Shulchan Aruch: Chapter 204 - Blessings for Other Types of Foods

SECTION 204 The Blessings for Other Types of Foods. (1–18)

1 The blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro is recited on foods that do not grow from the earth,1 e.g., the meat of domesticated and wild animals, fowl, fish, and locusts, milk, cheese, eggs, water, salt, and honey.2 Similarly [this blessing is recited] on mushrooms and truffles, for although they grow from the earth, they do not grow [from the earth itself, but] from the moisture on it; [moreover, they also grow] on wood and on utensils. Since their nurture is not from the earth, but rather from the atmosphere, they are not considered as “the fruit of the earth” and the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro is recited over them.

2 So, too, whenever the quality of a food has deteriorated, e.g., bread became somewhat moldy or the appearance of food changed and deteriorated slightly, its blessing is downgraded [from] the specific blessing designated for it. [Instead,] the general blessing that includes all foods — Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro — is recited over it. If, however, the food has spoiled entirely to the extent that it is not fit to be eaten at all, even with difficulty, no blessing is recited over it. The same applies to bread that has become [entirely] moldy.

Similarly, when the flavor of wine has soured to the extent that people refrain from drinking it because it has so soured, the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro should be recited over it. If it turned into actual vinegar, i.e., it became so strong that when cast on the ground, it bubbles and effervesces no blessing at all should be recited upon it, because it will harm [one who partakes of it] and it is not fit to drink at all. If one mixes it with water until it is fit to drink, the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro is recited over it.3

3 Similarly, the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro is recited over all food that is eaten in a manner that differs from the intent for which the plant from which it grew was planted. For example, one partook, while it was raw, of produce which was planted with the intent that it be eaten cooked.4 Needless to say, this applies with regard to substances [from plants] that, when the plant was planted, were not intended to be eaten at all, e.g., the white center stalk of the date palm and small grape twigs.5 The same applies to soft almonds which one eats primarily for their outer shell, [since] that is not at all the purpose for which the almond tree was planted.6 This is not true regarding other fruits whose ripening process has not reached completion.7 All of this is explained in sec. 202[:4–6].

4 Similarly, the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro is recited over stalks of grain that are like hay, i.e., they are cut and eaten while they resemble grass.8

Similarly, the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro is recited over types of herbs that are not usually eaten [by themselves], but instead are used to flavor cooked dishes, e.g., anise, cumin, and coriander,9 although they are sweet and desirable to eat.10 Similarly, the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro is recited over beverages that are made by cooking produce in water, e.g., fig beer or date beer. Indeed, the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro is even recited over beer made from barley11 and not the blessing Borei minei mezonos, because it is [a] clear [liquid] and intended to be drunk, while the blessing Borei minei mezonos is recited only over food, as will be stated in sec. 208.12 It should not be compared to soup made from cooked food from one of the five species of grain over which the blessing Borei minei mezonos is recited, because the soup is considered insignificant (batel) in relation to the cooked food — and the latter has retained its form. In contrast, no trace of the substance of the barley is present in beer. Moreover, the soup is made primarily for the sake of cooking the food. This is not true with regard to beer, as explained in sec. 202[:12].

5 There are authorities who maintain that the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro should be recited over herbs of the field that are not sown, [but instead, grow wildly].

To what does the above apply? To herbs that are inferior by nature. When, however, desirable fruit grows [wildly], without being sown, e.g., [red] berries and raspberries, the blessing Borei pri haadamah should be recited upon them, just as the blessing Borei pri haetz is recited over important fruit that grows on barren trees, as stated in sec. 203[:2]. There is an authority13 who would recite the blessing Borei pri haadamah on [all] produce that grew from the earth and the blessing Borei pri haetz on [all] fruit that grew on a tree, even for inferior species like herbs and the like.

6 Wine whose fragrance resembles vinegar, but tastes like wine, is still considered as wine and its blessing does not change.14 If, however, it tastes like vinegar even though its fragrance resembles wine, the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro is recited over it,15 because the taste [and not the fragrance] is the determining factor.

7 Wine that was boiled16 is not considered to have deteriorated. True, not everyone drinks boiled wine like uncooked wine, because of its strength. Nevertheless, its flavor and its fragrance are superior [to uncooked wine]. Therefore, its blessing does not change and the blessing Borei pri hagafen is recited over it.

