Blessing question (food)

[1+1=5]

Hi all,

My goal is to not eat anything without saying the appropriate blessing for it. I am learning them all.

At home, it's easy. However, this may be silly, but what do you do at work? I bring my lunch, as everything the drug reps bring in or that's in the cafeteria is off limits for me. So, do I say the blessing in my office, and then go out to the lunchroom to eat? Or do you say it quietly to yourself before you eat? It needs to be said out loud, correct? And then you say the blessing after food also. Again, how is this best done?

Thank you.

[theflipflop]

You should say the bracha while you are holding the food you are saying the blessing over. There should be no interruption between the bracha and eating the food. It's perfectly ok to say the bracha only loud enough that you yourself can hear, but a person sitting next to you cannot hear you. As long as the volume is on .5 (out of 10), you're all set. Same thing with bentching or any after bracha you say.

By the way, it is very meritorious for a Jew to undertake saying the proper brachas before and after every food they eat. Well done! The meforshim say that the food we eat belongs to Hashem, and by saying the bracha, we are recognizing who the food belongs to. Should a Jew eat food without saying the proper bracha before eating it, the sages tell us it's as if that Jew is stealing the food from Hashem.

Saying a bracha is a mitzvah. One should say a minimum of 100 brachas a day. It's nearly impossible to hit that number without blessing the food you eat.

[JB from NC]

I say just loud enough for it sound like a murmur to the guy sitting next to me. I can hear it, but he barely can (similar to when saying the Amidah silently). They've gotten used to me pulling out my siddur after I eat by now anyway.

[1+1=5]

Thank you both. Appreciate the information. It's tough knowing what to say when, but this is an ongoing process and very worthwhile.