There is an apparent contradiction between two verses in Psalms: "The earth is the Lord's" (Ps. 24:1) and "The heavens are the heavens of God, but the earth has given by God to human beings" (Ps. 115:16). According to the Talmud, the apparent discrepancy is cleared up in the following way: Before a person says a b'racha (a blessing), before he/she acknowledges God's ownership of the land and its products, then "the earth is the Lord's"; after a person has said a b'racha, acknowledging God's ownership and that we are stewards to see that God's works are properly used and ...
