Birkat Hamazon - Edot Hamizrach

Lamnatzech binginot mizmor shir. Elohim yechannenu vivarechenu ya'er panav ittanu selah. Lada'at ba'aretz darkecha bechol goyim yeshu'atecha. Yoducha ammim elohim yoducha ammim kullam. Yismechu virannenu le'ummim ki tishpot ammim mishor ule'ummim ba'aretz tanchem selah. Yoducha ammim elohim yoducha ammim kullam. Eretz natenah yevulah yevarechenu elohim eloheinu. Yevarechenu elohim veyire'u oto kol afsei aretz.

Avarechah et A-do-nai bechol et tamid tehillato befi sof davar hakkol nishma et ha'elohim yera ve'et mitzvotav shemor ki zeh kol ha'adam tehillat A-do-nai yedabber pi vivarech kol basar shem kodsho le'olam va'ed va'anachnu nevarech yah me'attah ve'ad-'olam halelu-yah vaydabber elai zeh hashulchan asher lifnei A-do-nai.

Baruch attah A-do-nai eloheinu melech ha'olam ha'el hazzan otanu ve'et ha'olam kullo betuvo bechen bechesed berevach uverachamim rabbim noten lechem lechol-basar ki le'olam chasdo uvetuvo haggadol tamid lo chasar lanu ve'al yechsar lanu mazon (tamid) le'olam va'ed ki hu el zan umefarnes lakkol veshulchano aruch lakkol vehitkin michyah u mazon lechol-beriyotav asher bara verachamav uverov chasadav ka'amur poteach et-yadecha umasbia lechol-chai ratzon baruch attah A-do-nai hazzan et hakkol.

Nodeh lecha A-do-nai eloheinu al shehinchalta la'avoteinu eretz chemdah tovah urechavah berit vetorah chayim umazon al shehotzetanu me'eretz mitzrayim ufeditanu mibbeit avadim ve'al beritecha shechatamta bivsarenu ve'al toratecha shellimmadtanu ve'al chukkei retzonach shehoda'tanu ve'al chayim umazon sha'attah zan umefarnes otanu.

'Al hakkol A-do-nai eloheinu anachnu modim lach umevarechim et shemach ka'amur ve'achalta vesava'eta uverachta et A-do-nai eloheicha al-ha'aretz hattovah asher natan-lach baruch attah A-do-nai al ha'aretz ve'al hammazon

Rachem A-do-nai eloheinu aleinu ve'al yisra'el ammach ve'al yerushalayim irach ve'al har tziyon mishkan kevodach ve'al heichalach ve'al me'onach ve'al devirach ve'al habbayit haggadol vehakkadosh shennikra shimcha alav avinu! re'enu zunenu parnesenu kalkelenu harvichenu harvach lanu meherah mikkol-tzaroteinu ve'al tatzrichenu A-do-nai eloheinu lidei mattenot basar vadam velo lidei halva'atam ella leyadecha hammele'ah veharechavah ha'ashirah vehappetuchah yehi ratzon shello nevosh ba'olam hazzeh velo nikkalem le'olam habba umalchut beit david meshichach tachazirennah limkomah bimherah veyameinu

On Shabbat insert:
Retzeh vehachalitzenu A-do-nai eloheinu bemitzvoteicha uvemitzvat yom hashevi'i hashabbat haggadol vehakados hazzeh. Ki yom gadol vekadosh hu millefaneicha nishbot bo venanuach bo venit'anneg bo kemitzvat chukkei retzonach ve'al tehi tzarah veyagon beyom menuchatenu vehar'enu venechamat tziyon bimherah veyameinu ki attah hu ba'al hannechamot vegam she'achalnu veshatinu chareban beitecha haggadol vehakkadosh lo shachachnu al tishkachenu lanetzach ve'al tiznachenu la'ad ki el melech gadol vekadosh attah

