A slightly more inclusive bentching

Bilhah and Zilpah in the Bentching
I would love feedback on a potential mutkan (emended) text for a single phrase in Birkat ha-Mazon. It’s hardly the most important topic in our mad, mad world. But an inclusive Matbeah T’filah (fixed prayers) is a long-term project many of us have committed to, so hopefully it will be of interest to at least a few.

סידור אשכנז, ברכות, ברכת המזון נ״ז-ס״א

(נז) אם סמוך על שלחן אביו יאמר:

(נח) הָרַחֲמָן הוּא יְבָרֵךְ אֶת־(אָבִי מוֹרִי) בַּֽעַל הַבַּֽיִת הַזֶּה, וְאֶת־(אִמִּי מוֹרָתִי) בַּעֲלַת הַבַּֽיִת הַזֶּה, אוֹתָם וְאֶת־בֵּיתָם וְאֶת־זַרְעָם וְאֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר לָהֶם

(נט) (ואם סמוך על שלחן עצמו יאמר:)

(ס) הָרַחֲמָן הוּא יְבָרֵךְ אוֹתִי (וְאֶת־אִשְׁתִּי/בַּעֲלִי וְאֶת־זַרְעִי) וְאֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר לִי.

(סא) אוֹתָֽנוּ וְאֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר לָֽנוּ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּרְ֒כוּ אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ, אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב: בַּכֹּל, מִכֹּל, כֹּל, כֵּן יְבָרֵךְ אוֹתָֽנוּ כֻּלָּֽנוּ יַֽחַד, בִּבְרָכָה שְׁלֵמָה, וְנֹאמַר אָמֵן:

Siddur Ashkenaz, Berachot, Birkat HaMazon 57-61

(57) When eating at your parents’ table, say:

(58) May the Merciful One bless my father, my teacher, the master of this house, and my mother, my teacher, the mistress of this house; them, their household, their children and all that is theirs.

(59) When eating at your own table, say:

(60) May the Merciful One bless me, my spouse, my children, and all that is mine;

(61) Ours and all that is ours— just as our forefathers were blessed— Avraham, Yitzhak, and Ya'akov— In all things, “From everything,” and “With everything”; so may He bless us, all of us together, with a perfect blessing and let us say Amein.

The conclusion to the context-dependent blessing for hosts, family, and oneself asks for reflected beneficence from the blessings enjoyed by our ancestors. For the Avot, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov, those blessings are encapsulated by three variations of the word “kol” (all) from three different pasukim:

בראשית כ״ד:א׳

וְאַבְרָהָ֣ם זָקֵ֔ן בָּ֖א בַּיָּמִ֑ים וַֽיהֹוָ֛ה בֵּרַ֥ךְ אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֖ם בַּכֹּֽל׃

Genesis 24:1

Avraham was now old, advanced in years, and ha-Shem had blessed Abraham in all things.

בראשית כ״ז:ל״ג

וַיֶּחֱרַ֨ד יִצְחָ֣ק חֲרָדָה֮ גְּדֹלָ֣ה עַד־מְאֹד֒ וַיֹּ֡אמֶר מִֽי־אֵפ֡וֹא ה֣וּא הַצָּֽד־צַ֩יִד֩ וַיָּ֨בֵא לִ֜י וָאֹכַ֥ל מִכֹּ֛ל בְּטֶ֥רֶם תָּב֖וֹא וָאֲבָרְכֵ֑הוּ גַּם־בָּר֖וּךְ יִהְיֶֽה׃

Genesis 27:33

Yitzhak was seized with very violent trembling. “Who was it then,” he demanded, “that hunted game and brought it to me? Moreover, I ate of it before you came, and I blessed him; now he must remain blessed!”

בראשית ל״ג:י״א

קַח־נָ֤א אֶת־בִּרְכָתִי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הֻבָ֣את לָ֔ךְ כִּֽי־חַנַּ֥נִי אֱלֹהִ֖ים וְכִ֣י יֶשׁ־לִי־כֹ֑ל וַיִּפְצַר־בּ֖וֹ וַיִּקָּֽח׃

Genesis 33:11

Please accept my present which has been brought to you, for God has favored me and I have plenty.” And when he urged him (Esav), he accepted.

In the 20^th century, we collectively remembered to include four Imahot, Sarah, Rivka, Leah, and Rachel, whose blessings are encapsulated by four variations of the word “tov” (goodness) from four different pasukim:

בראשית י״ב:ט״ז

וּלְאַבְרָ֥ם הֵיטִ֖יב בַּעֲבוּרָ֑הּ וַֽיְהִי־ל֤וֹ צֹאן־וּבָקָר֙ וַחֲמֹרִ֔ים וַעֲבָדִים֙ וּשְׁפָחֹ֔ת וַאֲתֹנֹ֖ת וּגְמַלִּֽים׃

Genesis 12:16

And because of her, it went well with Avram; he acquired sheep, oxen, asses, male and female slaves, she-asses, and camels.

בראשית כ״ד:ט״ז

וְהַֽנַּעֲרָ֗ טֹבַ֤ת מַרְאֶה֙ מְאֹ֔ד בְּתוּלָ֕ה וְאִ֖ישׁ לֹ֣א יְדָעָ֑הּ וַתֵּ֣רֶד הָעַ֔יְנָה וַתְּמַלֵּ֥א כַדָּ֖הּ וַתָּֽעַל׃

Genesis 24:16

The maiden was very beautiful—[and] a virgin, no man having known her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up.

בראשית כ״ט:י״ט

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לָבָ֗ן ט֚וֹב תִּתִּ֣י אֹתָ֣הּ לָ֔ךְ מִתִּתִּ֥י אֹתָ֖הּ לְאִ֣ישׁ אַחֵ֑ר שְׁבָ֖ה עִמָּדִֽי׃

Genesis 29:19

Lavan said, “Better that I give her to you than that I should give her to an outsider. Stay with me.”

בראשית ל׳:כ׳

וַתֹּ֣אמֶר לֵאָ֗ה זְבָדַ֨נִי אֱלֹהִ֥ים ׀ אֹתִי֮ זֵ֣בֶד טוֹב֒ הַפַּ֙עַם֙ יִזְבְּלֵ֣נִי אִישִׁ֔י כִּֽי־יָלַ֥דְתִּי ל֖וֹ שִׁשָּׁ֣ה בָנִ֑ים וַתִּקְרָ֥א אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ זְבֻלֽוּן׃

Genesis 30:20

Leah said, “God has given me a choice gift; this time my husband will exalt me, for I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zevulun.

But as the midrash reminds us (e.g. Esther Rabbah 1:12, Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah 6:4:2, Pesikta deRav Kahana 1:7, etc), we also celebrate our connection to the six Imahot, including Bilhah and Zilpah. For those of us who include this pair in our bentching, here’s the question: How do we fold them into טוֹב֒? I've looked, and haven't found pesukim connected to Bilhah and Zilpah that include any related words. So here are five alternative possibilities for what we might do. Please vote / comment! ([email protected])

1) We don’t change anything. Go ahead and add Bilhah and Zilpah’s names if you want, but just stick with טוֹב֒, and don’t worry about it.

2) Add a brief pause, just an extra beat, where an extra tov-related word would otherwise go. Given the paucity of pesukim from which to choose, that slight pause echoes the Torah's silent treatment of Bilhah and Zilpah, and our own echoing silence through the millennia, and is thus its own fitting marker.

3) The two pasukim describing Bilhah’s and then Zilpah’s marriage to Ya’akov Avinu each use the word וַתִּתֶּן [va-titeyn]. To the extent we are remembering Ya’akov’s relationship with all four of his wives, these pasukim are an appropriate choice. And when using the sequence “Bilhah, Rachel, Zilpah, v’Leah” (corresponding to the pronounceable acronym ‘Barzel’, which is Hebrew for ‘iron’), the resulting phrase in the bentching is “va-titeyn tov, va-titeyn tov”, literally “she gave well” (with the biblical vuv ha-hipuch) but more colloquially “you / she will give goodness”.

