ואכלת ושבעת וברכת את ה' אלקיך על הארץ הטובה אשר נתן לך וגו' (ח-י)
MASHAL: A man who traveled from town to town collecting tzedakah for a charitable institution would visit the rabbi of each community and present his credentials and documents testifying as to the legitimacy of his institution and its need for support. The local rabbi would then provide an endorsement for him to collect money in the community.
In one city where the rabbi was of a rather new breed, his secretary told the man that the rabbi was available only on Wednesdays between 2 - 4 p.m. Since this was Sunday, the collector would have to wait three days and wouldn’t be able to make any solicitations in the meantime.
When the collector finally met with the rabbi, he said, “In Bentching (Grace after Meals), we express our gratitude to Hashem for nurturing and providing us, ‘always, each day, at any time, at any hour.’ We may ask: once we’ve said ‘always’ what need is there to further specify ‘each day, at any time, and at every hour’? It must be that the Sages who formulated this beracha wished to emphasize that when people are in need, Hashem does not have specified office hours. He is available to them, ‘each day, at any time, and at any hour.’”
NIMSHAL: The second blessing of Bentching (Birchas Ha’aretz) was composed by Yehoshua bin Nun, and in it we thank Hashem for being compassionate and nourishing the Jewish people, both with food and with Torah. It recapitulates Jewish history from the Exodus from Egypt to the conquering of the Land of Canaan. It also mentions that just as Hashem sustained Klal Yisroel in the desert, so too, will He sustain us at all times in the future. We say this blessing many times over; did it ever occur to us that we should do the same for others who need us in difficult times?
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