We are required to recite birkat hamazon, grace after meals, after we eat a k’zayit, the amount of an olive. The Torah teaches, achalta vasavata, uverachta, we should eat and be satisfied, and then we should bless. There are two conditions before the blessing is recited; both eating and satisfaction. So what if I eat an olive’s worth and am not full? Our Rabbis teach, you still say a blessing. The lesson is deep; while we may not feel satisfied, it is up to us to find satisfaction within any moment of being nourished.
The word savata, to be satisfied, is spelled with the same three letters as the word sheva, meaning the number seven. It is no accident that Shabbat is the seventh day, the moment where we search for spiritual satisfaction, with the hope of continuing that feeling in the week ahead.
Thursday evening, Sinai Temple gathered at Banc of California Stadium. With the generosity of LAFC team owners Bennett and Allison Rosenthal, different faith communities were gifted tickets to give to undeserved populations which they serve. Church of The Good Shepherd brought an inner city school, Sinai Temple brought special needs athletes from KEEN, and Mosaic Church brought recently settled refugees. If you could watch their faces as they received their tickets and a food vouchers, I guarantee you too would have recited that blessing. We were truly satisfied, let us bless.
Click HERE to view video footage from the special evening.
