The
Talmud, Brachot 21a asks “From where in the Torah do we derive the obligation
to recite Birkat HaMazon, the Grace After Meals?”

The
answer is in Parshat Ekev, Dvarim 8:10: 

You
shall eat and be satisfied and bless your God for the good Land that He gave
you.

Rabbi
Shaul Yisraeli, who was one of the leading rabbis of religious Zionism taught
(Eretz Chemda 1:1:15):

We find
in the Torah an obligation to thank God for the Land of Israel in Birkat
HaMazon…Thus, we are obligated to be grateful to God for giving us the Land as
an inheritance. And one may infer the negative from the positive. Just as we
are commanded to be grateful for the Land, we are forbidden to be ungrateful
for it and to disregard God’s gift…

There
has been a lot of talk recently by Israelis who are not happy with the political
situation in Israel saying that they are looking to leave. They claim that they
would rather “relocate” to another country.

Just as
a person makes a choice to make aliya, go up to the Land of Israel, so too a
person has a choice to make yerida, leave the Land of Israel. If that is what
they want to do, then that is their choice. However, they are missing the
point. Our connection to the Land goes much deeper than the political situation.

Every
time that we eat bread, we are reminded of the Land of Israel and how we must
appreciate it. Even when we eat a meal without bread, we conclude with the
Bracha Me’ein Shalosh, the Three-Faceted Blessing known as Al HaMichya where we
mention the “good and spacious Land…”

In
addition, we face Jerusalem three times a day and pray for the Jewish people’s
return to their homeland as well as prosperity, justice, the building of
Jerusalem and peace.

The
Land of Israel is a gift that must be appreciated. If someone does not
appreciate the Land, then that is their loss.

Now
that Israel is 75 years old and people are comfortable here, they are not
conscious of the miracle of a Jewish state and they take it for granted. They
forget what a sacrifice it was for people to make aliya and build up the Land.

Rabbi Shaul
Yisraeli understood first hand how much of a blessing it was to immigrate to
the Land of Israel. He was born in 1909 and he studied in underground Yeshivot
in communist Russia. In 1933, after his requests for an exit visa from Russia
were denied, he illegally crossed into Poland and was about to be sent back to
the Russian authorities probably for a death sentence. Rav Avraham Yitzvhak HaKohen
Kook and his son, Rav Tzvi Yehuda intervened and he was granted permission to
immigrate to Eretz Yisrael.

Rabbi
Yisraeli studied at Mercaz HaRav and then became Rabbi of the religious Zionist
moshav Kfar HaRoeh where he helped combine the values of Torah and agriculture
and was involved with practically applying the Mitzvot HaTluyot BaAretz, the
Agricultural Mitzvot of the Land of Israel with life in Eretz Yisrael.

Today,
it is so easy to fly in and out of Israel that many forget about the yearning
that people had to come to the Land, the obstacles that they overcame and the
drive that they had to build up the Land to make it a better place.

If
someone chooses to be ungrateful for the Land, then nobody is forcing them to
stay. If they can get permission to get into another country and find work
there then that is their choice. But from my experience knowing Israelis living
abroad, you can take an Israeli out of Israel but you can’t take Israel out of
an Israeli.

In Parshat Ekev (Dvarim 8:7-9),
B’nai Yisrael are told:

For HaShem, your God, is bringing
you to a good Land; a Land with streams and springs and
fountains issuing from plain and hill; a Land of
wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a Land of olive oil and
date-honey; a Land where you will eat bread without poverty, where you will
lack nothing; a Land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you can mine
copper.

Rashbam
explains: You will not eat
stale bread like poor people. And in addition to the wheat and barley which the
Land produces, you will also enjoy vineyards and their products, and
pomegranates, as well as honey derived from dates which are sweet.

Sforno points out: It is a Land
which is the confluence of numerous good, desirable qualities not found
together in other districts of the globe. Each of the five qualities are introduced
with the word Eretz (Land):

1) A Land with streams, springs and fountains: not
water from polluted rivers or static ponds.
2) A Land of wheat and barley: crops which produce
basic foods.
3) A Land of olive oil and date-honey: products fit
for the palate of a king.
4) A Land where you will eat bread without poverty:
where money can be found cheaply, a Land full of treasures.
5) A Land whose rocks are iron: The stones contain
iron, a useful metal, or whose stones are strong as iron, providing excellent
building materials.

