CHAPTER 7 MISHNAH 2
Women, slaves and minors – are excluded from Zimmun. What quantity for Zimmun? An olive’s size. R. Yehudah says: The size of an egg.

CHAPTER 7 MISHNAH 3
How do they say the common Grace? When three, the one says:
“Let us bless. When there are three besides him, he says “Bless.” If ten, “Let us give blessing to our Lord”. With ten besides him, “Bless,” whether ten or ten times ten thousand. With one hundred, he says, “Let us bless the Lord our God.” With one hundred besides him, he says “Bless.. .” When 1,000 have eaten, he says: “Let us bless the Lord our God, the God of Israel. When there are one thousand besides himself, he says, “Bless. . .” If ten thousand men, he says: “Let us bless the Lord our God, the God of Israel, the God of Hosts, Who sits between the Cherubim for the food we have eaten.” Where there are ten thousand beside him, he says, “Bless you. . .” After the manner that he blesses, so do they answer after him: “Blessed be the Lord our God, the God of Israel, Who sits between the Cherubim for the food we have eaten.” R. Yose the Galilean says: According to the multitude of the congregation so do they bless, as it is said (Ps. 68:27): “Bless God in full assemblies, even the Lord, you that are from the fountain of Israel.” R. Akiva said: What do we find in the synagogue? Whether there are many or few, one says “Bless the Lord”. R. Yishmael says: Blessed be the Lord, Who is blessed.

CHAPTER 7 MISHNAH 2
Women, slaves and minors – are excluded from Zimmun. What quantity for Zimmun? An olive’s size. R. Yehudah says: The size of an egg.

Kehati
Continuing with the subject of individuals excluded from Zimmun, the mishnah now proceeds to discuss the quantity of food rendering the recital of Grace after Meals mandatory.

Women, slaves and minors, although obliged to recite the Grace after Meals, as explained above (3:3) are nevertheless excluded from Zimmun. This restriction only applies to their exclusion from Zimmun where adult male Jews are present; where three women alone or else three slaves alone are present and have eaten together, they may recite the Zimmun formula (Berakhot 45b), but they may not use the formula mentioning the Divine Name (Ram barn, Laws of Blessings 5:7). “Slaves” in the context of our mishnah refers to non-Jewish slaves owned by Jews, and “Minors” to male children under thirteen, who are not yet obliged to perform mitzvot.

Rashi understands the question thus: What quantity for Zimmun? in order to be permitted to take the cup of wine and recite the Grace after Meals on behalf of those present. Other commentators take the question to mean: What quantity of food must an individual eat for the Grace after Meals itself to be mandatory. The eating of an olive’s size (i.e., half an egg) is the minimum each has to eat in order to become obliged for Zimmun and to recite the Grace after Meals. R. Yehudah says: The size of an egg. Since Scripture ordains “And you shall eat and be satisfied,” one is required to eat at least the minimum quantity that can satisfy, and this is not less than the size of an egg. The First (anonymous) Tanna interprets the verse as follows: “And you shall eat” – this refers to solids; ‘And be satisfied” – this refers to liquids. The minimum quantity that can be called eating is an olive’s bulk. The view of the First Tanna is the accepted halakhic ruling.

CHAPTER 7 MISHNAH 3
How do they say the common Grace? When three, the one says: “Let us bless. When there are three besides him, he says “Bless.” If ten, “Let us give blessing to our Lord”. With ten besides him, “Bless,” whether ten or ten times ten thousand. With one hundred, he says, “Let us bless the Lord our God.” With one hundred besides him, he says “Bless.. .” When 1,000 have eaten, he says: “Let us bless the Lord our God, the God of Israel. When there are one thousand besides himself, he says, “Bless. . .” If ten thousand men, he says: “Let us bless the Lord our God, the God of Israel, the God of Hosts, Who sits between the Cherubim for the food we have eaten.” Where there are ten thousand beside him, he says, “Bless you. . .” After the manner that he blesses, so do they answer after him: “Blessed be the Lord our God, the God of Israel, Who sits between the Cherubim for the food we have eaten.” R. Yose the Galilean says: According to the multitude of the congregation so do they bless, as it is said (Ps. 68:27): “Bless God in full assemblies, even the Lord, you that are from the fountain of Israel.” R. Akiva said: What do we find in the synagogue? Whether there are many or few, one says “Bless the Lord”. R. Yishmael says: Blessed be the Lord, Who is blessed.

Kehati
Here the wording of the Zimmun formula is outlined.

