“Another word that shares a common root with bracha is breicha, which means ‘wellspring’ [alluding to] the fact that reciting a bracha opens a wellspring of blessing that flows down from the heavens.

There is an interesting halacha that one should have bread on the table when reciting Birkat Hamazon (Grace After Meals). One reason given for this is that God’s blessing always manifests itself on something that already exists; if there would be no bread on the table, there would be no ‘receptacle for God’s blessing. So we see that even as we are reciting a bracha, we are simultaneously receiving God’s blessing of increased prosperity. A bracha, therefore, is a key to open the flow of God’s blessing into the world.

In this regard, one who neglects to say a bracha is considered as having stolen not only from God, but also from the Jewish people, and ultimately all of humanity, having denied them an opportunity to receive God’s blessing.”