I’ve read in the Bible passages where so-and-so “gave thanks” before a meal. Obviously many Christians continue this practice, at every meal. Is this tradition continued in any branch of modern-day Judaism? Do any other religions have a tradition of thanking their deity/dieties for the meal from which they’re about to parttake?
Orthodox Jews say a short blessing before eating anything (the exact text of the blessing varies depending on the type of food being eaten,) whether or not it’s part of a meal. Before Sabbath or holiday meals, we also say a longer blessing, called kiddush over wine or grape juice to mark the holiness of the day, but the blessing isn’t really about the food we’re about to eat. There are prayers for after eating as well, ranging from very short (for after most things that aren’t grain or grape-based), to a paragraph (after eating non-bread grain-based foods, wine/grape juice, or certain fruits) to the long form (after bread).
I’m Wiccan, and I give gratitude for blessings received during rituals or ceremonies, but don’t do it regularly over ordinary meals. I probably should start - it’s a nice thing to remind myself of all the things I do have. There is no one answer to this for Wiccans, though, since we don’t have a central authority or dogma that dictates our spiritual behaviors.
Hinduism is even more variable and arcane than Christianity but IME there’s no general tradition of prayer before meals.
Exceptions would be on festival days, when the meal itself may be an offering.
Hinduism, at least the sort practiced in my extended family, has no such tradition. You wait until everyone gets served, and then dig in. The waiting is very important, and can be something of a torment at weddings, where about two hundred people must be served with about twenty dishes before you can make a start, and all the time it’s sitting there on your banana leaf, tempting you with beautiful smells. Worth the wait, though.
Nah. My aunts do make a practice of praying every morning, but not throughout the day. And in a temple we often leave food for the gods to bless - “prasad” - and then it is given out to various people. Not a lot, a little halvah*, a small apple etc.
Blessings, and thanks are normal traditions when eating, I’ve seen other Buddhists in the sangha I belong to place their hands over any food before they eat it to give thanks for the ‘energy’ they are about to receive.
Muslims start a meal (as with starting almost anything else - driving, turning on the computer, walking out the front door) with the word(s) bismillah which means “in the name of God”. There are also a range of du’a (supplications) that can be made before eating (see here for example).
Being from Punjab, we have so much mixed culture - dua is a very popular word in our culture, too. Since we speak such a mingling of Hindi and Urdu, it’s to be expected.
Japanese people say a little “thanks” before eating. I assume this to come from Shinto, but I’m not sure that most Japanese think of it in religious terms. (It could just as easily be thanking the people who worked to make the food as the gods.)
In Hinduism, if the food itself had been offered to a deity in a prior religious ceremony, and thus considered “blessed,” one would touch the first bite to the forehead before eating.
Some druids give thanks during the acquisition of foodstuffs rather than immediately before eating. Although I’ve never seen any do it at Safeway, and the harvest is not really as important as it once was so generally it’s covered in a scheduled ritual during the harvest months.
But on special occasions - holiday meals, really fancy spreads, food acquired through an avenue other than purchase (hunting, fishing, home grown veggies, etc) a specific thanks may be offered, frequently to the “spirit” of the animal slain and not always to the gods themselves. Antlered critters like deer and elk hold a special place in some variants of druidry so they especially prompt an acknowledgment.
Like many things in Hinduism, this varies from place to place. in India
I come from the Bengal region of India. Many people in Bengal (especially the elderly) will sprinkle water (rarely have I seen someone sprinkle food) around their plate before a meal. This is supposed to be symbolic of offering food first to ancestors.
Before you wonder about getting the dinner table wet, most people in rural india would have food sitting on the ground. Its a hot country and most people dont have carpeted floors.
This also has a somewhat practical effect of creating a water barrier to slow the advance of ants.
I suppose it all depends on definitions, but this isn’t really like giving thanks to (a) god for a meal.