“Would you please lead the Bentching?”

“Would you please lead the Bentching?”

A guest who leads Birchas Hamazon (Grace after Meals, colloquially: bentching) bestows a brachah on his ba’al habayis (host) as part of the liturgy. In turn he is granted long life, the blessing returned to the one who blesses others. On the other hand, the Gemara warns—and so it is codified in Shulchan Aruch—a guest who refuses to lead Birchas Hamazon is withholding the brachah from the ba’al habayis and may suffer the opposite of that particular blessing, chas v’shalom (G-d forbid).

If a person has legitimate reason for declining to lead the bentching (for example, he doesn’t like to drink wine) is he exempt from his obligation?

Poskim discuss whether the imperative to lead the bentching is only so a guest does not withhold the brachah from the baal habayis, or if it applies to any person who is turning down the opportunity to perform a chashuve (worthy) mitzvah, represented by the cup of wine. Reasoning on both accounts would exempt a person who is not a guest and is asked to bentch with no wine at hand. There are halachic opinions that cite even one of these conditions as valid exemption.

Another factor that may contribute to permitting refusal— when most participants at the meal are literate, as is prevalent nowadays—is that each individual is bentching on their own, and is not depending on the leader’s recital of the brachos to be yotzei (fulfilling their obligation). Even if the initially appointed leader defers the position, he will still give the baal habayis a brachah in his personal recitation of the bentching.

Some authorities maintain that even absent wine and in an era of increased literacy, there is a special merit for the one leading Birchas Hamazon and, if possible, a person should not refuse an invitation to lead. But if a person has justifiable reason to refuse, he may pass the honor on to another.

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Practical Halacha: One minute a day. By Horav Yosef Yeshaya Braun, shlita, Mara D'asra and member of the Badatz of Crown Heights.