, as the Chachamim deduce from the fact that in the first three berachot of Birkat Hamazon (those commanded by the Torah) the final letter "Pe" is not present, and therefore they state: "Whoever recites Birkat Hamazon with intention, neither anger-Af, nor wrath-Shetzef, nor fury-Ketzef shall have power over him (all words that have a final letter Pe, which, not being present in the aforesaid three berachot, goes to cancel the power of these three damaging forces).
This was the merit that brought a blessing to Avraham Avinu; although his generation was full of idolatry and people who angered Hashem, Abraham managed to appease this "Divine anger" at the moment when, after generously giving food to travellers, he asked them to make Birkat Hamazon, and thus to bless Hashem, as is written in the Talmud (Sotah 10a): "After Abraham's guests ate and drank, they arose to bless him. He said to them: Did you eat from what is mine? Rather, you have eaten from the food of the G-d of the Universe! Therefore, you should thank, praise, and bless Him Who spoke and the world was created. In this way, Abraham caused everyone to invoke G-d."
Finally, according to Kabbalah, the other berachah that derives from the recitation of Birkat Hamazon is the reception of a great flow of spiritual energy that pours into the soul, as it is said (Shaar Hakavanot / Shaar Ruach Hakodesh 34:2): "The foundation of Ruach Hakodesh — Prophetic Spirit — depends on the intention and concentration that a person puts into reciting blessings over the enjoyment of foods (Birchot Haneenim), since through these blessings the kelipah (literally peel, but understood here as a part of negativity) is annulled and removed from the food, making it totally holy and pure," which, when ingested, increases the spiritual power that is in our soul. If this is true for blessings over food in general, which are of rabbinic ordinance, all the more does this happen in Birkat Hamazon, commanded by the Torah itself. Not to be forgotten is that the Torah also uses the terms "eating" and "drinking" as a comparison and metaphor for the study and learning of Torah. In summary, what happens here, in this world, is a reflection of the upper Worlds; when you send the berachah upwards, it falls back downwards amplified!
Bon Appétit and a Blessed Blessing from the bottom up and from the top down!
Shabbat Shalom Umevorach!
Translated from the Italian with Google Gemini. The Italian text is the original.