Advice for Preserving Wealth: 8 Points on Birkat Hamazon from a Blessing Booklet

1. It is told that a wealthy man came to Rabbi Shach and gave him a large sum of money for charity. The Rabbi said to him: "As a token of gratitude, I want to give you a segulah that, if you persist in it, will keep wealth in your possession – 'Recite Birkat Hamazon from a prayer book!'" It is said that the wealthy man did not follow this advice, and within a year he lost his fortune.

2. A young married man who experienced several tragedies in his family came before Rabbi Shach and asked what he should take upon himself to sweeten judgments and remove divine anger. Rabbi Shach told him, "Take upon yourself something small, but with unwavering consistency, and that is Birkat Hamazon from a prayer book."

Rabbi Shach explained the reason for this practice through a story about the Brisker Rav, who needed to travel to Switzerland for medical treatment, as the mountain air eased his breathing difficulties.

Following the doctor's instructions, he was required to walk a specific route each morning to improve his lung function. After some time, he returned for a check-up, and the doctor was surprised to see no significant improvement in his lung function.

Upon investigation, it became clear that the Brisker Rav, valuing his time, walked quickly and returned to his studies, so his lungs did not absorb enough of the clear mountain air to recover. The doctor advised him to walk slowly, calmly, and to take a book to read, and after properly resting and breathing fresh air, to return to his residence. The Brisker Rav did so, and his health indeed improved.

Rabbi Shach concluded: "The spiritual air that Birkat Hamazon introduces is supposed to heal a person's entire system, but if you say it hastily without contemplation, you haven't breathed it in properly. Therefore, by blessing from the prayer book, the blessing will be slow and measured, clear and pure, and will have a positive and blessed influence."

3. In the book "Pillar of Fire," it is told that a woman who had lost her children came before Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin and asked for his blessing that she might have viable offspring. Rabbi Diskin responded: "Take upon yourself to recite Birkat Hamazon from a prayer book!" The woman accepted this upon herself and was blessed with viable offspring.

4. It is known that Rabbi Shach would frequently emphasize this, and to many who were not blessed with children, he would advise them to take upon themselves to recite Birkat Hamazon from a prayer book. (Responsa Rivevot Ephraim).

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5. Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky related that in his childhood, when he was staying at the home of the Chazon Ish, one of the household members was reciting Birkat Hamazon, and during the blessing looked toward something specific and made a gesture with his hands as if wanting to say something. After he finished Birkat Hamazon, the Chazon Ish said to him: "I don't understand, during the Shemoneh Esreh prayer, it is customary to close one's eyes and not look at anything, let alone signal to others and the like, while during Birkat Hamazon people are not careful about this. This is a wonder, since the blessings of Shemoneh Esreh are only rabbinic, while Birkat Hamazon is from the Torah, and certainly one should be at least as strict in it as one is in Shemoneh Esreh."

6. The extraordinary memory of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski is well-known; he himself testified that he did not know what forgetfulness was. Rabbi Shach related that as the rabbi of Vilna, Rabbi Chaim Ozer was in charge of the charitable funds in the city, and their detailed accounts were written by him meticulously. Once, when he moved apartments, the book was lost, and the household members were greatly distressed. Seeing their distress, Rabbi Chaim Ozer sat down and wrote the entire book from memory: names, dates, amounts. Eventually, the original book was found and compared with the reconstruction, and everything matched.

Rabbi Shach told this story and concluded: "And yet, Rabbi Chaim Ozer never recited Birkat Hamazon except from a prayer book!"

7. Rabbi Shach was careful to bless from a small blessing booklet that he always kept in his pocket. Once, while sitting in the sukkah, he noticed that the booklet was torn and several lines were blurred, so he got up and went into his house to look for a prayer book. One of those present expressed surprise at the trouble, but Rabbi Shach responded: "A commitment is a commitment."

8. In his final days, when Rabbi Shach, due to his illness, needed to have a feeding tube installed, he wept bitterly. He explained to those who asked that it was difficult for him that from now on he would not be able to bless and thank Hashem with Birkat Hamazon.

In the Sefer HaChinuch it is written: "Anyone who recites Birkat Hamazon with proper intention is guaranteed honorable sustenance all his days." Rabbi Yigal Cohen on the power and meaning of Birkat Hamazon: