|
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Mishnah Text "The one who blessed over fruits of the trees 'Creator of the fruits of the earth,' has fulfilled the obligation. [But if one blessed] fruits of the earth, with 'Creator of the fruits of the trees,' the obligation is not fulfilled. Over all [foods], if one said: '. . . by Whose word everything came into being,' one has fulfilled the obligation. Context and Commentary The basic idea is that a more general blessing can be used for more specific categories, but not the reverse. A tree is also, by definition, a plant "of the ground," and so the blessing for fruits of the earth would work for apples or cherries or almonds. This would apply if one didn't know where a fruit came from, or if one made a mistake, or if one forgot how to make the technically correct blessing. However, a tomato does not come from a tree, so it would be kind of misleading or mistaken to make the blessing for fruit of the trees over a vegetable. The most general blessing of all is "Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, by Whose word everything came into being." This blessing is sometimes called Shehakol, literally "everything," from the last phrase: shehakol ne'hiyeh b'dvaro. This blessing is for anything that doesn't have a specific blessing (more on this coming up in the next few sections), or it "works" if you said it over any food at all, regardless of category.
Open Ended Question Most Jewish blessings for food and drinks describe where the sustenance comes from: the ground, the tree, the vine, and so on. Shehakol, on the other hand, tells a story: God created this good world with speech. (Cf. Genesis 1:1) God's "word" is not just text, but everything around us; appreciating the beauty and complexity of the world is an authentic, Jewish way of connecting with the Holy One, as much as the study of sacred writings. To me, experiencing awe and wonder at the miracle of life itself helps to sidestep unresolvable questions about what "really" happened. The historical accuracy of the Bible's creation story is really not the point, debates over school curricula notwithstanding. Rather, I understand the Bible to be teaching us that the Source of all life, and the God of our sacred texts and history, are One. That is why our story of Creation portrays God as "speaking" the world into being- so we can better understand that there is only one God, Who can be perceived in both Torah and tomatoes. NJL |
||||||||||||||||
|
[Lobby] [Library] [Classroom] [Office] [Lounge] [Gift Shop] [Site Map] Kolel: The Adult Centre for Liberal Jewish Learning |
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
Brachot 6:2
