Blessings for Food and Drink

If you are going to eat a piece of bread, say the prayer for bread — the “motzi.”  This is an umbrella blessing that covers everything else eaten except for wine.  If you do not eat bread, it's traditional to say either the general blessing for food if you are eating more than one type of food, or the specific blessing for the food you are eating.

General blessing for food  (most liquids including liquor but not grape liquids, meat, fish, combined foods, and “when in doubt”):

Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, she-hakol, ni-hi-yeh bid-va-ro.
Praised are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, whose word brings all things into being.

Prayer for bread:

Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, ha-mo-tzi le-chem min ha-aretz.
Praised are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.

Prayer for baked goods other than bread  (muffins, pizza when eaten as a snack, cookies, cake, fruit breads):

Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, bo-ray mee-nay m-zo-note.
Praised are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, who creates different types of nourishment.

Prayer for tree fruit  (including nuts that grow on trees):

Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, boray p'ri ha-aitz.
Praised are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, who creates the fruit of the tree.

Upon eating fruit for the first time in a season, add:

Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, she-he-che-yanu ve-ki-manu, ve-higiyanu lazman hazeh.
Praised are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, for granting us life, for sustaining us, and for helping us to reach this day.

Prayer for food that grows in the ground  (vegetables, nuts that grow on vines, melons, etc.):

Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, boray p’ri ha-a-da-mah.
Praised are You, Eternal our God, Soverign of the universe, who creates the fruit of the ground.

Prayer for grape wine or grapejuice:

Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, boray p'ri hagafen.
Praised are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.

Prayer for a Trip to Israel

Israel is the Jewish homeland.  As such, when we, who live in the diaspora, visit Israel, it’s appropriate to give thanks for the privilege of being able to make a sacred journey to the land that brought us into being.  There are many different prayers and ceremonies that are possible.  Here are a few of the ones that are most frequently used:

1. Ceremony Before Beginning the Journey:  Before boarding the plane (or ship) say the Prayer for a Trip to Israel followed by the Traveler’s Prayer.
   
   
2. Ceremony On Arriving in Israel:  When the airplane lands in Israel, or when you first step into the airport terminal, say the Shehehiyanu.  The Shehehiyanu is a prayer that is said on special occasions and at special moments in our lives (see below).
   
   
3. Ceremony For Entering the City of Jerusalem:  Some people have the tradition of performing a little ceremony before actually entering the city of Jerusalem.  As part of this ceremony it’s traditional to drink grape wine or grape juice.  The ceremony can also be done without the wine or with other types of spirits.  The idea is to drink something sweet or something that will lift your spirits.  If you want to do this, pack a small bottle in your carry on luggage with a few plastic shot glasses or paper cups.
   
   
4. Ceremony for Entering the City of Jerusalem:
   
   
   1. Choose a point to stop along the road before you get to Jerusalem.  (Israeli cab drivers are used to this request, so if you’re traveling alone, don’t be shy about asking.  If they seem to have forgotten, remind them.)
      
      
   2. When you stop, get out of the car and take a moment to create a feeling of kavanah (spiritual intention.)  There are many ways to do this.  One simple way is to close your eyes, take a deep, cleansing breath, feel yourself relax and, in your own words, silently or quietly out loud thank God for the opportunity of performing this special ceremony.
      
      
   3. When you are ready, read the Prayer for a Trip to Israel.
      
      
   4. Read the excerpt from Psalm 137.
      
      
   5. If using wine, say/sing the blessing over the wine/grapejuice in Hebrew, English or both.
      
      
   6. Say, “L’chaim” (to life!) and drink the wine, or
      
      
   7. If using liquor (scotch, snapps, brandy, slivovitz) or juice other than grape juice, say/sing blessing over liquids.
      
      
   8. Say, “L’chaim” (to life!) and drink the liquor/juice.
      
      
   9. Say/Sing the Shehehiyanu (see below).
      
      
   10. Return to the vehicle and enter Jerusalem in joy and in peace.

Prayer for a Trip to Israel

I rejoiced when they said to me, “Let us go the House of the Lord.”  Soon we will be standing within your gates, O Jerusalem, where the tribes of Israel made regular pilgrimage.  We are taught that all Jews should to go up to Jerusalem and give thanks to the Lord.  The thrones of justice were there, the thrones of the house of David.

We pray for the peace of Jerusalem; may those who love her prosper. Let there be peace within her borders, prosperity within her homes. For the welfare of all, we speak only peace on her behalf.

Psalm 137 (excerpt)

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.*
On the willows we hung our lyres.
There our captors demanded songs of us, that our lyres should play joyful music.
“Sing for us from Zion’s song.”
How can we sing the song of the Lord on alien soil?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither.
May my tongue cleave to my palate if I fail to remember you,
If I fail to elevate Jerusalem above my highest joy.

     * The name Zion is a term used to refer to the land of Israel.

Shehehiyanu (prayer for all types of special occasions):

Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam,
she-he-che-yanu ve-ki-manu, ve-higiyanu lazman hazeh.
Praised are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe,
for granting us life, for sustaining us, and for helping us to reach this day.