Benediction recited over Bread, a practice traditionally instituted by the Men of the Great Assembly. In Hebrew, this blessing is popularly known as Ha-Motsi since the text reads: "Blessed are You, O Lord ... who brings forth [ha-motsi] bread from the earth." Based on Psalms 104:14, the exact wording was fixed by the sages (Ber. 6:1, 38a). Pronouncing this benediction accords with the rabbinic view that "it is forbidden and sacrilegious for anyone to enjoy [the good things] of this world without a blessing" (Ber. 35a), and that failure to recite a benediction over food is tantamount to "defrauding the Almighty" (Tosef. Ber. 4.:1). After the performance of Ablutions (mayim rishonim) through washing and drying the hands, Ha-Motsi is recited over bread made from any of the Five Species of grain indigenous to the Land of Israel. On weekdays, it is preferable to use a whole loaf; on Sabbaths, after Kiddush, Grace is said over two special Sabbath loaves (ḥallot, see ḤALLAH); on festivals, only one ḥallah is mandatory (except when the festival coincides with the Sabbath). The same blessing is recited over unleavened bread (
When several people join together in a meal, the householder or oldest male present recites the Grace and then distributes portions of the loaf to everyone else. In non-Orthodox circles, this function may be performed by a woman. The act of saying Grace before a meal automatically exempts one from having to recite any other benedictions during the meal, apart from the statutory blessings over