Sforno continues: Dearth of money is
more serious than shortage of the products which can be bought with it, as we
know from the Talmud Taanit 19a-b

The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of the phrase “Makat
Batzoret” An affliction of food
shortage? Rav Yehuda said
in the name of Rav: A
period of forty days between one rainfall and the next is “an affliction that leads to food shortage.”
In this regard, Rav Naḥman said:
When crops do not grow in one place due to lack of rain and must be imported by
means of one river to
another river, this
is considered “Batzoret”, food shortage.
If produce must be brought from one province to another province, this is considered a “Ra’av” famine.

The Gemara continues: Rabbi Ḥanina said: If a se’a (volume of 144 eggs) of grain is sold for a sela (silver coin with the weight
of 384 barleycorns of silver), but the
wheat is plentiful, this is
considered a “Batzoret”, food shortage.
Although prices have risen, there is still grain for those who can afford it.
However, if four se’a
of grain is sold for a sela, and the wheat is not plentiful, this is considered a “Ra’av”, famine.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: They taught this only with
regard to a time when money is cheap
and everyone has it, and produce is expensive.
However, when money is expensive,
i.e., unavailable, and produce is cheap, they
cry out about it immediately, as this is considered a Ra’av, famine.
Rabbi Yoḥanan said: I remember when four se’a
of produce were sold for one sela (the normal price) and
yet there were many swollen from hunger in Tiberias, as they
did not have even one issar (small coin 1/96 of a sela) with
which to purchase food.”

Although in Israel today we have
plenty of grapes, figs, pomegranates, olive oil and
date-honey, for the most part Israel has not been growing wheat or barley. Instead,
they have been importing their flour from Eastern Europe. With the war in the
Ukraine and global food prices rising, we are now relying on foreign grain and
we are at the mercy of others.

The dispute over the price of bread
in Israel seems to never let up. On the one hand, the government wants to keep
the basic bread prices down, making it look like there is no poverty. On the
other hand, most Israelis, including the poorer populations prefer to buy other
types of bread such as pita and would benefit from government grants rather
than discounts on bread that they don’t eat. In addition, in the big scheme of
things, it isn’t the bread that is expensive.  The poorer communities need help with gas,
electric and other larger bills in order to make ends meet.

For now, the government decided to
slightly raise the prices of the controlled bread and later in the year they
will raise the prices again. This way, they won’t look too bad before the
November elections.

Each government is willing to significantly
raise the prices of almost everything while the bread remains sacred, probably
due to the verse: “a Land where you will eat bread without poverty.”

Maybe we need to once again grow our
grains in house in the Modern State of Israel. This will help provide more jobs
in Israel as well as help the state become more self reliant. We also need to
help the poorer segments with more than a few shekels savings on a loaf of
bread.

In Parshat Ekev, Dvarim 11:13-15, we read verses that are well known as
they are recited twice a day in the second paragraph of the Shma:

And it will come to pass that if you continually heed My commandments
that I command you today, to love HaShem, your God, and to serve Him, with all
your heart and with all your soul- then I will provide rain for your Land in
its proper time, the early and
late rains, that you may gather in your grain, your wine and your oil. I will
provide grass in your field for your cattle and you will eat and be satisfied.

Ibn Ezra points out that when verse
15 says “you will eat and be satisfied”, it is referring to eating the grain,
wine and oil mentioned in verse 14 and not referring to the grass in verse 15.

Ramban’s interpretation is that it
refers to everything: “And you shall eat and be satisfied” with the corn, wine
and oil and also the sheep and cattle will be satisfied with the grass in the
field.  

Ramban also quotes the midrash, Sifre:
“And you shall eat and be satisfied”- When your cattle eats and is satisfied it
works the ground with strength as it says in Mishlei 14:4: “Many crops come by the
strength of the ox.”

In the Talmud, Brachot 40a, Rav
Yehuda taught in the name of Rav:

It is forbidden for a person to eat
before he gives food to his animal as it says (Dvarim 11:15) “I will provide
grass in your field for your cattle” and only then does the verse state “and
you will eat and be satisfied.” 

Rav Sheshet teaches that if a person
said the blessing over the bread but did not yet take a bite and in the
meanwhile he says “Knead for the oxen”, he can eat the bread without repeating
the blessing, as instructing someone to feed the animals is considered a
necessary preparation for the meal and is not considered an interruption.

This Gemara shows how important it
is to feed the animals first as there are very rare circumstances where you can
make the blessing and then take a break in between.