8 Similarly, when honey or pepper is mixed into wine, the blessing Borei pri hagafen is recited over it; although its flavor has changed, it has not deteriorated. [A different ruling applies] if another beverage17 was mixed with wine. If a quantity sufficient to detract from the taste of the wine was added, the blessing Borei pri hagafen should not be recited over it, only the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro, since its flavor has deteriorated. If fig beer was mixed into wine, since it does not detract from the wine’s flavor, the ruling is dependent on the proportion of the beverages. If the majority is wine, the blessing Borei pri hagafen should be recited. If the majority is beer, the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro should be recited.

9 When wine is mixed with water, even if there is a majority of water, the blessing Borei pri hagafen should [still] be recited, provided: a) the wine remains strong enough that it is still fit to drink [even] when so heavily diluted, and b) it is common for people to drink it as wine18 [even] when diluted to this extent. For were this not the case, [i.e., one person would drink it as wine, but most people would not,] the person’s individual feelings would be considered insignificant in light of the approach of people at large.

If there are six parts water to every part wine, [i.e.,] the volume of the water is six times the volume of the wine, the blessing Borei pri hagafen should never be recited over it. Even if it has the taste of wine, [the presence of the wine] is not considered significant at all when diluted to the extent that the water is six times the amount of wine.19

10 [The following laws apply when] one added water to wine dregs [collected] in a filter:

If he poured three measures of water and received four measures, i.e., one measure of wine was released from the wine dregs, the mixture is considered as diluted wine.20 For this was the practice in the Talmudic era: their wines were strong and they would blend them with three parts of water. Therefore, the blessing Borei pri hagafen is recited over the above blend.

Ifless than four measures of liquid are produced, even though the mixture has the flavor of wine, it is considered as no more than souring, and one should merely recite the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro over it.21 [Presently,] our wines are not that strong. Hence, [the ruling depends] on the proportion with which it is prevalent to dilute wine in any given location. If the proportion of wine in the liquid that trickled [from the dregs] is less than that of the locally accepted norm for diluted wine, one should recite the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro.

When, however, one did not pour water over wine dregs [and liquid naturally trickled from them], (that liquid is not considered as mere souring), but rather wine in a complete sense. The blessing Borei pri hagafen is recited over it.

11 The laws governing temed, [a drink made] by leaving grape pits and/or peels to steep in water, are the same as those governing wine dregs. If the proportion of wine in the resulting beverage is less than that of the locally accepted norm for diluted wine, the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro is recited.

When does the above apply? When the pits and peels were produced by [crushing grapes] with a beam. If, however, [the grapes] had merely been trodden by foot [in a vat, it can be assumed that] much moistness of wine remained within them. Hence, even if they were left to steep in three measures of water and only three measures or less were produced, the blessing Borei pri hagafen is recited, because [the resulting mixture] is wine. [It can be assumed that the additional] water was absorbed in the pits and the peels, and the mixture produced contains a large proportion of wine.

[The laws that apply when] raisins were left to steep in water are explained in sec. 272[:7].22

12 If figs were left to steep in water together with grape peels to strengthen the flavor of the wine, even when the grape peels are the majority, there is room to question whether the blessing Borei pri hagafen should be recited over such temed, since the full potency of the figs is present in the beverage. Because of the doubt, one should recite the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro, which all authorities agree is the blessing to be recited for water in which figs and other fruit are steeped if the purpose of soaking the fruit is to produce a drink, as stated in sec. 202[:12]. If one drank enough to be obligated to recite a blessing after drinking (berachah acharonah) and seeks to remove any doubt,23 he should drink wine and recite the blessing Al hagefen afterwards. In that way, he will certainly cover the temed, for [even if it is not considered as wine, reciting a blessing] over wine — whether the blessing before drinking (berachah rishonah) or the blessing after drinking (berachah acharonah) — covers all other beverages, as stated in sec. 20824 and sec. 174[:4. 7].

13 The blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro should not be recited before drinking water, nor the blessing Borei nefashos afterwards, unless one drinks because he is thirsty. If, however, one drinks to swallow a cheekful [of food] that is causing him to choke,25 he should not recite a blessing, neither beforehand nor afterwards.26 For a person only derives satisfaction from drinking water when he is thirsty.

With regard to other beverages, by contrast, a person who drinks them [also] derives physical satisfaction from their flavor. [Therefore,] he must recite a blessing before and after partaking of them even though he does not desire them and is not partaking of them because he wants to, butbecause he is forced to, [for example,] because he is choking on a cheekful of food, since he is deriving satisfaction from drinking them.