An extra paragraph is inserted here on Rosh Chodesh, festivals, and Rosh Hashanah.
Eloheinu velohei avoteinu, ya'aleh veyavo yaggia yera'eh veyeratzeh yishama yippaked veyizzacher zichronenu vezichron avoteinu, zichron yerushalayim irach, vezichron mashiach ben david avdach, vezichron kol-'ammecha beit yisra'el lefaneicha, lifletah letovah lechen lechesed ulerachamim lechayim tovim uleshalom beyom
On Rosh Chodesh: Rosh hachodesh
On Passover: Chag hammatzot
On Sukkot: Chag hassukkot
On Chemini atseret: Shemini hag atzeret
On Shavu'ot: Chag hashavu'ot
On Rosh Hashanah: Hazzikkaron
On festivals: Beyom mikra kodesh
hazzeh, lerachem bo aleinu ulehoshi'enu. Zochrenu A-do-nai eloheinu bo letovah, upakedenu vo livrachah, vehoshi'enu vo lechayim tovim , bidvar yeshu'ah verachamim; chus vechannenu, vachamol verachem aleinu, vehoshi'enu ki eleicha eineinu, ki el melech channun verachum attah.

Vetivneh yerushalayim irach bimherah veyameinu baruch attah A-do-nai boneh yerushalayim (Amen)

Baruch attah A-do-nai eloheinu melech ha'olam, la'ad ha'el avinu, malkenu, addirenu, bore'enu, go'alenu, kedoshenu kedosh ya'akov, ro'enu ro'eh yisra'el, hammelech hattov vehammetiv lechol, shebbechal yom vayom hu heitiv lanu, hu meitiv lanu, hu yeitiv lanu, hu gemalanu hu gomelenu hu yigmelenu la'ad, chen vachesed verachamim verevach vehatzalah vechol-tov.

Harachaman hu yishtabbach al kissei chevodo.
Harachaman hu yishtabbach bashamayim uva'aretz.
Harachaman hu yishtabbach banu ledor dorim.
Harachaman hu keren le'ammo yarim.
Harachaman hu yitpa'ar banu lenetzach netzachim.
Harachaman hu yefarnesenu bechavod velo vevizzui, behetter velo ve'issur, benachat velo vetza'ar.
Harachaman hu yitten shalom beineinu.
Harachaman hu yishlach berachah revachah vehatzlachah bechol ma'aseh yadeinu.
Harachaman hu yatzliach et deracheinu.
Harachaman hu yishbor ol galut meherah me'al tzavvarenu.
Harachaman hu yolichenu meherah komemiyut be'artzenu.
Harachaman hu yirpa'enu refu'ah shelemah.
Harachaman hu yiftach lanu et yado harechavah.
Harachaman hu yevarech kol echad ve'echad mimmennu bishmo haggadol, kemo shennitbarechu avoteinu, avraham yitzchak veya'akov, bakkol mikkol kol, ken yevarech otanu yachad berachah shelemah vechen yehi ratzon venomar amen.

Harachaman hu yifros aleinu sukkat shelomo.
Harachaman hu yitta torato ve'ahavato belibbenu vetihyeh yir'ato al paneinu levilti necheta, veyihyu chol ma'aseinu leshem shamayim.

On Shabbat: Harachaman hu yanchilenu olam shekkulo shabbat umenuchah lechayei ha'olamim.
On Rosh Chodesh: Harachaman hu yechaddesh aleinu et hachodesh hazzeh letovah velivrachah.
On Rosh Hashanah: Harachaman hu yechaddesh aleinu shanah tovah umevorechet.
On Sukkot: Harachaman hu yezakkenu leishev besukkat oro shel livyatan. Harachaman hu yashpia aleinu shefa kedushah vetohorah mishiv'ah ushpizin illa'in kaddishin, zechutam tehei magen vetzinnah ba'adenu. Harachaman hu yakim lanu et-sukkat david hannofelet.
On festivals: Harachaman hu yaggi'enu lemo'adim velirgalim acherim habba'im likratenu leshalom.
On Yom Tov: Harachaman hu yanchilenu leyom shekkulo tov.

