The feeling of our dependence on the goodness of God must constantly be present to our mind. Whatever we enjoy, be it in the form of eating or drinking, or some pleasing or remarkable sight, an agreeable smell, a festivity on a joyful event, or the performance of a Divine commandment (‏מצוה‎); whatever befall us, whether it be pleasant or unpleasant—all this we consider as sent to us by the Will of the Almighty, and we express our conviction by a suitable berachah. The general rule is thus laid down by our Sages: It is unlawful for man to enjoy anything on earth without previously acknowledging by a berachah that God is the source whence the enjoyment is derived. For different cases different forms of “blessings” have been fixed by our Sages. In some cases the enjoyment is also followed by a prayer of thanksgiving, the most important being the prayer after meals, called ‏ברכת המזון‎ “Benediction for food or Grace.” [161] In the Mishnah it is called “Three Blessings” (‏שלש ברכות‎), because it consisted originally of three paragraphs, each ending with a benediction. The three paragraphs are the following: (1) ‏ברכת הזן‎ (“Benediction commencing ‏הזן‎”), in which we praise God’s providential care of all creatures. (2) ‏הודאה‎ “Thanksgiving,” or ‏ברכת הארץ‎ (Benediction referring to Palestine). In this paragraph we offer thanks for our individual sustenance, as well as for our national gifts: Palestine, the Covenant, and the Law. (3) Prayer for the restoration of Zion and the rebuilding of the Temple (‏בנין ירושלם‎).—Subsequently a fourth paragraph was added (‏הטוב והמטיב‎ “who is good and causes His creatures to be good”) in commemoration of the relief given to the Jews after the close of the war with Hadrian. [162]—On certain occasions, e.g., at a wedding repast, suitable additions are made. Besides these, various supplications have been added in later times. There are various short forms of this ‏ברכת המזון‎; the shortest is that for children, “Blessed be the Merciful, the Giver of this bread.” [163]—When three grown-up male persons or more have their meal together, a special introductory form is used, called ‏זמון‎ “summons to prayer,” one of the company acting as Reader, and the rest forming the congregation. Another form of thanksgiving is the “Abstract of the Three Blessings” (‏מעין שלש‎), consisting of one paragraph which contains the whole of the Grace in a contracted form, and is used after cake, wine, and the like. No restriction is enforced upon us if we desire on our part to give expression to our feeling of gratitude and reverence toward the Almighty in our own words on occasions not provided for in the ancient forms of benedictions and prayers. In order, however, to make a distinction between the forms of obligatory berachoth fixed by our Sages and the optional ones introduced by ourselves, we do not employ the words, “O Lord, our God, King of the Universe,” which are essential in the former. NOTES. 1. On Page 424 sqq.