14 Similar [principles apply] with regard to all foods and beverages which a person eats or drinks for curative purposes. If they have a pleasant flavor and the person’s palate benefits from them, he must recite a blessing before and after partaking of them, even if he does not desire to partake of them at all and partakes of them only because he is forced to, due to his illness. If, however, they have an unpleasant [taste] and he does not derive any satisfaction from them, although he is being healed through them, he should not recite a blessing before partaking of them or afterwards.27 (If their taste is neither desirable, nor entirely bad tasting, there is an authority who maintains that one should always recite the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidivero over them.)28

15 Similarly, when a sick person [must] eat on Yom Kippur29 or when a person [must] eat forbidden food because of a danger [to life], he must recite a blessing beforehand and afterwards, because he is deriving benefit. [This is true] even though he does not willingly derive satisfaction at all [and eats only] because he is forced to, because of his illness.

There are authorities who maintain that the same laws apply to a healthy person whom robbers30 compelled to eat or drink. Even though he is deriving benefit only due to compulsion, he must recite [these] blessings, unless eating [in these circumstances] is so repulsive to him that he derives no satisfaction from it at all, similar to the situation described in sec. 197:9.31

Other authorities maintain that a healthy person who was forced by robbers [to eat] should not recite blessings on what he eats and drinks, even though he derives benefit from it.32 [After all,] how can one bless G‑d Who created this food or drink when he presently has no desire for it at all?! His situation cannot be likened to that of a sick person [who recites a blessing before he eats. In that instance,] since the person is already ill and desires to be healed with this food or drink, he is certainly obligated to thank G‑d for creating them. While it is true that he should not recite the blessings for the benefit of healing alone,33 he nevertheless is required to recite a blessing for the sake of the food and drink [from which he derives satisfaction] and which he desires [to eat] so that he will be healed, since he is already sick. When, by contrast, robbers compel [a person to eat, he need not recite a blessing over the food]. Even though he is already beset by robbers, [his situation is not comparable to the situation involving illness mentioned above. Since he does not desire to eat, it is not appropriate for him to praise G‑d for creating this food. For] if this food had not been created, they would not be compelling him to partake of it.

([With regard to actual practice, we follow the principle:] when there is a doubt whether a blessing should be recited, a lenient ruling is favored [and the blessing is not recited].)

16 When honey was cooked together with a variety ofcrushed spices in order to flavor it, as is the practice of wayfarers, the honey is considered the primary element [of the mixture] (ikar), and the spices secondary (tafel). Therefore, one should recite the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro, because the spices come to improve and flavor the honey. When, however, [different] types of confections are made from fruits, herbs, orvariousspices steeped in honey, even if the other elements of the mixture are thoroughly crushed and mixed into the honey, they are considered as the primary element, and the blessing appropriate for them should be recited in the manner explained in sec. 202[:18. The rationale is that] the honey comes to preserve the food mixed with it. Therefore, the honey is considered as secondary to [the primary food], even if there is much more of the honey than [of the other food].34

17 To what does the above apply? To a confection (which is made to be preserved, to be eaten a little bit at a time, and not to be eaten in large amounts as sustaining food and as a cooked dish. Therefore the honey is not considered as of primary importance, even though it is the larger portion of the mixture.) When, however, cooked food that is meant to be eaten [as a significant element of a meal] is made from a mixture of honey and other types of food that are not one of the five species of grain35 — instead, they are fruits or kitniyos36— the ruling is determined by the majority [of the substances].37 If the honey constitutes the larger part [of the mixture], it is considered the primary element. The blessing should be recited over it [and thereby] cover the fruit [as well]. The opposite is equally true [if the other food constitutes the majority].

[The ruling that the blessing to be recited is determined by the larger part of the mixture applies] even if [the fruits or the kitniyos] are not crushed and mixed together with [the honey], but are intact in [the honey]. Since they were cooked together and became one cooked dish, [they are covered by a single blessing]. The same ruling applies [when foods are cooked] in other liquids, with the exception of water.38

If, however, the foods were not cooked together, but were mixed together to be eaten as one, the ruling is not determined by the majority [of the substances]. Instead, one must recite blessings on both of them, as stated in sec. 202[:13, 23], unless one of them is of primary importance and the other only serves to improve and enable one to partake of the first. In such an instance, even if they were cooked together, one should recite the blessing only on the primary food, even if it constitutes the lesser part [of the mixture].39

18 In [the blessing] Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro, the yud of nih’yah should be vocalized with a kametz, for [our Sages] ordained that [the wording of] all the blessings use the past tense, as explained in sec. 167[:5]. Therefore, we say borei, “Who created,” and not HaBorei, “the One Who creates.” For the term borei more clearly refers to the past, as stated there.