Pele Yoetz 36:1 explains that one should
only raise chickens if they are able to care for them properly. The owner must
give them their food at the proper time, before he eats, so that they don’t get
into a situation of tzaar baalei chayim (animal cruelty).

The Magen Avraham 168:17 codifies
the law as a Biblical mitzvah and says that it is forbidden to eat before your
animals have eaten, but states that you may drink before your animals as we see
in the case of Rivka (Breisheet 24:14) who gives Avraham’s servant water to
drink first and then proceeds to water his camels.

Most other poskim (Halachic
authorities) view this mitzvah as Rabbinic.

Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Sefer Kinyan,
Hilchot Avadim 8 teaches:

The earlier Chachamim would give
their servant portions from all of the dishes that they would eat, and they
would feed their animals and their servants before they themselves would sit
down to eat. As it says in Tehillim 123:2: “Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their masters and the eyes of a maid to the hand of her
mistress; so our eyes wait upon HaShem, our God, until he will be gracious to
us.”

According to the Rambam, it is a
midat chasidut (proper behavior) to feed your animals before you eat.

We see from here the importance of
treating animals properly, not just because it will help them be more
productive in the long run, but because it is the right thing to do.

In Parshat Ekev (Dvarim 7:15) we are told:

This shall be the
reward when you listen to these laws, and you observe and perform them; HaShem
your God will safeguard for you the covenant and the kindness that he swore to
your forefathers. He will love you and bless you and multiply you and he will
bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your Land; your grain, your wine
and your oil; the offspring of your cattle and the flocks of your sheep and
goats; on the Land that He swore to your forefathers to give to you. You will
be the most blessed of all of the peoples; there will be no infertile male or
infertile female among you or among your animals. HaShem will remove from you
every illness; and all the bad maladies of Egypt that you knew- He will not put
them upon you, but will inflict them upon your enemies.

According to Sforno, “HaShem
will remove from you every illness” indicates any manner of illness including
those that are the result of climatic conditions. “Bad maladies” refers to those
that are contagious. “That you knew” hints to the illnesses that the Egyptians
were smitten with at the Sea of Reeds.

Sforno concludes that
even though these diseases will strike your enemies, they will not infect you,
as described in Tehilim 91:5-7:

You shall not fear the
terror of night; nor the arrow that flies by day; nor the pestilence that walks
in gloom; nor the destroyer who lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall victim
at your side and a myriad at your right hand, but to you it shall not approach.

On the words “HaShem
will remove from you every illness”, Ramban explains that God will take away
ordinary ailments which occur in the world. “All the bad maladies of Egypt that
you knew” are mentioned to insure the people that God “will inflict them upon
your enemies.” Or maybe he is saying that by observing the laws they will be
saved by the evil diseases, but if they do not observe them, the diseases will
come upon them just as they came upon the Egyptians as it says in the
chastisement (Dvarim 28:60) “He will bring back for you all the Egyptian
diseases which you dreaded and the will cling to you.”

In Parshat BeShalach,
Shmot 15:26 states: “He said to them: ‘If you vigilantly obey the voice of
HaShem, your God, and do what is upright in His eyes, listen to his
commandments and preserve all His statutes; then every sickness that I brought
upon Egypt, I will not bring upon you, for I am HaShem who heals you.

Rashi brings the
midrashic explanation that even if God does bring sickness, it is as if it were
not brought because God will cure you. Rashi also brings the plain explanation:
“for I am HaShem who heals you” means that God teaches you Torah and Mitzvot so
that you will be saved from the diseases. It is like when a doctor tells a
person: “Do not eat this particular thing lest it brings you to disease”, this
represents following the mitzvot.     

Ramban does not agree
with Rashi and explains the verse from Beshalach as follows: This is an
admonition by which God warned them not to be among those who rebel against Him
as the Egyptians had been. By listening to His voice, they will be saved from
all sickness, since the sickness deservedly comes upon all those who rebel
against His will, even as it befell the Egyptians when they did not listen to
Him. This constitutes a promise that I will remove from you sickness that comes
in the natural course of events, even as I healed the waters of Marah.

Where does this leave
us today? Do we rely on God for our medical care? Is observing the mitzvot
enough to heal us?

We must also do our part. When vaccines and
medicines are available to us, we need to take advantage of them. When there
are directives of how we need to take care of ourselves we must listen to them
even if it is at the expense of praying indoors with a minyan. We lost too many
people to Covid to continue our lives as usual and ignore medical advice.     

