The Sages encouraged people to eat a meal every morning, called pat shaharit, “morning bread.”

The Torah states, “I will provide grass in your field for your animals, and you will eat and you will be satisfied” (Deuteronomy 11:15). Since the verse mentions the food of one’s animals before one’s own meal, the Sages derived that it is prohibited to eat before feeding the animals in one’s possession.

Before eating bread, one must wash his hands, for reasons of both cleanliness and sanctity.

The washing of hands is performed as follows: First one fills a cup with water. With the left hand, one pours water twice consecutively on the right hand, and then with his right hand does the same for his left hand. Some have the custom to pour three times in succession on each hand. It is best to wash one’s hands with a copious amount of water, and this is considered auspicious for wealth. After washing hands, one rubs his hands together and recites the following blessing:

“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who sanctified us through His mitzvot, and commanded us concerning the washing of the hands.”

Upon the conclusion of the blessing, one dries his hands.

One who intends to eat less than the amount of an egg-bulk of bread should wash his hands in the normal manner, but without reciting the blessing.

Further reading: The measure of an egg-bulk is twice the size of an olive-bulk; see the section entitled “Blessing after Food,” p. 518.

A woman who is accustomed to removing her rings from her fingers when she kneads dough must remove the rings before she washes her hands for the meal, as they constitute an interposition, i.e., a separation between the water and her hands.

One must try to ensure that the blessing of HaMotzi is recited over the bread as close as possible to the washing of the hands. One should not cause an interruption between them by waiting a long time or through unnecessary talk that does not concern the meal.

At the start of the meal, one dips the bread in a little salt, among other reasons as a reminder that the offerings in the Temple were salted. Next, he recites the blessing of HaMotzi and partakes of the bread. This blessing renders one exempt from reciting a separate blessing for any of the other foods eaten at the meal. The reason is that almost everything one eats at the meal, including the main course and the side dishes, is considered subordinate to the bread.

An exception to this rule is dessert. This dish, which is not intended to satiate, and is therefore not part of the meal itself, is not subordinate to the bread. Therefore, one must recite a separate blessing for dessert, determined according to the particular dish he is eating.

Drinks consumed at a meal are also considered subordinate to the bread, so one does not recite a blessing over them. Wine and natural grape juice are exceptions, as due to their importance one recites the blessing of Hagafen over them, even during a meal. If one recited Kiddush over wine before the meal of Shabbat or a festival, or even merely tasted Kiddush wine before the meal, and then wants to drink wine during the meal as well, he is exempt from reciting another blessing over the wine, as the blessing over the wine of Kiddush also applies to the wine in the middle of the meal.

One should avoid speaking while his mouth is full, as this is a choking hazard. It is meritorious to speak words of Torah during the meal.

One should not stare at the face of a person who is eating, or at his plate, so as not to make him uncomfortable.

At the end of the meal one says Grace after Meals [Birkat HaMazon]. This blessing, which is recited after eating bread, encompasses all the other foods of the meal as well, including the dessert, drinks, and even the wine; one is therefore exempt from any other blessings after food for that meal. One should recite Grace after Meals in the place where he ate.

Further reading: For more on Grace after Meals, see A Concise Guide to the Sages, p. 236.

During Grace after Meals, it is customary to leave any leftover bread on the table. After Grace after Meals one should try not to throw away leftover bread. If it is difficult to use these scraps as food for people or animals, they should be wrapped in a bag and only then thrown into the garbage, out of respect for the bread.

Before Grace after Meals, one pours water on the ends of his fingers, in order to cleanse them. This water is called mayim aharonim, “the final water,” because it is poured at the end of the meal, in contrast to the washing of hands that is performed at the beginning of the meal.

Women are obligated to recite Grace after Meals. One should educate children to recite Grace after Meals, as one should educate them to perform all mitzvot.

Grace after Meals consists of three blessings that are obligatory by Torah law:

(1) Blessing of nourishment: From the beginning of the blessing until “Blessed are You, Lord, who feeds all [hazan et hakol].” This is a blessing of thanksgiving for the food that God gave us.

(2) Blessing of the land: From “We thank You [Nodeh lekha]” until “Blessed are You, Lord, for the land and for the food [al ha’aretz ve’al hamazon].” This is a blessing of thanksgiving for the Land of Israel, the mitzva of circumcision, and the Torah.

(3) Blessing for Jerusalem: From “Have compassion [Rahem]” until “Blessed are You, Lord, who (in His compassion) will rebuild Jerusalem. Amen [boneh (veraĥamav) Yerushalayim. Amen].” This blessing requests that Jerusalem be rebuilt and the kingdom of David be restored.

The Sages added a fourth blessing to these three, which is called Hatov vehametiv, a blessing noting God’s goodness. After this blessing it is customary to add a sequence of requests that all begin with the word HaRahaman, meaning the Compassionate One, which is a reference to God. For example, “May the Compassionate One reign over us,” “May the Compassionate One grant us an honorable livelihood,” and others.

If three or more adult men ate bread together, they must recite Grace after Meals with a zimmun, an “invitation.” A zimmun means that the diners join their blessings together, by means of one of the diners saying to the others, “Let us bless the One from whose food we have eaten.” The others respond, “Blessed be the One from whose food we have eaten, and by whose goodness we live,” and the one leading the zimmun repeats after them, “Blessed be the One from whose food we have eaten, and by whose goodness we live.” Then each person recites Grace after Meals by himself.

According to the Ashkenazic custom, the one leading the zimmun says the entire first blessing (the blessing of nourishment) out loud, while the other diners recite the blessing quietly, in parallel to him. When the one leading the zimmun finishes the blessing, they answer “Amen,” and then each continues Grace after Meals by himself.

When there are ten men present, the wording of the zimmun changes to include an explicit mention of God’s name. In this situation, the one leading the zimmun says, “Blessed be our God from whose food we have eaten,” the other diners answer, “Blessed be our God from whose food we have eaten, and by whose goodness we live,” and the leader repeats what they said.

At a zimmun, any women who participated in the meal must also respond. Three women who ate together may recite Grace after Meals with a zimmun if they choose. Furthermore, if three women ate together with men but they want to have their own zimmun instead and participate in a zimmun alone, without the men, they may do so. If there are ten men present, which means that the zimmun includes the term “our God,” the women join in and respond to the men’s zimmun instead of having their own zimmun.