You shall take the first of all fruit that is produced by your land... put it in a basket ("Teneh"), and go to the place where Hashem will choose to have His Name dwell [=the Beit Hamikdash]. You shall come to the Kohen who is serving there at the time and say to him, "I declare thanks on this day before Hashem, your God, for bringing me to the land that Hashem swore to... give us." Then the Kohen shall take the basket from your hand and put it down before the altar of Hashem, your God.

(Devarim 26:2-4)

How does one designate his Bikkurim (first fruits)? He goes into his field, and when he sees a cluster of grapes or a pomegranate that is beginning to grow, he ties a string around it, and declares, "These are hereby Bikkurim!"

(Bikkurim 3:1)

A look into the Mitzvah of Bikkurim may shed some light on a puzzling choice of words in the blessings we recite after eating. After eating bread, the "Birkat Hamazon" grace, which consists of four blessings, is recited. After eating any food prepared from the Seven Species for which Israel was praised (enumerated above), we recite an abridged version of this grace consisting of one blessing, commonly known as "Al Hamichyah."

We would expect that, being an abbreviated version of Birkat Hamazon, Al Hamichyah would contain only ideas that are contained in Birkat Hamazon itself without any new additions. However, upon examination we see that there are indeed some added phrases found in the Al Hamichyah blessing that are not found in the "parent" blessings of Birkat Hamazon. First, in Birkat Hamazon we pray for the restoration of "Jerusalem and Zion." In Al Hamichyah we pray for the restoration of these and *also* for the restoration of "Your altar and Your Temple ('Mizb'checha')." Another addition in Al Hamichyah that is not found in Birkat Hamazon is the prayer that He may once again "bring us to [Jerusalem] and cause us to rejoice in its rebuilding... that we may praise You for [Eretz Yisrael] in holiness and purity." What is the nature of these two additions, and why were they included in the shorter Al Hamichyah, yet omitted from the longer, more inclusive, Birkat Hamazon?

I heard an answer to this question, given by the Brisker Rav (Harav Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik, d. 1962), which I would like to present here (with a few embellishments of my own).

The answer to this is obvious. Birkat Hamazon is recited after a meal consisting of *any* kind of food (provided it was eaten with bread). Al Hamichyah, on the other hand, was instituted to be recited only after partaking of one of the Seven Species of Israel. It is appropriate that we offer praise to Hashem that relates specifically to what we have just enjoyed (Berachot 40a). Therefore, after eating the fruits of Israel, we thank Hashem for giving us Israel with *its unique fruits and satiating bounty*.

A similar approach can explain the other addition found in Al Hamichyah. After eating any of the Seven Species, we ask Hashem to "bring us to Jerusalem," i.e. in order to fulfill the Mitzvah of Bikkurim. Bikkurim must be brought to Jerusalem and eaten there, as we mentioned above (section I).

We also ask Hashem to "cause us to rejoice in its [= Jerusalem's] rebuilding." What do we mean by that? Bikkurim may only be eaten in Jerusalem when the city is rebuilt and its walls are restored (Bava Metzia 53b). When that condition is fulfilled, all the Halachot of Bikkurim apply. These Halachot include bringing our Bikkurim to Jerusalem, and "*rejoicing* in all the good that Hashem has given you" (Devarim 26:11). Therefore, in the Al Hamichyah blessing we pray that Hashem may cause us to *rejoice* (i.e. in the bringing of Bikkurim) through the *rebuilding* of Jerusalem.

Next, we promise Hashem that upon the rebuilding of Jerusalem we will "praise You for [Eretz Yisrael] in holiness and purity." What is the meaning of this statement, and what makes it appropriate specifically to the Al Hamichyah blessing? Perhaps here, too, we are imploring Hashem to allow us to bring Him Bikkurim from the Seven Species of fruit whose after-blessing is Al Hamichyah. How is that?

When Bikkurim were brought to the Kohen, their owner would say, "I declare thanks this day before Hashem, your God, for bringing me to the land that Hashem swore to... give us" (Devarim 26:3). We use the Bikkurim as a vehicle to thank Hashem for having given us Eretz Yisrael. This thanks is recited in the courtyard of the Beit Hamikdash -- i.e. in an atmosphere of "holiness." "Purity" is also an appropriate adjective for the bringing of Bikkurim, as entrance to the Temple grounds was permitted only to those who were ritually pure. Also, the Bikkurim themselves (like Terumah) must be kept in a state of ritual purity.

If so, explains the Brisker Rav, the terminology of the Al Hamichyah blessing is especially apt. After partaking of the Seven Species, we implore Hashem to once again allow us to use these species for Bikkurim, that we may praise Him for giving us the land that produces these fruits while in a state of holiness and purity!

(This approach was heard from Harav Natan Lesinger, of Jerusalem, who repeated it in the name of the Brisker Rav. A somewhat similar thought can be found in the Brisker Hagadah, p. 272.)