The following was presented by the Orthodox Union and the Rabbinical
Council of America on December 15, 2020 based
on the guidance of Harav Hershel Schachter and and Harav Mordechai Willig with
the support of Harav Dovid Cohen:

We are grateful for the progress that has been made
in vaccine development for COVID-19.  Halacha
obligates us to care for our own health and to protect others from harm and
illness. In addition, Halacha directs us to defer to the consensus of medical
experts in determining and prescribing appropriate medical responses to both
treating and preventing illness. There has long been an almost uniform
consensus among leading medical experts that vaccines are an effective and
responsible manner of protecting life and advancing health. For over two
hundred years vaccinations have been responsible for the dramatic reduction of
many terrible diseases and have significantly improved public health in our
country and around the world. For this reason, the consensus of our major poskim
(halachic decisors) is to encourage us to use vaccinations to protect
ourselves and others from disease.

As I was entering a shopping mall today, I asked the
guard if they are making sure that people are wearing masks. He said “Yes. It
is very important. We must observe the mitzvah of ‘v’nishmartem me’od l’nafshoteichem’,
‘you shall greatly beware of your souls.’”   

In Parhsat Ekev, B’nai Yisrael are
reminded of how God took care of them for forty years in the wilderness. In
Devarim 8:4 we read “Your garment did not wear out on you, nor did your foot
swell these forty years.” We see a similar statement in Parshat Ki Tavo, Dvarim
29:4, “I have led you forty years in the wilderness, your garment has not worn
out on you and your shoes have not worn out on your feet.”

How do we explain the concept that
B’nai Yisrael did not need new clothing or shoes for forty years?

According to Rashi, the Clouds of
Glory rubbed the grime off of their clothing and pressed them like pressed
garments. Mizrachi adds that they did not require laundering and were never
outgrown.

Rashi explains that their children’s
clothing grew with them just like a snail’s shell grows with it. Gur Aryeh adds
that the clothing was presented to them by the angels at Mt. Sinai.

Ibn Ezra brings two totally
different ideas:

1.   
They
took enough clothing out of Egypt that it lasted them for forty years.

2.   
The
manna did not cause them to perspire so their clothing did not get ruined by
sweat.

Ramban’s view is that the clothing
lasting them for 40 years had to be a miracle just like the miracle of the
manna falling from the sky. He refutes Ibn Ezra’s second opinion and explains
that if you were to cover a rafter with a new cloth it would wear out after 40
years, even if there was no perspiration.

We see from here that the idea of
clothing having a long lifespan is nothing short of a miracle.

What can we do today, in the age of
fast fashion, to keep our clothing in good shape for as long as possible?

The best place to start is to buy
good quality clothing that will hold up in the laundry after many washes as we
don’t have the Clouds of Glory to help us out anymore.

Classic styles that won’t look out
of place after a few seasons are better bets than trends that come and go.

When visiting Jerusalem’s Museum of
North African Jewry, I was amazed by a dress that they had on display. The
dress was worn for every fancy occasion beginning with the wedding. There was
room for the dress to expand so that it could be worn to the brit mila as well
as other happy occasions that would come up over the years. It was a beautiful
well made dress that would last for years. Since this was a tradition before
the modern camera, there was no pressure to be wearing a different dress in the
photos from each simcha. The idea of having one “special occasion dress” makes
a lot of sense. If it is a good quality dress and it is still in good
condition, why not continue to wear it.

Just as God provided for B’nai
Yisrael in the wilderness and made sure that their clothing lasted, so too, we
should make an effort to take care of our clothing and prolong the life of each
garment in order to make sure that we are taking care of our environment in the
best possible way and not purposely wasting resources and textiles.

In Parshat Ekev (Dvarim 8:8), we are told that the Land of Israel is a
land of the seven species: “A land of
wheat and barley, and grapes and figs and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and
(date) honey.”

When Adam and Chava ate from the
Eitz HaDa’at (Tree of Knowldege) did they eat from one of these seven species
and if so, why is the one that they ate not made clear?

The incident is found in Breisheet 3:6-7:
“The woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was tempting to the
eyes and that the tree was appealing as a means of obtaining wisdom. She took
of its fruit and she ate, and she also gave it to her husband and he ate. The
eyes of both of them were opened and they realized that they were naked. They
sewed together fig leaves, and made for themselves loincloths.”

Why does the Torah tell us that fig
leaves they used to make clothing?

