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Monday, June 20, 2016
Novarodok
This is less bizarre than it would appear, because the dinner is dedicated as a memorial tribute to my parents, זכרונם לברכה, and because I'm sponsoring a section of the new construction, and because my mechuton is the Rosh Yeshiva, and because my son in law is a Rosh Yeshiva there as well.
This is going to take place at Yad Yosef Torah Center, 1036 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, New York, at 6:30 pm.
I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the dinner is sold out. Still, you're welcome to drop by and say hello.
Postscript: I survived the dinner, and it was beautiful and well attended. Excellent Divrei Torah were said, and I had the pleasure of meeting many old friends and acquaintances, most of whom are now ראשי ישיבה. In fact, I met Rav Simcha Soloveichik after not having seen him for many, many years, and he told me a phenomenal Gaon that goes perfectly with the vort I posted on Behaaloscha on hadarta/yareisa. I have updated the post to include the Gaon.
Friday, June 3, 2016
Bechukosai, Vayikra 26:33-34. Shemitah and Galus
The way the Perashas Derachim's uses the Rashba to explain the Chazal about
And this is why the Mishna is Avos (5:9) says
Please note that the Prashas Drachim is not merely an application of the Ramban. The Ramban says applies his idea to all the mitzvos in the Torah, that we were given the land only if and when we keep the mitzvos in general. The Mishna Le'Melech is saying that it is specific to Shemittah and Shabbos.
I think this is true in many other cases as well. The onesh for bittul mitzva only applies where there was a tzivui, and there's no tzivui in cases of oneis. But to earn the schar, the positive effect of a mitzvah, oneis is not like you did it. You want the kedusha of Shabbos? You want the effect of Tekias Shofar? You can be the biggest oneis in the world, if you don't do it, you won't get it.
Note: The Prashas Drachim puts Shemitah and Shabbos/Yomtov together.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
רפואת הנפש ורפואת הגוף
UPDATE:
We all instinctively feel that the the nusach reflects some kind of relationship between the two kinds of illness, but it's hard to nail down exactly what that relationship is.
Avrohom (no last name) brought in the Ramban about Ani Hashem rof'echa, and I rejected the comparison, because the Ramban is just saying that if you are a tzadik gamur, Hashem will do nissim and keep you healthy. Abbie Jakubovic referred to the Rambam, who in several places deals with Choli HaNefesh as an illness that needs refuah no less than physical illness. I initially did not believe that the Rambam was relevant.
But then Michael (no last name) sent us to the Maharsha in Shabbos 67a, and the Maharsha is exactly what we were looking for. The Maharsha also brings Abbie's Rambam, and develops it beyond what I saw in the Rambam's words. I also am starting to wonder if Avrohom's Ramban is indeed relating spirituality and physical ailments, beyond a general l'maalah miderech hateva.
Yasher kochachem. Very satisfying to have a Maharsha that is clear and exactly on point! (I'm still not sure whether the Maharsha is only bringing the Rambam as a starting point, or he held that the Rambam had the Maharsha's approach in mind as well, but that does not really matter.)
The Maharsha, verbatim, has been added toward the end of this post.
-We just received two excellent remarks from Refoel NJ (no last name) which have also been added at the end of the post, after the Maharsha.
All in all, the explanations are so good that I'm beginning to wonder why the standard nusach of Refa'einu in Shmoneh Esrei does not use this expression.
1. From my father-in-law shlitah, Harav Reuven Feinstein:
Basically, he said that refuah is refuah, and just like in Havdala we mention all kinds of havdala, and in Birkas HaMazon we thank Hashem for everything besides the food we ate, so, too, when we ask the Ribono shel Olam for one kind of refuah, we should ask for a bracha for all kinds of refuah.
In more detail- In Megilla 17 it brings Yeshaya 6:10
2. I said that in Nedarim 40a it brings from Tehillim 41
3. My son, Harav Mordechai Eisenberg, said that when we are mispallel for a choleh, we ask for him as one among all the cholei yisrael. There are, unfortunately, both cholei hanefesh and cholei haguf in that group, and when we are mispallel for refuah for cholim, they are all the same, they all need the same rachmei Hashem for a refuah shleimah. So we use a nusach that is appropriate for all of the cholim. This is similar to #1, from his grandfather.
4. My nephew, Harav Geilan Grant, directs our attention to the Magen Avraham. The Magen Avraham in 6:4, and see the Machatzis Hashekel there, brings from the Kisvei haAri zal that every food comprises gashmiyus and ruchniyus, the combination being vital to the sustenance of the human being, who similarly embodies both elements. If so, we can say that every physical affliction involves a similar infirmity in the corresponding spiritual aspect, and we ask for a refuah sheleima that cures both.
This is not limited to the Gemora in Shabbos 55 that suffering is proof of of עוון, because even יסורים של אהבה, I think, would qualify as refuah hanefesh. Otherwise, it would be inappropriate impute sin to your friend. Also, I don't think it's appropriate to approach the Ribono shel Olam to say that your friend is a sinner but please forgive him.
As with anything from the Arizal, I am ignorant of all beyond the literal meaning of what I see brought down.
5. Several friends, including R' Duddy Maler and Rav Yitzchak Resnick.
There is no wall between the physical and the mental/spiritual. When a man suffers physically, his "nefesh" suffers as well, and that can involve spiritual and emotional affliction. Sometimes, the secondary problem lingers long after the primary problem has ended. Additionally, spiritual and emotional intervention can be enormously therapeutic- music, visits of a sympathetic friend, even something as trivial as petting an animal. A refuas hanefesh can be the key to refuas haguf.
Please see below for updates.
6. THE MAHARSHA. (Yasher koach to Michael (no last name))
Abaya in Shabbos on 67a prescribes a cure for a certain fever that involves doing things and saying some pesukim, pesukim whose connotation can mean a diminishment of heat. The Maharsha says the following:
7. RNJ's answer.
First, RNJ criticized our use of the Maharsha, because it doesn't make sense for Reuven to be mispallel that Shimon's middos should improve. I responded, based on a different Maharsha by the story of Reb Meir in Brachos on 10a, that tefillos for the improvement of another person are not impossible. One can hope that he finds better friends, or experiences something that will inspire him.
Second, RNJ suggested the following.
The yesod here is that everything that happens to a person is for the good. Thus, if Hashem brings illness upon a person, this too is for his benefit. Since the illness does not bring him any physical benefit, it must be that there is a spiritual benefit i.e. the physical illness itself brings about a spiritual elevation, or "refuah" for the person's soul. (You can understand this in a number of ways, such as in terms of suffering that atones for sins, or in terms of developing positive middos like humility, etc, or in terms of the person suddenly feeling his vulnerability and needing to strengthen and deepen his connection to Hashem, etc etc) In recognition of this belief, when we daven to Hashem to heal the person's illness, we don't want to make it sound as if we are accusing Hashem of doing bad to the person by making him ill. Therefore, we incorporate into our tefillos the acknowledgement of the above-mentioned "refuas hanefesh", but we ask Hashem to change His plan so that the "refuas hanefesh" can be combined also with a refuas haguf as well. Thus the phrase "refuas hanefesh u'refuas haguf".I like his teretz, and I would only change his sentence " In recognition of this belief, when we daven to Hashem to heal the person's illness, we don't want to make it sound as if we are accusing Hashem of doing bad to the person by making him ill." I would modify that by including the idea of the tefilla we say on Yom Kippur ומה שחטאתי מרק ברחמיך הרבים אבל לא על ידי יסורים וחליים רעים. Yes, suffering heals the soul by being memareik sins. We recognize that the illness was sent with a purpose, to improve the sufferer's ruchniyus. We are asking that the improvement, the necessary refu'as hanefesh, should be achieved without excessive suffering- that it should be with rachamim, not through יסורים וחליים רעים.
Update 2020.
I've read several articles since writing this. What I've read reinforces the idea that the nefesh is central in healing. One was an article on Reiki in The Atlantic. Obviously Reiki is not a scientific method and is associated with foreign spiritual beliefs. But among the practitioners are individuals with estimable educations and careers in scientific medicine. The point they made was that the placebo affect is not evidence that the illness was never physical but instead points to the ability of the body to heal itself.
The ailments that Reiki seems to treat most effectively are those that orthodox medicine struggles to manage: pain, anxiety, chronic disease, and the fear or discomfort of facing not only the suffering of illness but also the suffering of treatment. “What conventional medicine is excellent at is acute care. We can fix broken bones, we can unclog arteries, we can help somebody survive a significant trauma, and there are medicines for all sorts of symptoms,” Yufang Lin, an integrative-medicine specialist at Cleveland Clinic, told me. But medicine, she said, is less successful at recognizing the way that emotion, trauma, and subjective experience can drive physical health—and the way that they can affect recovery from acute medical care.
Lifesaving surgery is miraculous but requires drugging the body, cutting it open, altering it, stitching it back together, and then asking it to heal. Chemotherapy causes the body to fall to pieces; it can damage the brain, wreck internal organs, and destroy nerve endings, sometimes permanently. Medicine is necessary, but it can also be brutal. Lin, like several of the physicians I spoke with, emphasized that healing is something that happens within the body, enabled rather than imposed by medicine. When we are traumatized, survival is the priority and our healing mechanisms are on lockdown, Miles observed. “We have to pull out of that stress state and get into a parasympathetic-dominant state before the body is able to self-heal and actively partner with conventional medicine.”
Along the same lines is something called Resignation Syndrome, or traumatic withdrawal syndrome, in which refugee children lose the will to live and slip into essentially a catatonic state. This is rare and tends to concentrate in geographic locations, indicating an element of intent or hysteria. But a more common phenomenon is "Psychogenic Death," a loss of the will to live that leads to physical deterioration and death. It is also called "Give-Up-Itis." This was the subject of research by Dr. John Leach in 2018.
Another example, from Dr. Simon Galperin, a Neurologist:
Human beings have more control over our physiological functioning that is generally believed. Our thoughts and attitudes have a strong effect on the health of our bodies. For example, it is well known that a strong sense of purpose has a powerful positive effect on physical health. The psychologist Viktor Frankl was convinced - based on his experiences in concentration camps during the Second World War - that a strong sense of purpose could keep people alive, and that the loss of purpose could lead to illness and death. Frankl believed that a “loss of hope” could lead to a person "giving up" and allowing themselves to die. So a person’s intention and will can certainly help to determine their survival or death. Frankl was convinced that a “loss of hope” could lead to depression and possibly even to death. There are many cases of people who are seriously ill, in the process of dying, who keep themselves alive in order to experience specific events - such as the marriage of a daughter, a final Christmas or a birthday. Once the event has passed, the person “allows’ themselves to die.
The point is that a person can lose the desire to live and this will make his death more likely, while another's will to live might extend his life.
Late last year, in a small, windowless microscope room, she pulled out slides from a thin black box, one by one. On them were slices of hearts, no bigger than pumpkin seeds, from mice that had experienced heart attacks. Under a microscope, some of the samples were clearly marred by scars left in the aftermath of the infarction. Others showed mere speckles of damage visible among streaks of healthy, red-stained cells.
The difference in the hearts’ appearance originated in the brain, Haykin explains. The healthier-looking samples came from mice that had received stimulation of a brain area involved in positive emotion and motivation. Those marked with scars were from unstimulated mice.
“In the beginning we were sure that it was too good to be true,” Haykin says. It was only after repeating the experiment several times, she adds, that she was able to accept that the effect she was seeing was real.
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Does he need a new Bris Milah? Does She?
If the transplanted organ has an orlah, is he obligated to make a bris? And if it is already mahul, but from a gentile, would it need hatafah? If it is done on a woman, is she now chayeves in milah?
Just Rashei Perakim, (a particularly appropriate expression.)
I think the answer to the first question is yes, even midoraysa, and to the second, no. I base this on the dual aspects of the mitzva of milah, the maaseh milah and the obligation to not be an areil. (This can be restated as a gavra/cheftza issue. The most famous source for the idea that there is a separate mitzva to "not be an areil" is the Maharach Ohr Zarua 11, bringing a raya from the story with Dovid Hamelech in the bath house, Menachos 43a.) As for the third question, I believe it is not as absurd as it sounds, but the answer would be no for two reasons. First, because there is a befeirisheh miyut (Kiddushin 29a) for women (especially the way it is learned by the Ramban and Ritva there,) and I don't believe that a transplant changes the halachic gender. Additionally, because it's only an orlah when it is where it would naturally grow. An orlah on her ear would not have a din orlah, and this is essentially the same.
I think it is obvious that the sugya of ילדה שסיבכה בזקנה in Nedarim 57b and Sotah 43b (branch from a young tree, with Orlah fruit on it, that is grafted to an old tree,) and the Rambam's (MS&NR 10:10) Yerushalmi (fruit-tree-species branch grafted onto a non-fruit-bearing tree,) are, despite the coincidental homonym, utterly irrelevant both regarding the "Orlah" issue and even as far as the issue of a transplant being subsumed into the host. This is sufficiently self evident that I feel no need to discuss the Gemara in Shabbos 108
If you are not convinced, please follow this link.
One should also be aware of what it says in Sefer Shmiras Haguf Ve'hanefesh from the Chelkas Yakov Chelek 2 siman 40 regarding blood transfusions, vehameivin yavin.
Thank you, Reb Shmuel Weldler and Reb Harry (Asher Hanzel) Friedman, for accosting me with these questions Shabbos morning.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Emor, Vayikra 12:36. A Minhag Not to Work During Sefira
The Tur in 493 brings from Rabbeinu Yerucham from Rav Haii Gaon the minhag to refrain from work during the Sefira period beginning at Shkia and ending at Shachris. He says the reason is that the talmidim of R Akiva died before Shkia, people took care of the burial after that, and they were too busy to do their normal work. He then says that ונהגו הנשים שלא לעשות מלאכה משתשקע החמה. He goes on to offer another reason- because regarding Sefiras Ha'Omer the Torah says שבע שבתות תמימות תהיינה , and the word שבתות relates to שבות, Shvus, to be at rest. Here's the Tur.
What, you ask, does this have to do with our Parsha? Two things.
First, there's an interesting Mor UKtziah, who gives an additional reason for the minhag. He relates it to the Ramban in our Parshas who calls the days between Pesach and Shavuos "chol hamo'ed." והימים הספורים בינתים כחולו של מועד בין הראשון והשמיני בחג והוא יום מתן תורה So if it's chol hamo'eid, it makes sense to mark it with some degree of abeyance.
Although the the Mor uKetzi'ah offers some basis for why the Geonim said it was a minhag among women (it's harvest season and men can't sacrifice the time, or it's a time when only the women are doing serious work of sewing and the such,) the Tur certainly didn't know the Mor uKetziah's svara, so it's a mystery why he says women in the second mention. He says women, and it's lav davka?? What is this, gender neutral style??? (And even the RYE's first pshat, he says, would mean that davka men and not women ought to have the minhag. Furthermore, Rav Yosef Molko, Salonika early 1700s, in his Shulchan Gavo'ah, says that by him, no men had the minhag, but women did.)
My speculation was simply that even after the minhag had disappeared among men the fact was that there were still some women that kept the minhag, which would not be surprising. As the Aruch HaShulchan says, דהמנהג היה לכל מפני שהתלמידים מתו לאחר השקיעה, אלא שלא קבלו עליהם מנהג זה רק הנשים
But I later realized that there could be a better explanation.
In light of Reb Moshe's words, it's interesting to see that the Nehar Shalom (Rav Shabsai Ventura, 1750,) writes, regarding the words נהגו הנשים, why not men,
אפשר דכיון דגברי הא עבדי אבילות במה שאין מסתפרי׳ לא החמירו נמי בהא דמלאכה
And that brings us to the second coincidental connection between this minhag and our parsha.
The connection of the minhag to the special relationship of women and death precedes the Nehar Shalom by five hundred years, to the time of the Rishonim- albeit with a different slant. While the Nehar Shalom sees it as a chumra for mournful expiation, the Shibalei HaLeket explains that the minhag commemorates and congratulates the dedicated women of that generation who took upon themselves to honor and bury the dead. True, that alacrity stems from their desire to expiate their role in bringing death to the world, but in the end, that self-sacrificial dedication deserves recognition and reward, and the purpose of the minhag is to laud them and to show our gratitude for what they did.
(3. And tangentially, we see in the Nehar Shalom that in his time, women cut their hair during Sefira, as Reb Moshe says.)
Just for shleimus, at the end the Nehar Shalom does say
Friday, May 13, 2016
Kedoshim, Vayikra 19:2. Kedusha and Community
He... points out that the commandment to Moshe to speak el kol adath beney Yisrael indicates that this is not something that applies only on the individual level -- for each person to act in a way that brings him/her to kedusha . It also applies to the behavior of the whole nation, that it should be one of kedusha as a whole.
I noticed today that the penultimate pasuk of the parsha reinforces that reading. It says, 20: 26:
והייתם לי קדשים כי קדוש אני ה' ואבדל אתכם מן העמים להיות ליThis is a clear reference to the status of the nation as a whole, one that is distinct among other nations.
But most importantly, even what you do in private directly affects the madreiga of kedusha of others. Even when nobody sees what you do in private, the passuk is telling you that your behavior in matters of kedusha, even b'chadrei chadorim, directly influences the madreiga of kedusha of Klal Yisrael as a whole.
In other words, there is a baseline of Kedusha in Klal Yisrael. Moving away from the baseline requires some energy, some effort. That baseline is set by the behavior of the individuals that comprise the tzibur. It doesn't matter whether that behavior if public of private. The metziyus of the baseline of kedusha is based on that behavior.
It is important to explain how this pshat is shown in Rashi's words. Rashi says
Let me give you an example. The Gemara ([Erchin 16a] teaches that there are two forbidden actions, for which kapara is not achieved by means of korbanos- kapara can be achieved by other means. These are retzicha and lashon hara.
The Gemara takes 'ואתה תבער הדם הנקי מקרבך כי תעשה הישר בעיני ה to mean that by performing the procedure of Eglah Arufah one is “doing what is upright in the eyes of G-d” and thereby you will atone for the sin of retzicha.
This is reminscent of something said in the name of Rav Yisroel Salanter: “When Lashon Hara is spoken in Vilna, the consequence is Chillul Shabbos in Paris”. Vilna was the “Jerusalem of Lithuania” and Lithuania was the “Land of Israel of Europe”. Vilna had a reputation for being the home of great scholars and Torah leaders. Obviously people there maintained a high level of observance. What were their sins? They lapsed into the virtually unavoidable sin of talking improperly about their neighbors. But spiritual laxity of any sort in Vilna had a “snowball effect” throughout the Jewish world. Therefore, in a city like Paris (which was already then known for looser behavior) the consequence will be sins of much greater magnitude such as Sabbath desecration.
This is exactly how Ibn Ezra interprets that pasuk in Shoftim: “If you want to ensure that there will be no innocent blood spilled in your land, then you must elevate society by doing even the “regular” commands such as escorting one’s guests, acts of kindness, and fulfilling that which is upright in the eyes of G-d.”
Some mitzvos and aveiros, I think, have this effect whether or not others are aware of them. Doing them has the power to elevate or diminish Klal Yisrael's level of Kedusha.
I wonder about the United States, especially in light of the White House directive that gives unimpeded entree to public bathrooms to sexually deranged individuals. When the most fundamental, elementary, ideas of tzniyus are under attack, what does that do to our darga of Kedusha?
UPDATE:
I just saw something posted by the Chaver whose wife is the Eishes Chaver whose words I began this with, and it's so apt and good that I'm just pasting it in here (with insertions of quoted sources.) I was a little worried that the pshat we said in Rashi was speculative, but with his Rashi and the others he brings, it's well supported.
The Torah (in Parshas Kedoshim) writes that Hashem will punish the person who worships Molech “l’ma’an tamei es mikdashi u’lchalel es shem kodshi.” (20:3) There is an obvious difficulty: the person might be miles and miles away from the makom mikdash when he is worshiping Molech. How does his actions cause the mikdash to become tamei? Rashi answers that “mikdash” in this context doesn't mean the “beis hamikdash,” but rather means “knesses Yisrael.” We, the nation, become defiled when even one individual does wrong.
Rashi
Ramban brings proof for Rashi from a famous Gemara in Brachos that most people know, but probably read a little differently than Ramban. Chazal tell us that someone who eats food without making a bracha is a thief, as he/she has stolen from Hashem and from Knesses Yisrael. If you’re like me, you probably understood the gemara to mean that what the thief stole is the food. Not so says Ramban. [Does the food belong to the collective community of Knesses Yisrael?] What the thief stole is the presence of the Shechina from Klal Yisrael. Hashem wants us to say brachos – that helps sustain the world and brings us close to Him. If you don’t say a bracha, you have robbed Klal Yisrael of hashra’as haShechina. So too, explains Ramban, someone who worships Molech drives Hashem’s presence away, and therefore harms the community as a whole.
Ramban:
למען טמא את מקדשי לשון רש"י את כנסת ישראל שהיא מקודשת לי וכבר רמזתי זה (לעיל יח כא) איך תטמא כנסת ישראל שהיא מקודשת לשמו הגדול באיש אחד אשר יחטא וכבר רמזו זה במדרשם שאמרו (ברכות לה) כל הנהנה מן העולם הזה בלא ברכה כאילו גזל להקב"ה וכנסת ישראל שנאמר (משלי כח כד) גוזל אביו ואמו וגו' אין אביו אלא הקב"ה ואין אמו אלא כנסת ישראל חבר הוא לאיש משחית חבר הוא לירבעם בן נבט שהחטיא את ישראל לאביהם שבשמים כי החפץ ביצירה שיברכו עליה לשמו הגדול משם יהיה קיום העולם ואם לאו יתעלה בשמו הגדול ומסתלקת השכינה מישראל וכל שכן כשיקריב הפרי למולך שהוא מתעב את גאון יעקב ומשכנו וזה טעם עם הארץ ירגמוהו באבן (פסוק ב) כי לא אמר מות יומת באבן ירגמו אותו כאשר אמר בכולן אלא הזכיר עם הארץ לומר שכל אנשי הארץ כל ישראל חייבין להקדים ולסקלו כי לכולם יזיק כי גורם לשכינה שתסתלק מישראל לכך תרגם אונקלוס עמא בית ישראל כי "הארץ" ירמוז לכל ארץ ישראל לא לארץ אשר העובד יושב בה וכענין כי לי הארץ (להלן כה כג) ועוד תוכל להבין סודו ממה שהזכיר הכתוב בכרת המולך ואני אתן את פני באיש ההוא (כאן) וכן ושמתי אני את פני (פסוק ה) כי שמי הגדול והנורא יכרית אותו ולא הזכיר בכרת אוב וידעוני מלת "אני" ולא בשום כרת אחר וכבר הודעתי טעם זה לכל מבין
When the Ramban said
וכבר רמזתי זה (לעיל יח כא) איך תטמא כנסת ישראל שהיא מקודשת לשמו הגדול באיש אחד אשר יחטאhe was referring to what he said in 18:21
והנה הזכיר הכתוב כי העברת הזרע למולך הוא חלול השם ובפרשה האחרת (להלן כ ג) מוסיף למען טמא את מקדשי ולחלל את שם קדשי ואולי טעמו למען טמא את העם המקודש לשמי שצויתי (לעיל יא מד) והתקדשתם והייתם קדושים כי קדוש אני ה' מקדשכם (להלן כא ח) ולחלל את שם קדשי בעברם על העבירה החמורה לפני כי כן יאמר בעבירות החמורות ואיש ואביו ילכו אל הנערה למען חלל את שם קדשי (עמוס ב ז)......
ועל דרך האמת ישראל זרע הקודש נולדים בבית ה' וזה טעם "אשר ילדו לי" והנה המקריב אותו למולך מטמא מקדשו ומחלל שמו הגדול כלשון ולא יחלל זרעו בעמיו (להלן כא טו) ולכך אמר בו ואני אתן את פני באיש ההוא (שם כ ג) ושמתי אני את פני באיש ההוא (שם פסוק ה) והמשכיל יבין
Rashi agrees with Ramban that it’s not the food we are robbing by not saying a bracha, but he gives in two words a different explanation of what is being stolen. What you are stealing, says Rashi (Brachos 35b) is “es birchaso.” You owe Hashem a bracha and you stole it away from him! Sometimes you can be a thief even if you don’t owe any money – you can owe a thank you as well, and be a thief for not giving it. I don't think this new definition of gezel only applies bein adam laMakom. You can steal the thank you you owe your spouse, the bracha of mazal tov you owe your friend, the good morning you owe your neighbor. My daughter did some math problem well and she complained to me that I didn’t tell her “good job.” Es chata’ai ani mazkor – I was a gazlan! I stole the praise I owed her. We have to be careful to pay not just our monetary debts, but also the debt of words of praise we owe to Hashem and others.
