Talmud - Berakhot 48b ברכות מ״ח ב׳

dipped with them a small bit of food in brine and ate with them only a single dry fig, he joins them. And to satisfy the obligation of the many, he does not satisfy their obligation until he eats an olive-bulk of grain. Rabbi Ḥana bar Yehuda said in the name of Rava that the halakha is: If one ate a vegetable leaf and drank a cup of wine, he joins the diners. However, to satisfy the obligation of others, he does not satisfy their obligation until he eats an olive-bulk of grain.

With regard to the origins of the four blessings of Grace after Meals, Rav Naḥman said:
Moses instituted for Israel the first blessing of: Who feeds all, when the manna descended for them and they needed to thank God.
Joshua instituted the blessing of the land when they entered Eretz Yisrael.
David and Solomon instituted the third blessing: Who builds Jerusalem, in the following manner:
David instituted “…on Israel Your people and on Jerusalem Your city…” as he conquered the city,
and Solomon instituted “…on the great and Holy Temple…” as he was the one who built the Temple.
They instituted the blessing: Who is good and does good, at Yavne in reference to the slain Jews of the city of Beitar at the culmination of the bar Kokheva rebellion. They were ultimately brought to burial after a period during which Hadrian refused to permit their burial. As Rav Mattana said: On the same day that the slain of Beitar were brought to burial, they instituted the blessing: Who is good and does good, at Yavne. Who is good, thanking God that the corpses did not decompose while awaiting burial, and does good, thanking God that they were ultimately brought to burial.

On the topic of the blessings of Grace after Meals, the Gemara adds that the Sages taught in a baraita that the order of Grace after Meals is as follows: The first blessing is the blessing of: Who feeds all; the second is the blessing of the land; the third is: Who builds Jerusalem; and the fourth is: Who is good and does good. On Shabbat one begins the third blessing with consolation and ends with consolation and mentions the sanctity of the day with mention of Shabbat in the middle. Rabbi Eliezer says: If one wishes to recite the supplement for the sanctity of Shabbat in the blessing of consolation: Who builds Jerusalem, he recites it there; in the blessing of the land, he recites it there; in the blessing instituted by the Sages at Yavne, Who is good and does good, he recites it there. And the Rabbis say: He may only recite the mention of the sanctity of Shabbat in the context of the blessing of consolation.

The Gemara remarks: The opinion of the Rabbis is identical with the opinion of the first tanna. Both opinions hold that the mention of Shabbat is in the third blessing. The Gemara responds: The difference between the opinion of the Rabbis and the opinion of the first tanna is with regard to after the fact. They both agree that ab initio, Shabbat should be mentioned in the third blessing. If, though, one inadvertently mentioned Shabbat in one of the other blessings mentioned by Rabbi Eliezer, the first tanna holds that he fulfilled his obligation and the Rabbis emphasize that it may only be recited in the blessing of consolation.

The Sages taught in a Tosefta: From where is it derived that Grace after Meals is from the Torah? As it is stated: “And you shall eat and be satisfied, and you shall bless the Lord, your God, for the good land that He has given you” (Deuteronomy 8:10). The Gemara explains: And you shall bless, that is the blessing of: Who feeds all. The Lord, your God, that is the zimmun blessing in which God’s name is invoked. For the land, that is the blessing of the land; good, that is the blessing: Who builds Jerusalem, and it also says: “This good mountain and Lebanon” (Deuteronomy 3:25), which is interpreted homiletically as referring to Jerusalem and the Temple. That He gave you, that is: Who is good and does good. However, I only have a Torah source for blessings after eating, i.e., Grace after Meals. From where is it derived that one is obligated to recite blessings before eating? You said that it can be derived through an a fortiori inference: When one is satisfied, he is obligated to recite a blessing and thank God for food; when he is hungry, all the more so that he should recite a blessing to offer thanks for the food he will eat.

