“You will eat and be satisfied, and bless G-d for the good Land He has given you.”

– Devarim 8:10

This week’s parsha contains the requirement to say Birchas HaMazon, blessing after meals. Birchas HaMazon is made up of four blessings: the first was written by Moshe Rabenu, the second is from Yehoshua, the third is from Dovid HaMelech and Shlomo HaMelech, and the fourth was established by our Sages. Unfortunately, nowadays, some people avoid eating bread because they do not want to have to take the time to say Birchas HaMazon which is so long. But, it is such a beautiful prayer and every time a person recites it, he gets such a beautiful mitzvah! But if people want a shorter version, the Shulchan Aruch in Section 191 brings a time when not only can a person say a shorter Birchas HaMazon, but it is required.

The Shulchan Aruch states that a worker should say a shorter Birchas HaMazon when he is on the job. The worker begins by stating the entire first blessing. Next, he begins the second blessing by reciting the blessing of the Land and includes mentioning the Rebuilding of Yerushaliyim (which is really the third blessing). He then concludes the blessing by mentioning the Land again. He does not say the fourth paragraph at all. The reason for this is because he is working for an employer and is not allowed to take any extra time off from work than is necessary. Before people start following this law, though, I must point out the Shulchan Aruch clearly states nowadays we no longer follow this ruling because employers understand when they hire someone that the employee is to say all four blessings. So if you really want to be able to say a shorter Birchas HaMazon, you will need to go into a time machine and go back a thousand years.

In Mishnayos Demai, chapter 7, mishna 3, it discusses the laws of a worker who works for someone who is required to feed him, but the employee does not trust that the employer properly tithes his food. A quick summary of the mishna without going into too much detail: if the employee is allowed to eat 100 figs, he should only eat 99 of them, and give the last one to a Cohain as a tithe. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel argues and states he should eat all 100 figs and buy one fig extra to give to the Cohain as a tithe. The reason for Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel’s opinion is because a person might perform less work because he eats less than the normal amount. Therefore, the worker should make sure to eat 100 figs, which is the normal amount, because if he eats even 1 less fig, he might work a little less.

The Gemara brings a story of a wise Sage who would not say Sholom Alecheim to anyone when he was working for his employer. The reason was because this would take away from his work.

We see something amazing from these three examples mentioned above: how honest a person needs to be regarding the time he works for his employer. A person should not deny himself even one fig because he might have less energy than normal to be able to work. Also, a person should not take a few seconds to greet another when he is working. Birchas HaMazon, which is a Torah law, is shortened so as not to take away from work.

Nowadays, bosses are much more lenient and will allow their employees to take breaks or to greet a friend or to recite the full Birchas HaMazon (as stated earlier, we are no longer allowed to recite the shortened version). But there is still a lesson we should learn from the examples stated above. Although we can take breaks, we should not abuse them. Most bosses will allow us to call our family or friends (as long as it is not a long distance phone call) and talk for a few minutes. We can call the mechanic or bank to take care of personal business. We are allowed to search the internet to read Divrei Torah or the news. But this does not mean we can spend hours doing this. A person should only take a break for as long as his boss allows him. If the boss states a person gets a 30 minute lunch, he should not take longer, unless the boss allows him. We need to be honest about our time in the office.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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