Maharal in Gur Aryeh on this pasuk disagrees with the Rishonim and learns the gemara k'peshuto that it is in fact the food which you are stealing. Everything in the world is like hekdesh – “l'Hashem ha’aretz u’melo’ah.” The way we release the food from the ba’alus of hekdesh is to transform Hashem from owner to giver, and the way to do that is by saying a bracha. When we describe Hashem as “Baruch…” what we are saying is that Hashem overflows with generosity and gives to us. We are no longing stealing -- we are accepting a gift.
Maharal in Nesiv ha’Avodah (ch 14) says yet another hesber of how a bracha removes the status of hekdesh. The way something normally is removed from the domain of hekdesh is through pidyon – substituting something else of value in its place. Bracha, explains the Maharal, works through the same mechanism. When you recite a bracha on that delicious food that is hekdesh, you are giving hekdesh a valuable substitute in its place -- yourself. You become the thing that is holy in place of the food, and therefore the food can be eaten.
First Maharal, in Gur Aryeh
אבל יש עיון בדבר איך הברכה מוציא הפרי לחולין. והנה יש לך לדעת כי כל קדושה היא יוצאת לחולין על ידי פדית, וזה כי כאשר נותן דמיו תחתיו הנה על דמיו חל הקדושה, כי אין הקדושה אל הפרי מצד עצם הפרי שהפרי מצד עצמו הוא חולין רק מצד שחל שם קדושה עליו, ויוצא לחולין על ידי פדיון..... ומפני שכל העולם אל הש״י שהוא ברא את הכל וכל דבר שהוא להקב״ה הוא קודש כמו כל קדשים, ואין עליך לומר כי אף שבראם הרי אל הש׳׳י אין משמשים כלום לא כמו שאר קדשים שהם משמשים לעבודתו ית׳ ולכך הם קודש אבל אין שייך זה בכל הנבראים. דזה אינו כי הכל נברא לשמש את השם יתב׳ כי הכל ברא לכבודו יתב׳ כי מן הנבראים כלם ומבריאתם נראה כבוד מעשיו ולכך הכל קודש אל הש״י כמו שאר קדשי שמים שהם משמשים אל הש״י במו שאמרנו. אבל כאשר ברא הכל לכבודו והוא מכיר את הש״י מפועל ידיו שהרי נותן הודאה על הפרי שנבראו. הנה דבר זה הוא כבוד הש״י ג״כ דהיינו הברכה על הפרי שבראו ולכך יוצא הפרי לחולין כאשר האדם נותן ברכה אל השם ית׳ אשר ברא אותו כי זה תמורת זה. ..... ויש לך להבין עוד בחכמה, כי מי שנהנה מן העולם הזה בלא ברכה כאלו מעל, וזה כי כל העולם הוא אל הש״י וכדכתיב לה׳ הארץ ומלואה, ומאחר שהוא אל הש״י שייך אל הכל שם קדושה והוא קודש, שכל דבר שהוא אל הש״י הוא קודש כמו שאמרנו, ולכך העולם שהוא שלו הוא קודש ג״כ׳ אך כאשר הוא נותן ברכה על הפרי שאוכל, מצד הברכה שהוא יתב׳ ברוך לכך הוא משפיע ברכתו לאחר ויוצא לאחר, כי זה ענין ברוך שהוא משפיע לאחר, ובזה יוצא הפרי להולין מן הש״י במה שהוא משפיע לאחר, ולכך הנהנה מן עוה״ז בלא ברכה כאלו מעל, ובברכה הוא יצא לחולין אל האדם מצד שהוא יתב׳ ברוך ולכך משפיע ונותן לאחר הוא האדם וזה מבואר: