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A bentcher,[a] birchon or birkon (pl. bentchers, birchonim, birkonim) is a booklet of prayers based around a particular event such as the Jewish sabbath. The most common form is Birkat Hamazon often titled סדר ברכת המזון - Seder Birkat Hamazon[1] (Order of Grace after Meals) in Hebrew. Some editions actually have the Birkat Hamazon prayer in the back, appearing almost as an afterthought.[2][3] Bentchers are commonly known as birchonim in Modern Hebrew and Sephardic communities.
Bentchers are used widely in the various religious and traditional communities of Jews, such as Orthodox, Sephardic, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Mizrahi, Chassidic, Orthodox Feminist,[4] as well as other communities.
Bentchers are often decorated with scrollwork, illuminations, pictorial backgrounds on each page, photo pages and by other means. This is in the tradition of hiddur mitzvah, or beautification of the mitzvah. There are several services currently available that customize the bencher using graphics, logos and/or photographs. [5]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Artscroll Illustrated Birchon - English Translation, Artscroll, 1996
- ^ זְמִירוֺת שַׁבָּת (Zemirot Shabbat) by Feldheim Publishers, 1984, Israel, p. נו (last page).
- ^ Frum Satire blog entry about difficulty finding Birkath Hamazon.
- ^ Shaarei Simcha, Adena Berkowitz and Rivka Haut, Ktav Publishing.
- ^ Let's Bench - Custom Photo Benchers Made In Israel