Everyone is talking about Artificial Intelligence these days, but most Torah observant Jews – I included – have been AI robots for years. We love Hashem and keep His mitzvos but tend to do it in an “artificially intelligent” way.
Let me give you a perfect example, from something we probably say 1,000 times a year. It’s called Al HaMichyah, and it’s said after we eat some pretzels, have a slice of pizza, munch on a few cookies, or eat one of those delicious doughnuts we really should not have had. The same brachah – with some changes to the text – is said after we eat grapes, olives, dates, or if we drink wine/grape juice. It’s quite common to recite this brachah in one of its various forms three or more times a day! Therefore, by the end of the year, we can easily exceed the 1,000 number I listed above.
Question #1 to my fellow AI Jews: When is the last time you stopped to actually look at the words of Al HaMichyah? You say it all the time – which is wonderful – but do you know what you are saying? Let’s think about this for a minute. The brachah has a total of 79 words, so I would imagine that at least 70 of them thank Hashem for the pizza and doughnuts, no? I mean, that’s why we’re saying it. Doesn’t that sound logical to you?
Actually, only 11 – yes, just 11 of the words have anything to do with food. The rest of the brachah praises Hashem about: the Land of Israel. The brachah has several requests about our role in: the Land of Israel. And – with Cinnabon crumbs still on our faces – we ask Hashem to help us make aliyah to: the Land of Israel.
Question #2: What does Eretz Yisrael have to do with pretzels, cupcakes, and spaghetti? Why ask Hashem to bring us to Yerushalayim when all we really wanted was to thank Him for the Kit-Kat?
Before answering the questions, let me prove that I’m not nuts. Here is an exact translation of Al HaMichyah from the Bentch-like-a-Mentch card, which my daughter, Devash, got for me. After the opening brachah and a few words about our livelihood and sustenance, the brachah continues thanking Hashem “for the desirable, good and broad land, which You willed and gave as an inheritance to our forefathers, to eat from her fruits and to be satisfied from her goodness.” At this point, the brachah switches from thanking Hashem to asking of Him some very important things – none of which have anything to do with pizza or doughnuts: “Have mercy, Hashem our G-d, on Israel Your people, and on Yerushalayim Your city, and on Zion the resting place of Your Glory, and on Your altar and on Your Temple. And build the holy city of Yerushalayim speedily in our days, and bring us up to it, and gladden us with its building…”
Over 80 percent of the brachah we say by auto-pilot asks Hashem to rebuild Yerushalayim and the Beis HaMikdash, and pleads with Hashem to bring us up (Hebrew word is from aliyah) to Israel. Did you ever realize this? Open your eyes: Read, absorb, and comprehend what you are saying. Understand the words and, most importantly, say what you mean – and mean what you say!
The only problem, however, is that I haven’t answered the one-word question of “Why”? Why is this the text after we eat those amazing yellow soup nuts? Thanking Hashem for the good land that He gave us, after indulging with a box of chocolate chip cookies? Pleading to our Father and King that He bring us to Eretz Yisrael after snacking on some Wacky-Mac? Why?
The answer is simple. We need food to stay alive, and we praise Hashem for providing us with that food. Immediately after that, we thank Hashem for giving us something far more important: life itself. And to a Jew, life and the Land of Israel are synonymous. They are meant to be together – at all times! Therefore, as we thank Hashem for our livelihood and sustenance, we also thank Him for giving our fathers Eretz Yisrael. We plead for the Beis HaMikdash because it nourishes our national soul, the same way as food nourishes our bodies. And finally, we ask Hashem to “bring us up” – on aliyah – so that we can end our 2,000-year fast with rejoicing and happiness.
As you can see, Al HaMichyah is more than simply expressing thanks for some pasta. It’s a prayer of yearning for the Land and a deep desire to move there and see it come to life. Think about this, the next time you bite into a brownie. Bon appetite!
Am Yisrael Chai!
Shmuel Sackett was born and raised in Queens. He made aliyah with his wife and children in 1990 and lives in Herzliya Pituach. He is the founder and director of the Am Yisrael Chai Fund (www.AmYisraelChaiFund.org). Shmuel would love to hear from you: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