When three have eaten together, the one extending the invitation says: “Let us bless Him Whose food we have eaten.”

When there are three besides him, when there are three in addition to the one issuing the invitation, he says to them: “Bless Him Whose food we have eaten”, since there is a quorum for Zimmun even without him. The Gemara explains that the use of the imperative here is optional. Nevertheless, “Let us bless” is to be preferred, since he thereby includes himself in the group.

If ten who have eaten together are present, he says, “Let us give blessing to our Lord Whose food we have eaten”. Others have the recension “Let us bless the Lord” without the word “to.” This is the accepted wording (Tosafot, R. Jonah Gerondi), since the preposition “to” in Hebrew is used only after verbs of singing and praising: “Sing to the Lord,” “give thanks to the Lord,” but in blessings: “Bless the Lord in assemblies. . .” (Ps. 68:27) and: “Bless, 0 you nations, our God” (Ps. 66:8).

With ten besides him, if there are ten in addition to the one issuing the invitation, he says to them: “Bless our Lord Whose food we have eaten.”

It makes no difference whether ten or ten times ten thousand eat together, the law is identical. According to the Gemara, the view expressed here is that of R. Akiva, whose name is quoted later in the mishnah, that despite the enormous increase in the number of participants, the wording remains identical: Bless (or “Let us bless”) our Lord, Whose food we have eaten.” From here onwards the mishnah presents the view of R. Yose the Galilean who rules that the mention of Divine Names must be expanded to accord with the increase in the number of the participants in the meal.

With one hundred present, he says, “Let us bless the Lord our God for the food we have eaten” (as is explained below). With one hundred besides him, he says “Bless.. .” instead of “Let us bless…”

When 1,000 have eaten, he says: “Let us bless the Lord our God, the God of Israel for the food we have eaten.” When there are one thousand besides himself, he says, “bless.. .” instead of “Let us bless..

If ten thousand men have eaten together, he, the leader says. “Let us bless the Lord our God, the God of Israel, the God of Hosts, Who sits between the Cherubim for the food we have eaten.” According to the Gemara the ending “for the food we have eaten,” is only said when the ten or more have eaten, since the Name of God is included in the opening words of the invitation, and it is clearly understood that it is He Who is man’s provider. When, however, only three have eaten and therefore God’s Name is not mentioned, the wording is “Let us bless Him Whose food we have eaten” so as to identify the divine source. Where there are ten thousand beside him, he says, “Bless…”

After the manner that he blesses, so do they answer after him, as for example, when there are ten thousand besides, the others reply: “Blessed be the Lord our God, the God of Israel, Who sits between the Cherubim for the food we have eaten.” The Mishnah cites the response of ten thousand as an example, but the same principle applies to all the responses. For so R. Yose the Galilean says: According to the multitude of the congregation so do they bless, the wording in mentioning the Divine Name being determined by the size of the congregation, as it is said (Ps. 68:27): “Bless God in full assemblies, even the Lord, you that are from the fountain of Israel.” From here he deduces that in a large assembly, God should be blessed by using several of His appellations.

R. Akiva said: What do we find in the synagogue? Whether there are many or few, whether there is a large number of worshippers or whether there are merely ten, one, i.e., the one called to the Reading of the Torah, and similarly the reader before the blessings of the Shema, says “Bless you the Lord”, without making any change in the form in which God’s Name is invoked, so, too, in the Grace after Meals, the invitation extended to ten does not differ in wording from the invitation to ten thousand.

R. Yishmael says: Blessed be the Lord, Who is blessed. R. Yishmael concurs with R. Akiva that the formula is not changed as the number of participants increases. He merely adds that the correct formula for the blessing recited over the Torah or by the reader of the congregation is “Blessed be the Lord Who is blessed,” for by adding the last phrase, “Who is blessed,” one does not exclude himself from the rest of the congregation in their blessing. R. Yishmael’s view is the accepted practice.

The normative halakhah in the Grace after Meals is as follows: When from three to ten have eaten, the one leading the Grace says: “Let us bless Him Whose food we have eaten.” The rest respond: “Blessed is He Whose food we have eaten and through Whose goodness we live.” The one leading the Grace thereupon repeats the response of the others verbatim. For ten and more participants, the one leading the Grace calls out: “Let us bless our God Whose food we have eaten,” to which the rest respond: “Blessed is our God Whose food we have eaten and through Whose goodness we live.” The leader thereupon repeats the response (Rambam).