SECTION 207 The Laws Governing the Blessing to be Recited After Partaking of Produce. (1–2)

רז דִּין בְּרָכָה אַחֲרוֹנָה עַל פֵּרוֹת, וּבוֹ ב' סְעִיפִים:

1 The blessing Borei nefashos (“…Who created souls…”) should be recited [after partaking] of “the fruit of trees,” with the exception of those from the five species,1 as will be stated in sec. 208,2 on “the produce of the earth,” on leafy vegetables,3 and on all foods that do not grow from the earth.4 If one partook of the minimum measure5 of any of these types of foods, he should recite [only] one blessing,6 since the same blessing is recited for all [these types of food]. This same law applies if one ate and drank.

This blessing concludes without the mention of G‑d’s name, Baruch chei haolamim, “Blessed is He Who is the life of all worlds.”7 [This ruling — whereby only the word Baruch is recited — reflects a compromise,] because there are authorities who maintain that [our Sages] ordained a concluding blessing for it8 and other authorities maintain that they ordained that its recitation employ the short format [for blessings].9

א עַל פֵּרוֹת הָאִילָן, חוּץ מֵה' מִינִים1 שֶׁיִּתְבָּאֵר בְּסִימָן ר"ח,א,2 וְעַל כָּל פֵּרוֹת אֲדָמָה וִירָקוֹת,3 וְכָל דָּבָר שֶׁאֵין גִּדּוּלוֹ מִן הָאָרֶץ4 – מְבָרֵךְ לְאַחֲרֵיהֶם "בּוֹרֵא נְפָשׁוֹת רַבּוֹת".ב וְאִם אָכַל כְּשִׁעוּר5 מִכָּל מִין וָמִין מִמִּינִים אֵלּוּג – מְבָרֵךְ לְאַחֲרֵיהֶם בְּרָכָה אַחַת,6 כֵּיוָן שֶׁבִּרְכָתָם שָׁוָה.ד וְהוּא הַדִּין אִם אָכַל וְשָׁתָה.ה

וּבְרָכָה זוֹ חוֹתֵם בָּהּ בְּלֹא שֵׁם, שֶׁאוֹמֵר: "בָּרוּךְ חֵי הָעוֹלָמִים",ו,7 לְפִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ אוֹמְרִים שֶׁתִּקְּנוּ בָּהּ חֲתִימָה,ז,8 וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִיםח שֶׁלֹּא תִּקְּנוּ, אֶלָּא הוּא מַטְבֵּעַ קָצָר: ט,9

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2 The meaning of the term vechesronan [in this blessing]resembles [that of the term machsorecha alai in the verse:]10 “All your needs (machsorecha) are my [responsibility],” i.e., [vechesronan means] “what [people] need for their sustenance,” what they lack and must have in order to exist, what they could not do without, e.g., bread [i.e., sustaining food,] and water. [The blessing continues:] “for everything that You have created with which to grant vitality to” — this refers to the other entities that G‑d created from which [man] derives pleasure, like fruit.11

Others say that the term chesronan is linked to the phrase “for everything that You created to grant vitality to,” i.e., [You created beings] that are lacking and need “everything You created to grant vitality to….”

The term chei (“life of”) should be pronounced chei, i.e., vocalized with a tzeirei.

The sections [208–211 are] not extant. They were never printed in the [Alter Rebbe’s] Shulchan Aruch. The themes discussed in them can be found in the Alter Rebbe’s Seder Birkas HaNehenin.12

ב "וְחֶסְרוֹנָן", הוּא מִלְּשׁוֹן10 "כָּל מַחְסוֹרְךָ עָלָי",י כְּלוֹמַר צָרְכֵי סִפּוּקָן, שֶׁהֵם חֲסֵרִים וּצְרִיכִים לָהֶם לְצֹרֶךְ קִיּוּם חֲיּוּתָם, שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לָהֶם לְהִתְקַיֵּם זוּלָתָם, כְּגוֹן לֶחֶם וּמַיִם. וְ"עַל כָּל מַה שֶּׁבָּרָאתָיא לְהַחֲיוֹת בָּהֶם", הֵם שְׁאָר הַדְּבָרִים שֶׁבְּרָאָם לְהִתְעַנֵּג בָּהֶם, כְּגוֹן מִינֵי פֵּרוֹת.יב,11

וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים,יג שֶׁ"חֶסְרוֹנָן" הוּא דָּבוּק לְ"עַל כָּל מַה שֶּׁבָּרָאתָ", כְּלוֹמַר שֶׁהֵם חֲסֵרִים וּצְרִיכִים לְ"כָל מַה שֶּׁבָּרָאתָ לְהַחֲיוֹת כוּ'".

צָרִיךְ לוֹמַר "חֵי" בְּצֵרֵ"י: יד

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