בראשית ל׳:ד׳

וַתִּתֶּן־ל֛וֹ אֶת־בִּלְהָ֥ה שִׁפְחָתָ֖הּ לְאִשָּׁ֑ה וַיָּבֹ֥א אֵלֶ֖יהָ יַעֲקֹֽב׃

Genesis 30:4

So she freed her maid Bilhah and gave her away (at the wedding) to Ya'akov as his wife, and Ya'akov cohabited with her.

בראשית ל׳:ט׳

וַתֵּ֣רֶא לֵאָ֔ה כִּ֥י עָמְדָ֖ה מִלֶּ֑דֶת וַתִּקַּח֙ אֶת־זִלְפָּ֣ה שִׁפְחָתָ֔הּ וַתִּתֵּ֥ן אֹתָ֛הּ לְיַעֲקֹ֖ב לְאִשָּֽׁה׃

Genesis 30:9

When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing children, she freed her maid Zilpah and gave her away (at the wedding) to Ya'akov as his wife.

These translations are in accordance with the majority of the commentators, who see the relationships between Ya'akov and both Bilhah and Zilpah as full marriages after they are freed from bondage. See a particularly elegant encapsulation of this view from the Or ha-Chayim:

אור החיים על בראשית ל׳:ג׳:א׳

ותאמר הנה אמתי וגו'. דקדקה לומר אמתי קודם שהזכירה ביאתו אליה ולא אמרה בא אל אמתי כמו שאמרה שרה כמו שפירשתי שם, (ט"ז ה') נתכוונה לומר שאחר שיבא אליה לא תקרא אמתה עוד, ולזה אמר אחר כך ותתן לו בלהה שפחתה לאשה, אישות יש לו בה ובניה בני חורין. וכמו כן עשתה לאה שנתנה לו לאשה ונעקר מזלפה שם שפחה:

Or HaChaim on Genesis 30:3:1

ותאמר הנה אמתי, She said: "here is my bondwoman, etc." She was careful to say: "my bondwoman Bilhah," before mentioning that Ya'akov should sleep with her, instead of saying: "sleep with my bondwoman Bilhah," as Sarai had done at the time (Genesis 16,2). I have explained there that Rachel did not mean for Bilhah to be still called a bondwoman after she had slept with Ya'akov. She gave Bilhah to Ya'akov to become a wife to him; any sons of her should be free men. Leah acted similarly when giving her bondwoman Zilpah to sleep with Ya'akov.

4) The two pasukim describing Zilpah’s and then Bilhah’s sons and grandsons who entered Mitrzayim with the rest of the nascent nation (70 souls in all) use the words “nefesh” and “nafesh” to refer to the count (the latter with the different pronunciation of the pausal form). The resulting phrase in the bentching is “nefesh tov, nafesh tov”, or “soul of goodness”.

בראשית מ״ו:י״ח

אֵ֚לֶּה בְּנֵ֣י זִלְפָּ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥ן לָבָ֖ן לְלֵאָ֣ה בִתּ֑וֹ וַתֵּ֤לֶד אֶת־אֵ֙לֶּה֙ לְיַעֲקֹ֔ב שֵׁ֥שׁ עֶשְׂרֵ֖ה נָֽפֶשׁ׃

Genesis 46:18

These were the descendants of Zilpah, whom Lavan had given to his daughter Leah. These she bore to Jacob—16 persons.

בראשית מ״ו:כ״ה

אֵ֚לֶּה בְּנֵ֣י בִלְהָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥ן לָבָ֖ן לְרָחֵ֣ל בִּתּ֑וֹ וַתֵּ֧לֶד אֶת־אֵ֛לֶּה לְיַעֲקֹ֖ב כׇּל־נֶ֥פֶשׁ שִׁבְעָֽה׃

Genesis 46:25

These were the descendants of Bilhah, whom Lavan had given to his daughter Rachel. These she bore to Jacob—7 persons in all.

5) The use of declensions of “tov” for the Imahot is a practice that is much less than a century old. We could instead find six pasukim related to all six of the Imahot sharing a root in either giving (as in “va-titeyn”) or souls (as in “nefesh”). Let me know if you have suggestions for verses.