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: It is not necessary to interpret the verse this way; rather, it should be understood in a slightly different manner, as follows: “And you shall eat and be satisfied, and you shall bless,” that is the blessing of: Who feeds all; however, the zimmun blessing is derived from the verse: “Praise God with me and we will exalt His name together” (Psalms 34:3). He continues: For the land, that is the blessing of the land. Good, that is the blessing: Who builds Jerusalem, and it also says: This good mountain and Lebanon. They instituted the blessing: Who is good and does good, at Yavne and, as such, it has no biblical source. However, I only have a Torah source for blessings after eating, i.e., Grace after Meals. From where is it derived that one is obligated to recite blessings before eating? The verse states: That he gave you. A blessing must be recited over food from the moment that God gave it to you, not only afterward.

Rabbi Yitzḥak says: That source for the obligation to recite a blessing beforehand is not necessary, as it says: “And He will bless your bread and your water” (Exodus 23:25); do not read: And He will bless [uveirakh], rather: And you will bless [uvareikh]. And when is it called bread? Before it is eaten.

Rabbi Natan says: That source for the obligation to recite a blessing beforehand is not necessary, as it says when the maidens told Saul: “As soon you come into the city, find him right away, before he goes up to the high place to eat; for the people will not eat until he comes, because he will bless the sacrifice; and afterwards all those who are invited will eat; now go, for you shall find him at this time of day” (I Samuel 9:13). A blessing recited prior to eating is explicitly mentioned in that verse.

Tangentially, the Gemara asks: Why did these maidens go on so expansively while speaking to Saul? It is because women are chatterers. And Shmuel said a different reason: They spoke expansively in order to gaze upon Saul’s beauty longer, as it is written about him: “An excellent young man; no one among the Israelites was better than he; he was taller than the people from the shoulders up” (I Samuel 9:2). Rabbi Yoḥanan said that their expansiveness was initiated by God, because one sovereignty does not overlap with its counterpart, even one hairbreadth. Saul’s coronation was delayed so that Samuel’s leadership would not be curtailed.

The baraita with regard to Grace after Meals continues: I only have a Torah source for Grace after Meals. From where is the obligation to recite the blessing of the Torah derived? Several answers are offered: Rabbi Yishmael said: It is derived through an a fortiori inference from Grace after Meals: Over food, which is an aspect of temporal life, one recites a blessing, all the more so one recites a blessing over the Torah, which is eternal life. Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Naḥmani, the student of Rabbi Yishmael, says in the name of Rabbi Yishmael: This a fortiori inference is not necessary, as this halakha can be derived from the same verse from which Grace after Meals is derived, as it states: “For the good land that He gave [natan] you,” and below, with regard to the Torah, it says: “And I will give [ve’etna] you the stone tablets, and the Torah and the mitzva, which I have written, that you may teach them” (Exodus 24:12). Here, just as giving with regard to the good land requires a blessing, giving with regard to the Torah requires a blessing.

Concerning this verse, Rabbi Meir says: From where is it derived that just as one recites a blessing over the good that befalls him he recites a blessing over the bad? The verse states: “That the Lord, your God gave you.” “Your God” is a reference to the attribute of divine justice; your Judge, in whatever judgment that He judges you, whether it is a positive measure of goodness or a measure of calamity.

Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira says: Proof for a blessing over the Torah from a different verse is not necessary, as it says: “For the good [hatova] land.” Two different matters are derived from different aspects of the word hatova: Tova, that is Torah, as it says: “For I have given you good [tov] teachings, do not forsake My Torah” (Proverbs 4:2); hatova, that is the building of Jerusalem, as it says: “This good mountain [hatov] and Lebanon.”

With regard to the formula of Grace after Meals, the Gemara continues: It was taught in a baraita: Rabbi Eliezer says: Anyone who did not say: A desirable, good, and spacious land in the blessing of the land, and who did not mention the royal house of David in the blessing: Who builds Jerusalem, did not fulfill his obligation. Naḥum the Elder says: One must mention the covenant of circumcision in the blessing of the land. Rabbi Yosei says: One must mention the Torah in the blessing of the land. Pelimu, one of the last tanna’im, says: He must make mention of the covenant of circumcision preceding mention of the Torah, as this, the Torah, was given to the Jewish people with three covenants,

Traduction : The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz.

Berachot 48b explores the minimum food quantity needed to join a Grace after Meals group and traces the historical origins of its four blessings.