Commentary for Berakhot 6:8
אָכַל תְּאֵנִים עֲנָבִים וְרִמּוֹנִים, מְבָרֵךְ אַחֲרֵיהֶן שָׁלשׁ בְּרָכוֹת, דִּבְרֵי רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, בְּרָכָה אַחַת מֵעֵין שָׁלשׁ. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר, אֲפִלּוּ אָכַל שֶׁלֶק וְהוּא מְזוֹנוֹ, מְבָרֵךְ אַחֲרָיו שָׁלשׁ בְּרָכוֹת. הַשּׁוֹתֶה מַיִם לִצְמָאוֹ, אוֹמֵר שֶׁהַכֹּל נִהְיֶה בִּדְבָרוֹ. רַבִּי טַרְפוֹן אוֹמֵר, בּוֹרֵא נְפָשׁוֹת רַבּוֹת:
If one ate figs, grapes, or pomegranates, he makes three blessings afterwards. These are the words of R. Gamliel. [One makes three blessings after any of the seven varieties, R. Gamliel holding that "And you shall eat, and you shall be sated, and you shall bless" (Deuteronomy 8:10) refers not to bread alone, but to all of the seven varieties mentioned above in that section (Ibid. 8). And in this verse, three blessings are intimated: "And you shall bless" — "hazan"; "for the land" — the blessing for the land; "the good" — "who builds Jerusalem," viz. (Deuteronomy 3:25): "this goodly mountain."] And the sages say: One blessing, like three [i.e., like three blessings. If he ate grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates, he blesses "for the tree, and for the fruit of the tree, and for the good, desirable land, etc.", and he concludes: "for the land and for the fruits." And in Eretz Yisrael, he concludes: "for the land and for its fruits." And he recites this blessing itself for wine, but begins: "for the vine and for the fruit of the vine." And for all things made from the five types of grain, instead of "for the tree and for the fruit of the tree," he says: "for the food and for the sustenance," and he concludes: "for the land and for the food."] R. Akiva says: Even if he ate shelek [boiled vegetables] and that is his food [i.e., his staple], he recites three blessings afterwards, [for "And you shall eat and you shall be sated" applies to anything one eats. And the halachah is in accordance with the sages, that three blessings are recited only for bread. And for the seven varieties, "one blessing like three," and on all other things: "Borei nefashoth rabboth vechesronan" ("He creates many creatures and (supplies) their lacks"). "their lacks" — such as bread and water, without which it is impossible to survive. "And for all that He created to sustain the spirit of all living things" — that is, for everything in the world, which, even if it had not been created, the creatures could survive without, and which was created only to provide pleasure and additional good. And because this blessing contains two elements, it is a long blessing, which opens and closes with "Baruch," as stated in Yerushalmi, the closing being: "Blessed (Baruch) are you, O L-rd, Life of the worlds."] If one drinks water to assuage his thirst [specifically] he says "shehakol nihyeh bidvaro" ("All came into being through His word"). [But if one drinks water to swallow something stuck in his throat and the like, he does not bless.] R. Tarfon says: "Borei nefashoth rabboth." [He recites this before drinking water. The halachah is not in accordance with R. Tarfon; but before drinking water he says "shehakol," and after, "Borei nefashoth rabboth."]
Bartenura on Mishnah Berakhot
English Explanation of Mishnah Berakhot
The sages say: one blessing which includes three.
Rabbi Akiva says: even if one ate only boiled vegetables and that is his meal, he says after it the three blessings.
If one drinks water to quench his thirst, he says “By Whose word all things exist.”
Rabbi Tarfon says: “Who creates many living things and their requirements.”
Until now the Mishnah has been discussing blessings recited before eating. This mishnah and the next chapter deal with the Birkat Hamazon, the blessing after food (I don’t really like the term, “Grace After Meals”). The concept of Birkat Hamazon is derived from Deuteronomy 8:10, “When you eat and you are satisfied you will bless the Lord your God.” Today the Birkat Hamazon contains four blessings, but the Mishnah refers to it as “three blessings” the fourth blessing was a later addition.
The full Birkat Hamazon, all three blessings, is recited only after eating certain foods or after eating a “meal”. After eating other foods which don’t constitute a “meal,” one blessing is recited. This one blessing includes the themes in the three blessings of the full Birkat Hamazon. In our mishnah there is a debate over when one recites the full version of the Birkat Hamazon and when one recites the abbreviated one blessing version.
Section one: According to Rabban Gamaliel the full Birkat Hamazon is recited over grapes, figs or pomegranates, all of which are among the seven species mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:8. This is the verse to which the blessing in verse 10 (see above in introduction) refers, and hence one recites the full Birkat Hamazon over these foods. Rabban Gamaliel would also hold that the full Birkat Hamazon is recited over the other foods that are referred to in the verse, including bread.
Section two: According to the sages, one recites an abbreviated version of the Birkat Hamazon over these foods. Today this blessing is called, “Brakhah Acharonah” the “last blessing.” One would recite the full Birkat Hamazon only over bread, because only bread constitutes a proper meal.
Section three: According to Rabbi Akiva what foods are eaten does not determine whether one recites a full or abbreviated Birkat Hamazon. Rather what is determinative is whether or not something constitutes a “meal” or a “snack.” If one eats boiled vegetables as one’s meal, then one says Birkat Hamazon. This would have many ramifications for today’s practice, where many people don’t necessarily eat bread with every meal. For instance, according to Rabbi Akiva, if one sat down for a meal of steak and potatoes, a hearty meal by most accounts, one would recite Birkat Hamazon afterwards, whereas according to the other sages in this mishnah, he would not.
Section four: The final section of this chapter returns to briefly discuss blessings recited before eating. Water was sometimes drunk to quench thirst, and sometimes drunk merely in order to help digest food. Our mishnah implies that if its function was just to clear the food from one’s throat, then no blessing is recited. In such a case water is not “food” and therefore no blessing is recited. However, if the function was to quench thirst, then the water counts as food and a blessing must be recited. The first opinion holds that the blessing recited is, “By Whose word all things exist,” the default blessing referred to above in mishnayot 2-3. Rabbi Tarfon says that a different blessing is recited, one which we today recite after eating foods over which we don’t recite a full Birkat Hamazon or even an abbreviated Birkat Hamazon. This blessing is generally called today “Bore Nefashot.”