Seder Bircas Hanehenin - Chapter 1 Laws Governing Blessings Before and After All Foods
1:1 - Scriptural/Rabbinic Obligation
Scriptural: After eating sustaining foods
Rabbinic: Before any food or drink
1:2-3 - General/Special Before-Blessings
General
- Borei pri Haadamah: Produce that grows from earth (Produce)
- Borei pri Haetz: Produce that grows on trees (Fruit)
- Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro: All other foods & drinks
Special
- Borei pri Hagafen: Wine (originally Haetz)
- Hamotzi lechem min haaretz: Bread (originally Haadamah)
- Borei minei Mezonos: Grain Products
1:3 - Mezonos on Bread
If one recited Mezonos on Bread, then
- Opinion 1 Fulfilled obligation
- Opinion 2 Didn’t fulfill obligation
- Practice Safek Bracha L’hakel → Opinion 1
1:4-5 - Wrong Blessing Before
If recited
- Haadamah on Fruit → Fulfilled obligation
- Haetz on Produce → Didn’t fulfill obligation
- Shehakol over any food → Fulfilled obligation
Therefore, if doubt
- Haadamah/Haetz → Haadamah
- Eyno yodea klal → Shehakol
- Difference of opinion among halachic authorities → Shehakol
Only applies after the fact or after one has studied
1:6 - Fruit & Produce Before a Person
If Fruit & Produce before a person, he recited Haadamah on Produce → Haetz on Fruit
If Fruit & Produce before a person, he recited Haadamah on Produce & Fruit
- Opinion 1 No Haetz
- Opinion 2 Specific intent only applies after the fact/case of Bracha L’vatalah (ex. Haadamah only on Fruit) → Haetz on Fruit
- Practice Never intend to cover Fruit with Haadamah
1:7 - After-Blessings
Borei Nefashos: Everything except Bircas Hamazon, Meiein Shalosh
Bircas Hamazon: Bread
Meiein Shalosh (Al Hamichyah, Al Hagefen, Al Hapeiros)
- Seven Species (wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pommegranates, olives, dates)
- Wine, since product of grapes
- Spelt, since sub-species of wheat
- Oats & rye, since sub-species of barley
1:8 - Mezonos/Al Hamichyah
Mezonos/Al Hamichyah only recited on Grain Products when one eats them in their usual form, ex.
- Cooked dish made from flour
- Grain split 2, 3, 4 parts, cooked in liquid (porridge)
Grains husked then cooked
- Opinion 1 Mezonos/Al Hamichyah
- Opinion 2 Mezonos/Al Hamichyah only if grains husked, crushed, shells dissolved/kernels stuck together through lengthy cooking → Haadamah/Borei Nefashos
- Opinion 3 Doubt → Only in Meal
- Practice L’chatchilah Opinion 3, B’dievad Opinion 2
1:9 - Liquid Mezonos
If flour (from Dagan) mixed with liquid, soft & thin, only fit for drinking → Shehakol/Borei Nefashos
If flour (from Dagan) mixed with liquid, somehwat thick - not thick enough to chew, fit to be eaten/satisfy hunger → Mezonos/Al Hamichyah
1:10 - Dochen/Orez
Dochen: Kitniyos → Shehakol/Borei Nefashos on Bread made from its flour
Orez
- Bread from its flour → Mezonos/Borei Nefashos
- Cooked until becomes one mass → Mezonos/Borei Nefashos
- Cooked without becoming one mass, grains intact
- Opinion 1 Shehakol/Borei Nefashos
- Opinion 2 Mezonos/Borei Nefashos
- Practice Opinion 1
- Haadamah Only B’dievad
1:11 - Translation Troubles
Translation of Dochen/Orez
- Opinion 1 Orez rice, Dochen millet
- Opinion 2 Orez millet, Dochen rice
- Practice L’chatchila Only in Meal, B’dievad Shehakol/Borei Nefashos on all
1:12 - Meiein Shalosh & the Holy Land
Seven Species from Diaspora: Conclude Al haaretz v’al hamichyah, Al haaretz v’al hagafen, Al haaretz v’al hapeiros
Seven Species from Eretz Yisrael: Conclude Al haaretz v’al michyasah, Al haaretz v’al gafnah, Al haaretz v’al peiroseha
1:13 - Meiein Shalosh on Mazon, Wine & Fruits
If ate grain, wine, fruit from Seven Species, then combine into one blessing
- Beginning: Al hamichyah v’al hakalkalah, v’al hagefen v’al pri hagefen, v’al haetz v’al pri haetz
- Conclusion: Al haaretz v’al hamichyah, v’al pri hagafen, v’al hapeiros. Baruch atah Hashem al haaretz v’al hamichyah v’al pri hagafen v’hapeiros.
1:14-15 - Meiein Shalosh on Normal Fruits
If one ate grapes & apples together → Al Haetz on both
If one drank wine & ate apples together → Al Hagefen on wine, Borei Nefashos on apples
If one ate grapes/raisins & drank wine together
- B’dievad Al Hagefen OK if Specific Intent to cover both
- L’chatchilah Al Hagefen v’al Haetz
Note: If Al Haetz on wine, then fulfilled obligation B’dievad
1:16 - Hagafen on Grapes/Raisins
If one had in mind to cover grapes/raisins in blessing over wine
- B’dievad Fulfilled obligation
- L’chatchilah Hagafen on wine, Haetz on grapes/raisins
1:17 - After-Blessings for Foods before Meal
If one ate food before meal solely for pleasure
B’dievad (recited Bircas Hamazon)
- Fruits from Seven Species → Not covered, Al Haetz
- Foods for which Borei Nefashos is recited → Not covered, Borei Nefashos
- Dates → Covered
- Wine → Covered
- Grain Products → Covered
L’chatchilah (remembers omission before Bircas Hamazon) → Recite specific After-Blessing
1:18 - Al Hamichyah on Borei Nefashos Foods, Borei Nefashos on Al Hamichyah Foods
If one recited Al Hamichyah on foods for which Borei Nefashos must be recited → Didn’t fulfill obligation
If one recited Borei Nefashos on foods for which Al Hamichyah must be recited → Didn’t fulfill obligation
1:19 - Safek Al Hamichyah/Borei Nefashos
If one is in doubt whether Al Hamichyah or Borei Nefashos must be recited & eaten outside meal → Eat together with food for which Al Hamichyah must be recited & for which Borei Nefashos must be recited
1:20 - Safek Al Haetz/Borei Nefashos
If one is in doubt whether Al Haetz or Borei Nefashos must be recited
- Option 1 Eat together with food for which Al Haetz must be recited & include in Al Haetz
- Option 2 Eat together with wine/Grain Products & include Al haetz v’al pri haetz
- Option 3 Only in Meal
- Practice Best Option 1; If not possible L’chatchilah Option, B’dievad Option 2
1:21 - Hagafen & Other beverages
Since wine is most prominent, its blessing Hagafen/Al Hagefen covers all other drinks
If when one recited Hagafen, other beverages were in front of him or he intended to drink them later - even if he didn’t have in mind to cover them explicitly → Other beverages covered by Hagafen & Al Hagafen
If when one recited Hagafen, other beverages were not in front of him & he didn’t intend to drink them later → Other beverages not covered by Hagafen, covered by Al Hagefen
If one drank less than reviis of wine, more than reviis of other beverages → Borei Nefashos on other beverages, even though he made Hagafen