At first glance it would seem that
fig leaves were used since they are very large so they make a good choice for a
cover up.

According to Rashi, the Torah
specifies fig leaves since that is the tree from which they ate.

Rashi quotes the Talmud, Sanhedrin
70b: “with that which they sinned they set themselves aright.”

Why is the name of the tree not specifically
revealed?

Rashi explains that this is because
God does not want to grieve any being. He did not want the tree not be shamed
by people saying, “This is the one through which the world was stricken.”

We learn from the fig that if we are
not supposed to shame a tree, then we certainly are not supposed to shame a
person.

Of course, as the saying goes: two
Jews, three opinions. Not everyone agrees that they ate from the fig tree. In
the Talmud, Brachot 40a, Rabbi Meir says that it was a grapevine, for there is
nothing that brings as much wailing upon man as wine does. Rabbi Yehuda says
that it was a wheat stalk.

Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehuda may have
brought up these other opinions to take some of the heat off of the fig.

In any case, whichever fruit it was,
it was not removed from the list of the seven species of Israel which are
praised and respected throughout the TaNaCh.

In Parshat Ekev, we are told to remember
the exodus from Egypt, the forty years in the desert, the manna and all of the
other miracles that God performed for B’nai Yisrael before they arrived in the
Land of Israel.

Once B’nai Yisrael would arrive in
Israel (Devarim 8:7-8) “a land of streams of water, fountains and depths that
spring out of valleys and hills, a land of wheat barley, vines, fig trees and pomegranates,
a land of olive oil and honey…” it would be very easy to forget where they came
from and therefore B’nai Yisrael are reminded to continue to bless God and not
forget Him.

The same is true today, we must continue
to acknowledge where we came from.

Today, I had the honor to meet Ori
Sasson, the Israeli judoka who just won the bronze medal in the +100 kg
category in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

Ori did not forget where he came
from. He went back to the Armon HaNatziv community in Jerusalem where he grew
up to thank them for their support.

Just as there are blessings to thank
God for the food that we eat and the Land of Israel, according to Rabbi Eliezer
Melamed, we should recite the blessing from the Talmud, Brachot 58b that is
said when one sees beautiful creatures and trees when we meet an athlete such
as Ori Sasson: “Shekacha lo b’olamo”, “Who has such in His universe”.

According to Rabbi Melamed, by
saying this blessing, we are acknowledging that these super athletes are also
God’s creations and should be appreciated, as we say each morning “Mah rabu ma’asecha
HaShem”, “How great are your works, God, you make them all with wisdom, the
world is full of your possessions.”

May Israel see more athletes bring
home medals in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo!

In Parshat Ekev, Dvarim 8:7-9 we
read:

For the Lord your God is bringing
you to a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths,
springing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, grapes and
fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of oil, olives and honey; a land wherein you
shall eat bread without scarcity, you shall not lack anything in it; a land
whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you will mine copper.

When touring Israel, you can’t miss
the fulfillment of this prophecy when seeing the beautiful brooks and springs
and the seven species that you pass as you walk down the street. Each time you
eat from the fruits of the land you are reminded of what a great miracle it is
to have our homeland back.

Have we found precious stones in Israel? Has that part of the prophecy
come true?

The Lubavitcher Rebbe told the mayor
of Haifa that there are precious gems in the Haifa area. However, they are
concealed in the depths of the earth and we will need to find them.

According to the Israeli business
daily “Globes”, Australian Professor William Griffin, a renowned expert on the
earth’s crust came to Israel last year and discovered that Israel has enough
precious stones and diamonds to warrant commercial mining. He examined the
activities of Shefa Yamim, the only company dealing with the exploration of
diamonds and precious stones in Israel and discovered moissanite, rubies
sapphires and diamonds. The company’s explorations have mainly been in the
Carmel area, Emek Zevulun, The Jezreel Valley and Ramot Menashe. Last year they
found a 1.7 karat, 8.26 mm ruby.

The Ramban explains a passage from
the Targum Yerushalmi that states that the land will have great stones, costly
stones, hewn stones with which to build houses, walls and towers, unlike the
land of Egypt and many lands where people dwell in houses of clay which are not
as sturdy.

When walking through Jerusalem and
seeing the original Jerusalem stone homes one can understand what the Targum
Yerushalmi is describing.