 

Guest Blessing:
Harachaman hu yevarech et hashulchan hazzeh she'achalnu alav, visadder bo kol ma'adannei olam, veyihyeh cheshulchano shel avraham avinu alav hashalom. Kol ra'ev mimmennu yochal, vechol tzamei mimmennu yishteh, ve'al yechsar mimmennu kol tov la'ad ule'olemei olamim, amen. Harachaman hu yevarech et ba'al habbayit hazzeh uva'al hasse'uddah hazzot, hu uvanav ve'ishto vechol asher lo, bevanim sheyichyu uvinchasim sheyirbu. Barech A-do-nai cheilo ufo'al yadav tirtzeh, veyihyu nechasav unechaseinu mutzlachim ukerovim la'ir, ve'al yizdakkek lefanav velo lefaneinu shum devar chet vehirhur avon, sas vesameach kol hayamim be'osher vechavod me'attah ve'ad olam, lo yevosh ba'olam hazzeh velo yikkalem la'olam habba, amen ken yehi ratzon.

At the meal of the groom:
Harachaman hu yevarech et hechatan vehakkallah, bevanim zecharim shel kayama, la'avodato yitbarach.
Harachaman hu yevarech et kol hammesubbin bashulchan hazzeh, veyitten lanu hakkadosh baruch hu, kol mish'alot libbenu letovah.

At the meal of circumcision:
Harachaman hu yevarech et ba'al habbayit hazzeh, avi habben, hu ve'ishto hayoledet, me'attah ve'ad olam.
Harachaman hu yevarech et hayeled hannolad, ucheshem shezzikkahu hakkadosh baruch hu lemilah, kach yezakkehu lehikkanes lattorah ulechuppah ulemitzvot ulema'asim tovim, vechen yehi ratzon venomar amen.
Harachaman hu yevarech et ma'alat hassandak vehammohel ushe'ar hammishtaddelim bammitzvah, hem vechol asher lahem.

 

Harachaman hu yechayeinu vizakkenu vikarevenu limot hammashiach ulevinyan beit hammikdash ulechayei ha'olam habba. Magdil (migdol) yeshu'ot malko ve'oseh chesed limshicho ledavid ulezar'o ad olam. Kefirim rashu vera'evu vedoreshei A-do-nai lo yachseru chol tov. Na'ar hayiti gam zakanti velo ra'iti tzaddik ne'ezav vezar'o mevakkesh lachem. Kol hayom chonen umalveh vezar'o livrachah. Mah she'achalnu yihyeh lesave'ah, umah sheshatinu yihyeh lirfu'ah, umah shehotarnu yihyeh livrachah, kedichtiv. Vayitten lifneihem vayochelu vayotiru kidvar A-do-nai. Beruchim attem lashem oseh shamayim va'aretz. Baruch haggever asher yivtach baihvah vehayah A-do-nai mivtacho. A-do-nai oz le'ammo yitten A-do-nai yevarech et ammo vashalom. Oseh shalom bimromav hu verachamav ya'aseh shalom aleinu ve'al kol ammo yisra'el ve'imru amen.

Blessed are You, L·rd, our G·d, King of the universe. The G·d, Who feeds us & the entire world, with His Goodness, with Grace, with Kindness, with Abundance, & with great Mercy. He Provides bread to all flesh – because forever is His kindness. (Psalms 136, 25) And with His great goodness, we continually never lack. And May You never let us lack food continually forever & ever. For He is G·d, Who feeds & provides livelihood to everyone. And His table is set for all. For He prepares sustenance & food for all His creations that He created with His mercy & great kindness. As it says “You Open Your Hand, & You Satiate all the Living with its wants.” (Psalms 145, 16). Blessed are You, L·rd, our G·d, King of the universe Who feeds all.

We thank You, L·rd, our G·d, that You bequeathed to our Forefathers a desirable, good & spacious land, a Covenant & Torah, life & food. And that You took us out from the land of Egypt & that You redeemed us from the house of bondage. And upon the Your Covenant that you stamped upon our flesh. And for Your Torah that You taught us. And upon the laws of Your Will – that You taught us. And upon life, & food that you feed & sustain us.

