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Thought for the Day: The Question Is -- How Can You *Not* Make Brachos!?

Among the first words we teach our children are "please" and "thank you".  Usually by the time they are three we are no longer honoring requests that are not preceded by "please"; and "thank you" is expected upon delivery.

The Pele Yoeitz, in his chapter on eating and drinking, spends significant time on that idea.  First of all, he notes, it's common decency to say please and thank you.  Automatically, then, it should just be common decency to say a bracha.  At this point -- and please don't take this the wrong way -- he begins to sound like something from the home shopping network.  When you eat or drink something, you have just received the most incredible gift; quite literally life saving.  Of course you are going to want to say please and thank you.

But there's more!  You get extra credit -- i.e., a mitzvah -- for exercising that normal, decent behavior.

But there's more!  The Creator of the world lets you use His holy and ineffable name when expressing that normal, decent behavior.

But there's more!  The Creator of the world -- the Holy One, Blessed be He -- puts Himself right there (so to speak) in order for you to address Him in second person.

But there's more!  Express that normal, decent behavior aloud so that others learn from you and now you get credit for even their normal, decent behavior.

Wow!  How life changing is that?  I'll give you an example of how powerful that is.  I was preparing a Shabbos party snack for my granddaughter.  Normal stuff -- cookie, potato chips, candy.  She didn't touch it.  Why not, I wondered?  "Zeidy... what is the bracha on this and that?  I want to make my brachos in order."  The fact that a seven year old -- precocious as she may be -- knows so clearly that this is normal, decent behavior that she won't even touch her food till she gets it right.

Talk about life changing...
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