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Why does Shemos 23:25 say "He will bless your bread" when the Gemara (גמרא) (Berachos 48b) derives from it that *you* must bless? Rabbi Zweig develops a yesod that berachah has two components: asking permission (logical, related to theft) and asking Hashem (ה׳) to replenish what we consume (derived from the pasuk). This second dimension—rooted in the principle that Hashem created everything with seeds—teaches cosmic responsibility for future generations.
Rabbi Zweig opens with a close reading of Shemos 23:25: "You shall serve Hashem (ה׳) your God, and He will bless your bread and your water, and I will remove illness from your midst." The pasuk shifts from third person ("He will bless") to first person ("I will remove"), and seems to say that Hashem blesses the bread—yet Chazal in Berachos 48b derive from "u'veirach es lachmecha" the obligation for man to make a berachah before eating, reinterpreting the word as "you shall bless" rather than "He will bless." The Maharsha asks: if the Torah (תורה) wanted to teach that we must bless, why not write it clearly? Why write it as if Hashem is the one blessing? Additionally, the Gemara (גמרא) in Berachos 35a states that it is logically forbidden to eat without a berachah because doing so is theft—the world belongs to Hashem, and one must ask permission. Given this logical basis, why does the Gemara need a separate pasuk to derive the obligation to bless? Rabbi Zweig resolves these difficulties with a foundational insight: berachah has two distinct aspects. The first aspect is asking permission—recognizing that the world is Hashem's and we must request the right to use it. This is the logical component, the basis of which is theft if violated. The second aspect is asking Hashem to replenish and replace what we consume. This second dimension is not logically self-evident; it must be taught by the Torah. The pasuk in Mishpatim teaches precisely this: our berachah *causes* Hashem's berachah. When we bless, Hashem blesses—our act of blessing invites Divine replenishment of the world's resources. That is why the pasuk is written "He will bless"—because the human act of blessing brings about Hashem's blessing of the world. The Torah could not simply write "you shall bless" because the chiddush is not merely the obligation to bless, but the cosmic effect of that blessing: it triggers Hashem's replenishment.
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Shemos 23:25
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