Bircat HaMotzi

Students Explain the HaMotzi Customs

Students Explain the HaMotzi Customs

This short, humorous video, created by students at Makor of Hebrew College, describes several customs pertaining to the HaMotzi ritual performed

Why We Dip the Bread in Salt During the HaMotzi Ritual

Why We Dip the Bread in Salt During the HaMotzi Ritual

This responsum from Chabad.org discusses the origins of dipping bread into salt before eating it as part of the HaMotzi ritual. Rabbi Yehuda

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: How To Make Hamotzi

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: How To Make Hamotzi

This short video from Former Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks demonstrates how to perform the blessing over the bread on Shabbat according to Orthodox

Rabbi Yechial Eckstein: The Spiritual Significance of Challah

Rabbi Yechial Eckstein: The Spiritual Significance of Challah

In this clear video, Rabbi Yechial Eckstein describes the spiritual meaning of challah and how it differs from regular bread. Rabbi Eckstein

Friday Night & Beyond: Insights on HaMotzi

Friday Night & Beyond: Insights on HaMotzi

This thorough excerpt from “Friday Night and Beyond” by Lori Palatnik includes spiritual explanations for many of the customs surrounding the HaMotzi ritual

Rav Kook on HaMotzi: For All Times

Rav Kook on HaMotzi: For All Times

This excerpt from “Gold from the Land of Israel” by Rabbi Chanan Morrison is a textual analysis of the word “HaMotzi” as

Why We Cover the Bread During HaMotzi

Why We Cover the Bread During HaMotzi

This article from Chabad.org provides biblical, Talmudic and halachic reasons for the custom of covering the challah before and during the HaMotzi blessing. In

HaMotzi: The Primordial Past & The Messianic Future

HaMotzi: The Primordial Past & The Messianic Future

This excerpt from “The Way Into Jewish Prayer (Jewish Lights)” by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman explores how the words of the blessing over

Chabad: Origins, Laws and Customs of the Two Loaves

Chabad: Origins, Laws and Customs of the Two Loaves

This thorough article, written by Rabbi Aryeh Citron of Chabad.org, discusses both the meaning behind the two loaves used for the blessing

Reform: Explaining the HaMotzi Ritual

Reform: Explaining the HaMotzi Ritual

The following excerpt from “Shabbat Customs,” published by ReformJudaism.org, describes the various customs pertaining to the blessing over the bread on