On Hanukah & Purim Al HaNissim is recited
Upon the miracles and upon the redemption and upon the mighty acts and for salvation and for the wonders and for the comfort that you did for our fathers in those days at this period.

On Hanukkah continue: In the days of Matitya son of Yohanan, The high priest, The Hashmonay and his sons when the Wicked Greek empire arose Against your people Israel To make them forget your Torah, and to remove them from the ordinances of your will and you with your great mercy you stood at the time of their suffering , you battle their battles, you judged their laws, you took vengeance upon their vengeance, you gave up over the mighty into the hands of the weak, and the masses in the hands of the few, and the impure Into the hands of the pure, and the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and the intentional sinners into the hands of those that are engaged in your Torah. To you you made your holy and great name In your world and for your people Israel you made a great salvation and deliverance as you do This day. And the afterwords your children came to the inner chambers of your house cleared your sanctuary and purify it your holy Temple and lit candles In your holy courtyard. And they fixed these eight days of Hanukkah – With complete praise and thanks, and you did for them miracles and wonders and we will thank Your great name, Forever.

On Purim Continue: In the days of Mordekhai & Esther, in Shushan, the Capital (of Ancient Persia) – When Haman, the wicked, stood against them, asking to destroy and kill and annihilate all the Jews – from the Youth to the Elderly, Baby & Women – in a single day – on the 13th of the Twelfth month – which is the month of Adar – and to pillage and take booty and You with Your great mercy – You uprooted his advice & confused his thought & He returned to him his wiles upon his own head – and they hung him & His children upon the gallows. And You did for them miracles and wonders - and we will thank Your great name, Forever.

And Upon all, L·rd, our G·d, do we thank You & bless Your Name. As it says “And you shall eat & be satiated & you shall bless the L·rd, our G·d for the good land that He gave you.” Blessed are You, L·rd, for the land & the food.

Have Mercy L·rd, our G·d upon us & upon Israel Your people & upon Jerusalem, Your city. And upon Mount Tzion – the Tabernacle of Your glory & upon Your sanctuary. And upon Your Abode & upon Your Inner Chamber. And upon the great & holy abode upon which Your Name is called (Temple). Our father, Our Shepherd, Our Feeder, Our Sustainer, Our Provider. Our Deliverer. Deliver us speedily from all our sufferings. And please, let us not need, L·rd, our G·d, from the hands [of others], gifts from flesh & blood. And not from their hands – their loans – rather from Your hand – Full & plentiful, rich & open. May it be Your Will that we will not be embarrassed in this world & we will not be denigrated in the next world. And upon the Kingship of the house of David Your Messiah - restore it in place speedily in our days.

On Shabbat we add : 
May it please You, L·rd our G·d, to give us Rest Hash·m, our G·d from your Commandments & from the commandments of the Seventh day, this Great and Holy Shabbat day, for this day is a great and holy day before you. Let us rest on it and let us have serenity and have pleasure with your commandments – the decrees of Your will. And do not let there be pain and suffering on the day of our rest. And let us see the consolation of Zion speedily in our days. For you are the one that is the master of rest. And even though we ate and drank, the destruction of the of your great and holy house – we did not forget. Do not forget us forever and do not abandon us forever, for you are G-d, a Great and Holy King.
 

Rosh Hodesh, Intermed. days Passover & Sukot say

Our G·d, & G·d of Our forefathers, may it rise, & come, arrive, appear, find favor, & be heard, & be considered, & be remembered & our remembrance, & the remembrance of our Patriarchs, & the remembrance of Jerusalem, Your city, & the remembrance of the Messiah, the son of David, Your servant, & the remembrance of your entire People, the house of Israel before You – for deliverance, for good, for grace, for kindness, & mercy, for a good life, 

and for peace on this day of
on Rosh Hodesh the head of the month
on Passover the Holiday of Matzot - On this day of Holy Convocation,
on Sukkot Holiday of Sukkot.

to have mercy on it (this day) upon us & to save us. Remember L·rd, our G·d, on it for good, & consider us on it with blessing, & deliver us on it for good life, With a pronouncement of deliverance & mercy. Take pity & be gracious to us, & have mercy & be compassionate with us & save us for upon You are our eyes turned, For You are G·d, King, gracious & compassionate...