We are lucky to be living at a time
where we can see the fulfillment of God’s prophecies of what the Land of Israel
has to offer. Now we have to work on the last prophecy which is eradicating
poverty to make sure that nobody in the land ever goes hungry.

Sponsored by
Sharona, Josh, Dov, Moshe and Yehuda Halickman

in memory of
Deborah bat Mordechai v’Esther z”l on her first yahrzeit 22Av,

wife of Michael
Jankelowitz, mother of Roy and Danit

In the Talmud, Brachot 21a Rav Yehuda states: From where in
the Torah do we derive the obligation to recite Birkat HaMazon (Grace after
meals)? From the verse (Parshat Ekev, Dvarim 8:10): “Veachalta vesavata uveirachta et Hashem Elokecha al haaretz
hatova asher natan lach”, “You shall eat and be satisfied and bless
your God for the good land that He gave you.”

We are Biblically commanded to recite three brachot after
eating bread:

A bracha for provision of nourishment (Birkat
HaZan)

A bracha for the inheritance of the Land of Israel (Birkat HaAretz)

A bracha for the building of Jerusalem (Birkat Boneh Yerushalayim)

In Brachot 48b, the Rabbis teach in a Braita that from that
one verse in Devarim 8:10 we derive the different brachot within Birkat
HaMazon:

From
the words: “Veachalta vesavata
uveirachta” (You shall eat and be satisfied and bless) we derive Birkat
HaZan, from “et Hashem elokecha” (your God) we
derive the mitzva to make a Zimmun, from “al haaretz” (for the
Land) we derive Birkat HaAretz, from the word “hatova”
(the good) we
derive Birkat Boneh Yerushalayim as it says in Devarim 3:25: “the good
mountain” (which is Har HaBayit, the Temple Mount), from “asher natan lach” (that He gave you) we
derive Birkat HaTov V’HaMeitiv.

The Talmud discusses the origins of these brachot:

Rav Nachman said:

Moshe composed Birkat HaZan at the time that the
manna fell from heaven.

Yehoshua composed Birkat HaAretz when they entered
the Land of Israel.

King David and King Shlomo composed Birkat Boneh
Yerushalayim.

Birkat HaTov V’HaMetiv (Who is good and confers good)
is looked at by Rebbi as a Rabbinic bracha which is a continuation of Birkat
Boneh Yerushalayim while the Tanna Kamma includes it as a fourth Biblical
bracha. Those who consider the bracha to be Rabbinic say that it was
formally added by the Sages of Yavneh on account of God’s goodness towards the
bodies of the slain Jews of Betar.

In the Tur, Orach Chayim, the question is asked why we don’t
start Birkat HaMazon in a more spiritual way with a prayer for Jerusalem and only
afterwards thank God for the physical food? The answer that is given is that we
follow the order of history so Moshe’s bracha is first, Yehoshua’s is
second etc.

Rav Yissachar Yaakovson explains that there are also
psychological reasons for why Birkat HaMazon is set up in this order. First,
the person who ate is thankful for the food that they enjoyed. They then remember
that food grows everywhere including in our homeland, the Land of Israel.
Finally, they show appreciation for religious, spiritual and national values
such a Jerusalem, Zion and the Beit HaMikdash.

Birkat Boneh Yerushalayim was originally a prayer
that God continue to preserve tranquility in the Land. Following the
destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and the exile, the bracha focused on
the return to the Land, the Beit HaMikdash and the Davidic dynasty.

Every time that we thank God for our food, we must also
praise God for the Land of Israel. Why is the Land of Israel such an integral part of Birkat
Hamazon?

1. Just like God doesn’t want us to take the food for
granted, He also doesn’t want us to take the Land of Israel for granted. Israel should constantly be appreciated.

2. Israel is the place where the most mitzvot can be observed in the best possible way.

3. Israel has great produce that we should appreciate. Israel is a land of milk and honey
and the land of the seven species wheat,
barley, grapes, fig, pomegranate, olive-oil and date-honey.

4. Through the blessing of Israel, the whole world becomes
blessed.

We see from here the importance of taking our time to recite
Birkat HaMazon with kavana (intent) focusing on our appreciation for the
food that we eat, the Land of Israel and the prayer that Jerusalem should be rebuilt speedily in our days.

May the words that we recite at the end of  Birkat
HaMazon from Tehilim 29:11 be fulfilled: “Hashem
Oz LeAmo Yiten, Hashem Yivarech et Amo Bashalom”, “God will give strength to His people, God
will bless His people with peace.”