Blessing over Torah Study

The obligation to recite a blessing over food is explicitly stated in the Torah:

"When you eat and are satisfied, you must bless the Lord your God for the good land that He has given you." (Deut. 8:10)

But what is the source for reciting a blessing before studying Torah? According to Rabbi Ishmael, this is derived "a fortiori". "If one makes a blessing for that which sustains life in this transient world, certainly one should make a blessing for that which gives eternal life in the World to Come!" (Berachot 48b)

Why is the blessing over Torah study based on the blessing over food? Why is there no explicit source for this blessing?

Appreciating the Torah

Rav Kook explained that the human mind is unable to truly grasp the greatness of the Torah, an immeasurable gift from God. We best relate to and appreciate the material objects of our finite world. We will only be able to properly appreciate the Torah's true value in the future.

One may recognize the Torah's importance on an intellectual level, but this is beyond our emotional faculties. Yet, it is possible for us to deepen our emotional appreciation for the Torah by contemplating the association that Rabbi Ishmael made between Torah and physical sustenance. If we are filled with strong feelings of gratitude for fleeting benefits in this world, all the more we should be thankful for that which gives life in the eternal World to Come.

This contemplative exercise is one way we may spiritually elevate our temporal pleasures. Rav Kook concluded his remarks by cryptically quoting 16th century Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzhak Luria (the Ari) of Safed, that the soul is nourished from the internal essence of food, as the verse states:

"Not by bread alone will man live, but rather by all that comes from God". (Deut. 8:3) This implies that the human soul also lives by bread.

(adapted from Ein Eyah vol. II, p. 221)

Copyright © 2006 by Chanan Morrison