And build Jerusalem, Your city, speedily in our days. Blessed are You, L·rd, Who builds Jerusalem. (Say Quietly) Amen.

Blessed are You, L·rd, our G·d, King of the universe, G·d, our Father, our King, our Glorious One, our Creator, our Redeemer, our Holiness. The Holiness of Jacob, our Shepherd, Shephard of Yisrael. The Good King that does good to all. Every single day He does Good, He causes good, & will do good to us. He bestowed, bestows & will bestow forever grace, & kindness & mercy & bounty & salvation & all good.

The Merciful One, He will Be Praised upon His Throne of Glory
The Merciful One, He will in Heaven & upon the Earth.
The Merciful One, He will Be Praised by us each & every generation.
The Merciful One, He will raise the horn of His people
The Merciful One, He will Be Glorified by us Eternally Forever
The Merciful One, He will will give us sustenance with honor & not denigration; with permission & not prohibitions; with tranquility & not with suffering
The Merciful One, He will provide peace among us
The Merciful One, He will send blessing & abundance & success in all our handiwork.
The Merciful One, He will provide success in our paths.
The Merciful One, He will break the yoke of the exile, speedily, from our necks
The Merciful One, He will guide us speedily to independence in our land
The Merciful One, He will heal us – a complete healing – healing of the soul & healing of the body
The Merciful One, He will open for us His Hand of plenty.
The Merciful One, He will bless each & every one of us with his Great Name – as were blessed our forefathers - Avraham, Yitzhak & Yaakov – with all, from all of all. Thus may You bless us together – with a complete blessing. And thus, may it be Your Will. And let us say Amen. The Merciful One, He will spread upon us the Shelter of His peace.

Shabbat
The Merciful One, He will bequeath to us a world that is complete rest and serenity for eternity

Rosh Hodesh
The Merciful One, He will renew upon us this month for good & blessing.

Rosh HaShanna
The Merciful One, He will renew upon us this year for good & blessing.

Sukkot
The Merciful One, He will give us the merit to sit in the Sukkah of the skin of Leviathan. The Merciful One, He will bestow upon us plentyof holiness and purity- from the seven lofty and holy guests – may there merit protect and shield us. The Merciful One, He will establish for us the Sukkah of David, that is fallen.

Holidays
The Merciful One, He will allow us to arrive at other holidays – that come to greet us with peace.

Yom Tov
The Merciful One, He will bequeath upon us a day that is completely good.

The Merciful One, He will plant His Torah & His love into our hearts. And his awe should be on our faces – without any sin. And all our deeds should be for the sake of heaven.
The Merciful One, He will give us life & merit & approach us to the days of the Messiah & the building of the Holy Temple & life of the World to Come.

He makes great (On Shabbat & Holidays days when Musaf (additional prayer service) is said, say instead: He is a tower of) Salvation of His Kingship. And does kindness to his anointed one – to [King] David & his descendants forever. Young lions became needy and starved But, those that seek, the L·rd, did not lack any good. (Psalms 34:11) I was a youth & I also became older, & I did not see a Righteous person abandoned & his children seeking bread. (Psalms 37:25) All day He is graceful & lends & his children are held blessed. (Psalms 37, 26) That that we ate, may it be to satiate. And that which we drank, may it be for healing. And that that we left over, may it be for blessing. As it is written: As it is written: “and he gave it [the food] before them and when they had eaten, they had some left over as [according to] the word of the L·rd. (II Kings 4:44 ) Blessed are you to the L·rd – Who makes the Heaven and Earth. Blessed is the man that will place trust in the L·rd. And the L·rd is his trust. (Jeremiah 17:7 ) The L·rd gives strength to His People. The L·rd will bless his people with peace. (Psalms 29:11) May He Who creates peace in His high places, may He with His mercy, make peace upon us & all His people Israel, & say ye, Amen.

Birkat Hamazon , the blessing after the meal, is also known colloquially as “benching,” the English version of the Yiddish term bentshn, which means to bless.

This blessing (which is actually a series of blessings) is mandated for use following any meal in which bread has been eaten, since according to Jewish law, eating bread officially constitutes a meal. Birkat Hamazon can be said sitting at the same table or in view of the same table where the meal was eaten. At weddings or Shabbat meals, it is often said communally.

Reciting the blessing after the meal is a mitzvah written in the Torah. Deuteronomy 8:10 states, “And you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless Adonai your God for the good land which God has given you.”

Prior to the Blessing

Before saying Birkat Hamazon, many people recite a psalm recalling the destruction of the Temple. On Shabbat and festivals, Psalm 126 is sung, recalling God’s promise to return the people of Israel to its homeland. On other days, Psalm 137, which mourns for the Jewish people during the Babylonian exile, is sometimes recited.

When three or more people (for traditional Jews, three or more men) have eaten together, a short back-and-forth invitation, called a zimmun, precedes the prayer. The leader invites everyone present at the meal to recite the blessing, and they respond with words of praise for God. At a wedding meal, additional lines of praise are added.

When 10 or more have eaten together, God’s name is added to the zimmun. There is also a custom of saying Birkat Hamazon over a cup of wine when 10 people, or more, eat communally.

The Blessings’ Structure

Structurally, Birkat Hamazon is composed of four blessings. The first blessing, also called birkat hazan, praises God for sustaining life and providing food for all creatures. Often when a group has eaten together this blessing is sung out loud.

The second blessing, birkat ha’aretz, thanks God for being compassionate and nourishing the Jewish people, both with food and with Torah. It recapitulates Jewish history from the Exodus to the conquering of the land of Canaan. The blessing also mentions that just as God sustained the Jewish people in the desert, so too God currently sustains them and will do so in the future. In this second blessing, additional paragraphs are added during Purim and Hanukkah. Today, some Jews add a paragraph for Yom Ha’atzmaut–Israel’s Independence Day–here, as well.

The third blessing, birkat Yerushalayim, begs God to be merciful and continue to support the Jewish people. Whereas the first two blessings praise God, this blessing changes tone, adding a plea to God to quickly rebuild Jerusalem.

The fourth and final blessing, birkat hatov v’hameitiv, stresses the various positive manifestations of the relationship between the Jewish people and God, This blessing ends by voicing the hope that “God will never deny us anything good.”

After the fourth blessing, a series of short liturgical statements, all beginning with the word harahaman, “may the compassionate One,” follows. Each of these asks for a particular gift from God.

One beseeches God to eternally stay the ruler of the Jewish people. Another requests that God grant the speaker an honorable livelihood, send the messiah, and bestow special blessings for others at the table. In communal settings, this litany of blessings will sometimes be read aloud by the leader, after which the others answer “Amen” to each one.

Different communities such as Ashkenazic, Sephardic , Italian, and Yemenite, have variations to the Birkat Hamazon. Words are added to the four main blessings, and some phrases are reordered, added, or omitted. The greatest range of variation appears after the four main blessings, in the harahaman section. Spanish and Portugese Jews may also recite a Ladino song entitled “Bendigamos,” or “We will bless,” after Birkat Hamazon is finished.

History of the Birkat Hamazon

The four main blessings were written down in the Talmud tractate Berakhot. Traditionally the first blessing is attributed to Moses, the second to Joshua, the third to David and Solomon, and the fourth to the rabbis from Yavneh.

Yet the exact wording of the blessings is simply hinted at, not explicitly stated. The Talmud only mentions the blessings by their titles and final lines. These brief, talmudic versions have, in recent times, served as a precedent for shortened texts of Birkat Hamazon.

When bread has not been eaten at a meal, a different blessing, the brakha aharona or the “end blessing,” is said. It has similar text to a shortened version of Birkat Hamazon, touching on all the themes, but with fewer blessings. This can be found in most bentchers, small booklets containing the blessing after the meal and other festive songs. You can purchase a bentcher online or at your local Judaica store. They also are frequently distributed at weddings and bar/bat mitzvah celebrations.