Bendigamos

Bendigamos is prayer said after meals according to the custom of Spanish and Portuguese Jews. It is similar in meanining to the Birkat Hamazon that is said by all Jews. Bendigamos is said in addition to Birkat Hamazon. The text is in Castilian (Spanish language). The prayer was translated by David de Sola Pool. Below is the actual text as well as the translation by de Sola Pool. The melody is that of the "Az Yashir".

It is currently sung in New York's Congregation Shearith Israel on the holiday of Sukkot. It is sung every sabbath in the Spanish & Portuguese communities of Great Britain. The song probably originated among the Spanish speaking Jews of Bordeaux where the song is still sung in French translation. From France the Bendigamos song was probably transferred to the Dutch West-Indies (Curacao)in the mid Nineteenth Century and thence to New York and Amsterdam. [ See, "The Strange Odyssey of Bendigamos" by H.P. Solomon, in "The American Sephardi", Vol. 3 (1969.)]

A final phrase is inserted at the end in Hebrew which is repeated once:

.הוֹדוּ לַיָי כִּי־טוֹב. כּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹGive thanks to the Lord,for He is good. His mercy endures forever.

Alternate text

There is also an alternate text, which appears to be attributable to Sephardic Jews of the Caribbean islands such as Jamaica and Barbados. While the pronunciation varies, which may affect the transliteration spelling, the text is the same.

References