Hello, we are nearing the end of the fourth chapter of the book Brit Shalom, which, although it deals with matters of blasphemy that aren't so practical, also led us to a discussion about the honor and gratitude we owe to the Creator. The most appropriate way to thank the Creator is through gratitude for the food. I am reading here in paragraph 18: "The most prized of blessings is the one said over a person's food after a meal, and this is called Birkat HaMazon (the Blessing after Meals)." Birkat HaMazon has a special version for Bnei Noah, which appears in the Brit Olam prayer book.
I just want to remind you that when Abraham our father would receive guests into his tent and give them food, at the end of the meal he would say to them, "Thank the one who gave you the food." They thought he meant to thank him, Abraham. And he would say, "No, thank the Creator."
We need to understand what Abraham's strategy was. It's not that he was enticing people with sweets, but when a person eats, they are in a position where they must acknowledge that their existence is not from themselves. They are in the existential position of a created being. Whoever feels like a created being automatically realizes they have a Creator. So, anyone who refrains from eating, refrains from nourishing themselves, in some way blasphemes against the Creator, because they are saying, "You did not do well in creating Your world." We must be filled with gratitude.
