Length: 8:10
Birkat Ha’mazon is one of the only, or maybe even the only, Beracha that we recite which is required by the Torah itself, and not enacted later by the Sages. The source of this obligation is the verse in the Book of Debarim, "Ve’achalta Ve’sabata U’berachta Et Hashem Elokecha" – "You shall eat and be satiated, and you shall bless Hashem your G-d."
More specifically, the first three Berachot of Birkat Ha’mazon are required on the level of Torah obligation. The Talmud teaches us that the first Beracha of Birkat Ha’mazon ("Ha’zan") was composed by Moshe Rabbenu, the second ("Nodeh") was composed by Yehoshua, and the third ("Rahem") was composed by King David and King Shelomo. The fourth Beracha ("Ha’Kel Abinu") was composed by the Sages in commemoration of a certain miracle that occurred.
The first three Berachot are interdependent, which means that none of them can be recited without all the others. Therefore, if a person does not have access to a Siddur, and he knows from memory only one or two of the first three Berachot, but not all three, he should not recite anything. Since he is unable to recite all three Berachot, he does not fulfill any requirement by reciting any of the other parts of Birkat Ha’mazon.
This clear-cut Halacha seems, at first glance, to call into question a practice instituted by the Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) for his community in Baghdad. In his time, many women in Baghdad could not read Hebrew, and they were thus unable to recite Birkat Ha’mazon, a lengthy text which is difficult to commit to memory. To address this problem, the Ben Ish Hai wrote a very brief, one-line text in Aramaic to be recited by these women in lieu of Birkat Ha’mazon. (Listen to audio recording to hear the precise text.) This text briefly thanks G-d for giving us food and sustenance. While we certainly understand the Ben Ish Hai’s objective – to find a way for the women of Baghdad to fulfill the Misva of Birkat Ha’mazon – it seems very difficult to understand why he thought such a text achieves this goal. After all, as we saw, there is no purpose in reciting one Beracha of Birkat Ha’mazon without the others. Therefore, even if this brief text suffices as the first Beracha of Birkat Ha’mazon – which thanks Hashem for giving us food – it does not cover the other two blessings, and so, seemingly, it does not accomplish anything.
To explain the Ben Ish Hai’s rationale, Hacham Ovadia Yosef suggests that this practice is based on the fact that women’s obligation in Birkat Ha’mazon generally, and especially the second and third Berachot, is subject to a good deal of discussion and debate. There are opinions that women do not need to recite the second Beracha of Birkat Ha’mazon, which thanks Hashem for Berit Mila and the gift of Torah story (Misvot which are not incumbent upon women), and for Eretz Yisrael, which was, legally, divided among the men, not the women. Therefore, the Ben Ish Hai perhaps felt it was preferable to at least come up with a brief text for the women to recite in lieu of the first Beracha, since in any event it is unclear whether women are required to recite the rest of Birkat Ha’mazon.
There is also another abridged text of Birkat Ha’mazon, which features the entire first Beracha, and then a shortened version of the next two Berachot. (Listen to audio recording for the full text of this abridged version of Birkat Ha’mazon.) This text appears in the Kolbo, and is mentioned as well by the Rama (Rav Moshe Isserles of Cracow, 1530-1572), in his Darcheh Moshe (Orah Haim 191). Hacham Ovadia felt very strongly that modern-day Siddurim should not print this abridged version of Birkat Ha’mazon, which, as he explains, was instituted for those who could not read Hebrew. Today, thankfully, both men and women are taught to read Hebrew already at a young age, and are thus entirely capable of reciting the full text of Birkat Ha’mazon. What’s more, English transliterations are available for the benefit of those who cannot read Hebrew fluently. Certainly, there are exceptional circumstances even today when one may recite this abridged version – specifically, if somebody has a medical condition, Heaven forbid, which makes it very difficult for him to recite the entire text of Birkat Ha’mazon, or somebody who did not receive a proper Jewish education and thus has trouble reading Hebrew. Such people are certainly to be given the abridged text of Birkat Ha’mazon to recite. However, Hacham Ovadia feared that if the abridged text was circulated in the standard Siddurim, many people will, out of sheer laziness, choose to recite this brief text instead of the regular text – not realizing that the brief text was formulated only for those who are truly unable to recite the full Birkat Ha’mazon. Therefore, Hacham Ovadia strongly objected to printing the brief text in Siddurim.
Some have argued that it is preferable to recite the shorter version of Birkat Ha’mazon to help ensure that it is recited with proper Kavana (concentration). The response to this argument is, very simply, that we should endeavor to have Kavana for the entire Birkat Ha’mazon. One who cannot try to have Kavana for the entire recitation is not likely to have Kavana for the brief version, either. And, the challenge of Kavana is not new; it has always existed. We need to remember that the shorter versions of Birkat Ha’mazon were instituted not to address the problem of Kavana, but rather for the benefit of those who could not read Hebrew. We should be trying to overcome the challenge of Kavana, and not use it as an excuse to recite a brief version of Birkat Ha’mazon. Just as we would not create a shorter text of the Amida prayer due to the difficulty in having Kavana, we should not recite a shorter text of Birkat Ha’mazon, either.
It is worth noting in this context the famous comments of the Sefer Ha’hinuch that one who is accustomed to reciting Birkat Ha’mazon properly is guaranteed to receive his livelihood in a respectful manner throughout his life. One would certainly not want to squander this opportunity by reciting the brief text of Birkat Ha’mazon, which in any event only takes several minutes fewer to recite than the full text.
Summary: In earlier generations, abridged versions of the Birkat Ha’mazon were made available for those who could not read Hebrew. Nowadays, however, when everyone learns to read Hebrew at a young age, and in any event, English transliterations are available, these versions should not be circulated. In exceptional circumstances, there may be room to allow reciting an abridged text, but this should not be encouraged as a matter of practice, and so these texts should not be printed in standard Siddurim.
