ברכת המזון בקומראן

Among the so-called Barekhi nafshi hymns discovered in the fourth cave of Qumran, which I am preparing for publication (Oxford, Clarendon Press), there is a fragment (PAM 43.513) that has nothing in common with the Barekhi nafshi hymns. Its contents, however, clearly indicate a background of the Grace after Meals as known to us from the conventional Jewish tradition. The three Benedictions that constitute the main structure of the Grace after Meals in the conventional Jewish tradition are: (1) thanks for the goodness of the Lord who provides food for everybody; (2) thanks for the desirable land and for the law and covenant; (3) a prayer for Jerusalem and the Davidic dynasty. All these are reflected in the Qumran fragment discussed here. We find: (1) the goodness (רב טוב,טוב) in connection with eating of the produce of the land )לאכול פריה (וטובה; ( 2) the desirable land (ארץ חמדה) and the law of God (לתורה הכינותה... ספר חוקיך) (3) the throne of the Lord in Jerusalem (ישכון לעולם... ועד). Furthermore, it can be demonstrated that the Grace after Meals pertains to the specific Mourner's Grace after Meals. The latter alludes to the comfort of Jerusalem and quotes Is. 66:13: כאיש אשר אמו תנחמנו כן אנכי אנחמכם ובירושלם תנחמו, a verse attested in the conventional Jewish Grace after Meals at the Mourner's house. The same verse is found in the Qumran fragment examined here. Another common feature is the motif of theodicy: דיין אמת... לוקח נפשות במשפט ('[the God] who judges truly... takes away souls in justice') in the Jewish Blessing and [בעד אש]מתם יכפר ('will atone for their guilt') in the Qumran fragment. It shoudl be admitted then that there existed prayers of common Jewish stock which were also used by the Qumran sectarians.