Our Teacher Moshe is giving his final speech to the new generation before his death. He explains to them how the Eternal, blessed be He, brought them out of the house of bondage. Moreover, the Creator, blessed be He, provided for them for forty years in the wilderness with manna and water given miraculously. Even more, their clothes and footwear were preserved during all that time. Now, the Blessed God urges the pioneers of the conquest of Canaan to keep the judgments, statutes, and laws so that He may fulfill the oath He made to the three patriarchs.
The passage we will analyze is the source of the “Birkat haMazon,” the blessing after a meal. The Torah says:
“You shall eat, be satisfied, and bless the LORD your God for the good land that He has given you. Beware lest you forget the LORD your God” (Devarim 8:11).
The Sages derived from here that it is a positive commandment—to bless the Creator, blessed be He—after eating food. They determined this not only for bread, but for all foods. They also deduced from Psalm 24 that since the earth and all its fullness belong to the Blessed God, eating without first blessing and asking permission is considered theft. Therefore, they instituted various blessings of enjoyment based on the passage from our parashah. The intention (kavanah) of the Sages was for Israelites to remain aware of the Creator at all times. Today, we can find in a good siddur (prayer book) blessings for seeing animals, hearing good or bad news, eating fruits and vegetables, drinking wine, passing through a cemetery, seeing the ocean, mountains—just about anything. As the Talmud says: “Seek out a Torah Sage to learn how to bless the Eternal” (T. Bavli Berakhot).
Why is it necessary to warn the people, “Beware lest you forget”? It is human nature to remember the Creator, blessed be He, when we are going through difficulties. Our Teacher Moshe wants to instill in the new generation the importance of not repeating their parents’ error—forgiveness. Every day we have the opportunity to observe the Creator through the works of creation. In this spirit, the psalmist declared:
Hallelujah! Praise Adonai!
Praise Adonai from the heavens; praise Him in the heights.
Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His armies.
Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, shining stars.
Praise Him, highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.
Let the name of the LORD be praised,
for He commanded, and they were created.
He established them forever;
He issued a decree that will never be abolished.
May it be the will of ADONAI that we may remain aware of Him at all times, to put into practice all that was entrusted by Moshe, and to see the blessings promised to our fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.