Birkat Hamazon
Pronunciations
Definitions
n. The blessing after food, referring to the four blessing Grace After Meals said after consuming bread. Referred to in many communities as "bentching," or simply as "birkat" in some Jewish summer camps.
Example Sentences
"We need to pass out bentchers so we can say Birkat Hamazon" [after dinner on Friday night].
Languages of Origin
- Textual Hebrew
Etymology
TH ברכת המזון birkat hamazon 'blessing for the food'
- Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
- North America
- Great Britain
- South Africa
- Australia / New Zealand
- The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
- The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
Who Uses This
Regions
Dictionaries
Alternative Spellings
Birkas Hamazon, Birkas Hamazon, Birkat 'Amazon
Notes
Sometimes shortened to just "Birkat" in liberal Jewish communities and camps as in, "Is your father leading the Birkat at your wedding?" This is not correct in Hebrew because the word birkat is used in the construct (smikhut) state only.
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