Are You a Merchant?
"You shall eat, be satiated, and bless the L-rd your G-d for the good land He gave you". This verse is the source of the biblical obligation to thank G-d after we eat bread. Based on the word "land" which appears in the verse, the sages derive that to fulfill one's obligation, one must mention the land, as well as the covenant of circumcision and the Torah, in whose merit we receive the land of Israel.
The Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, The founder of the Chabad movement, asked the following questions:
1) If the land of Israel is a requirement for grace after meals, then why are we obligated to say the blessing outside of Israel when we do not benefit from the land?
2) The Torah (Genesis chapter 17) states that G-d made a covenant with Abraham that his descendants would receive the Land of Canaan in return for keeping the covenant of circumcision. How, then, were we exiled from the land, although we do indeed fulfill the covenant of circumcision?
These two questions lead us to the conclusion that even while in the diaspora, we do, in fact, possess the land of Israel. While we may not be in the physical land, we do experience the spiritual gift of Israel, which is why we are obligated to thank G-d not only for our bread but also for the spiritual land we were blessed with.
We can derive the meaning of the spiritual land of Israel from the etymology of its native name: Canaan, which is similar to two seemingly unrelated words: submission (Hach'na'ah) and merchant (see, for example, Hoshea 12:8). The merchant submits an object to the buyer and, in return, receives payment of money.
Spiritually speaking, we are all merchants. Our spiritual calling is to submit our physical possessions and experiences to G-d, thereby transferring them from the "ownership" of the material world to the domain of holiness. As merchants, we receive money in return. The Hebrew word for money, Kesef, which also means silver, is etymologically related to the word for love and yearning (nichsof). The love of G-d which we produce through our effort and meditation, is limited by our understanding and perspective. By contrast, the love we are given from above, as payment for submitting and transferring our physical possessions to the domain of the holy, is boundless. It is a love far more intense than any emotion we can produce by our meditation and effort.
When we bless G-d for the gifts of food and the land, we are also blessing him for our spiritual sustenance and the spiritual land. We are thankful for the opportunity to be the merchants who "earn" the "payment" of boundless love in return for transforming the physical into the spiritual.
(Adapted from Likutei Torah, Eikev)