Birkat Hamazon

Alternative Spellings

Birkas Hamazon, Bircat Hamazon

Definitions

• The blessing after food, referring to the four blessing Grace After Meals said after consuming bread. Referred to in many communities as "bentching."

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

ברכת המזון

Who Uses This

Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
Camp: Jews who attend or work at a Jewish overnight summer camp

Regions

North America

Dictionaries

The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).

Notes

Sometimes shortened to just "Birkat" in liberal Jewish communities 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.