Shulchan Aruch: Chapter 212 - [Blessing Over Food of] Primary Importance Covers [Food of] Secondary Importance

SECTION 212 [The Blessing Over Food of] Primary Importance Covers [Food of] Secondary Importance. (1–11)

1 Whenever [one partakes of a food that is of] primary importance together with a food of secondary importance, he should recite the blessing over the food that is of primary importance and [with that blessing], cover the food of secondary importance.1 [This applies] both with regard to the blessing recited before partaking of the food (berachah rishonah) and the blessing recited after partaking of it (berachah acharonah).

Needless to say, [this applies] if the secondary food is mixed together with the primary food, for example: a) any mixture of two foods, when one is of primary importance and the other comes only to improve and enhance it,2 b) they are both of primary importance, but there is a larger amount of one and a smaller amount of the other, in which instance, the food that constitutes the majority [of the mixture] is considered of primary importance, and the other of secondary importance, or c) when the actual substance of grain3 is part of a mixture, in which instance, even if there is only a small amount of grain, it is considered to be of primary importance.4

[Moreover,] even if [the primary food] is not actually mixed together with the secondary food, but was prepared with the intent that the two be eaten together — for example, a dough that was filled with fruit5 — [one should recite the blessing only on the primary food. Indeed,] even when one eats the secondary food by itself after reciting the blessing over the primary food, there is no need to recite a second blessing.6

[Furthermore,]even if [the two types of food] are not mixed together at all, but rather, one is primarily partaking of one type of food and partakes of the second only because of the first7 — i.e., were he not to partake of the first, he would not partake of the second at this time at all — [the second type of food] is considered as auxiliary to the first and is covered by its blessing. [This rule applies] even if [the second food] is bread, which is the most prestigious of all foods. For example, a person desires to eat salted fish [or other salted food] and eats bread with it so that [the salted fish] will not harm his throat. [The bread] thus becomes secondary to the fish and is covered by its blessing.

[The above ruling applies,] provided the person is not hungry and does not desire to partake of the bread at all, and would definitely not eat it now, were [he] not [to partake of] the salted food. If, however, he also desires to partake of bread, even if he eats it together with the salted food, it is not secondary to [the salted food], even if he desires [the salted food] more [than the bread]. One must recite the blessing HaMotzi over [the bread] and cover the salted food with that blessing,8 since [salted products] are foods commonly served in the midst of a meal and which are [therefore] always covered by the blessing over bread, even though they are not served because of it, as explained in sec. 177[:1].

2 Similarly, if one ate bread dipped in an alcoholic beverage before his meal, he must recite the blessing HaMotzi over the bread and cover the alcoholic beverage [with that blessing].9 True, his primary intent is for the alcoholic beverage and he soaks the bread in it and eats it only because the alcoholic beverage is potent and difficult for him to drink by itself. Nevertheless, since he is eating it before his meal, his intent is certainly also to satiate his heart [with the bread]. Therefore, the bread is not considered as secondary to the alcoholic beverage. Accordingly, he must recite the blessing HaMotzi over the bread10 and [thereby] cover thealcoholic beverage [with that blessing].11 [This ruling applies] even if his intent is not to whet his appetite, in which instance, the alcoholic beverage would not be covered by the blessing over the bread if one would drink it by itself, as stated in sec. 174[:3].

Moreover, even if one soaked bread in wine — which would require the recitation of the blessing Borei pri hagafen12 even during a meal — there is no need to recite a blessing over the wine the bread absorbs when soaked in it. Since he also intends to satisfy his heart, the bread is considered of primary importance and the wine, of secondary import. For whenever there is a mixture of a grain product with another food, as long as one also intends to partake of the grain product [for its own sake], the grain product is considered of primary importance, even when one’s fundamental intent is for the other food, as stated in sec. 208.13

3 Therefore, even when a type of baked goods referred to as pas haba bekisanin,14 over which the blessing Borei minei mezonos is recited, is soaked in wine, in another alcoholic beverage, or in other beverages, there is no need to recite a blessing over the liquid absorbed in it, nor on the liquid upon it, e.g., it was dipped into honey. [This rule applies] even if his primary intent is to partake of the liquid. (Since [the baked goods] are [made] from [one of] the five species of grain, they [and not the liquid] are considered of primary importance.)

The only exceptions are when he has no intent to eat [the pastry] at all, for example: a) when the purpose [of the pastry] is solely to protect his hands from becoming soiled from the honey, as stated in sec. 168[:9], or b) when one soaks the baked product in an alcoholic beverage and one’s intent is to partake only of the alcoholic beverage, and merely because of its potency — and [consequently the] difficulty for him to drink it by itself — does he soak the baked product in it and eat it, even though he has no desire for it at all. An example of this would be a person who, following a meal, soaks a small amount of bread in an alcoholic beverage and partakes of it to help him digest his food. In such a situation, the bread becomes secondary to the alcoholic beverage and the blessing Shehakol [nih’yah bidvaro] should be recited over it, as is the law when one drinks an alcoholic beverage in order to facilitate the digestion of food, as stated in sec. 174[:3].15

(If one soaks a food that he desires to eat, but which does not come from the five species of grain, the ruling is subject to the difference of opinion mentioned in sec. 202[:10]: There are authorities who maintain that when there is a mixture of two types of food — one of which the person would eat even by itself and the second which he would not eat by itself — even though one now intends to partake of both, the second is considered as ancillary to the first, since he is eating it only because it is mixed together with the other. There are others who differ with this opinion [and require that a separate blessing be recited over each of the foods]. As explained there, whenever there is a question whether one is obligated to recite a blessing or not, leniency is recommended [and the additional blessing is not recited].

4 Even if the person seeks and desires the flavor of the bread soaked in the beverage, but prepares [the bread] in a manner that makes it fit only to drink, not to eat — e.g., he crumbles bread into very fine crumbs and places them in hot beer to flavor it — since the bread does not have any substance and [is thus] not an important entity, the beer is considered of primary importance. (The principle that whenever a mixture contains a grain product, the grain is of primary importance, applies only when [it contains] the actual substance of the grain product, but not when one mixed it with a large amount of liquid to the extent that it became soft and fit to drink. [Instead, to be considered of primary importance,] it must be thick and fit to be eaten, as stated in sec. 208.)16

5 All the above applies to bread or other foods of which one partakes together with salted foods or an alcoholic beverage. One is, however, obligated to recite a blessingboth before and after partaking of [bread or other food] that he eats by itself after [partaking of a salted food or a strong alcoholic beverage]. For at this [time], it is not being eaten as an auxiliary [to the salted food or the alcoholic beverage] at all. Moreover, even initially, this food is considered secondary [to the salted food or the alcoholic beverage] only when they were eaten together. They were, however, neither baked nor cooked together, in which instance they would actually become one entity with regard to the blessing, and the blessing over the primary food would cover the secondary food even when he later partakes of it by itself.17 (Nevertheless, even in that instance,18 the secondary food is not [considered ancillary] to the extent that the blessing of the primary food should be recited over the secondary food if one initially eats it on its own, for the reason to be explained.)19

If, even when one eats the secondary food by itself after the primary food, it is [only] eaten as an auxiliary to the primary food, e.g., one ate bread to offset the taste of [a strong alcoholic beverage] that he previously drank, there is no need to recite a blessing over it. It is [still considered entirely] secondary to the [alcoholic] beverage and included in its blessing.

6 Whenever bread is considered as a secondary food with regard to the recitation of a blessing, it is also considered secondary with regard to washing one’s hands [before eating it. In such a situation,] one need not wash his hands even if he eats an egg-sized portion20 [of bread].21

It is preferable to refrain from eating bread to offset the taste of a beverage. For who can distinguish whether he is partaking of it [merely] to offset the taste of the beverage or [also] to satisfy his appetite? In the latter instance, he would be required to recite the blessing HaMotzi.

7 All the above applies with regard to offsetting the taste of a beverage one has already drunk. [Different rules apply] if, by contrast, [before drinking,] one partakes of clover seeds22 or the like to offset the taste of a beverage that one will [soon] drink. Eating them increases one’s desire to drink. Thus they are considered as secondary to the beverage and they would be covered by its blessing if he ate them after reciting a blessing over the beverage. Nevertheless, since he partook of them before drinking the beverage, they cannot be covered by the blessing recited for the beverage of which he will drink after eating them, because it is forbidden to derive benefit from this world without [first] reciting a blessing.23 He must therefore recite the appropriate blessing [for the seeds].24

Similar [laws apply] if one desires to drink [an alcoholic beverage] in the morning or after taking an afternoon nap, but desires to eat something beforehand, so that he will not be drinking on an empty stomach.25 Although he is eating for the sake of drinking [the alcoholic beverage] and thus the food is secondary to it, he must recite the blessing appropriate for that particular food, so that he will not derive benefit from this world without a blessing.26

8 When does the above apply? When the person drinks wine, over which the blessing Borei pri hagafen is recited, since this blessing cannot be recited over [any type of] food. When, however, one partakes of a beverage over which the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro is recited, there are authorities who maintain that one should recite the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro before partaking of the food and not the blessing appropriate for it.27 Since he is eating only for the sake of the beverage, in a manner that is auxiliary to it, one should recite the blessing for the beverage, for it is of primary importance.28

[Different laws apply,] however, to any secondary food that is only considered as auxiliary to the primary food when one eats them both together or partakes of the secondary food after the primary food. When, by contrast, he partakes of the secondary food before the primary food, then, his partaking of it is not considered as auxiliary to the primary food at all. For example, bread or another food was brought to him to eat with a salted food, so that the salted food would not harm his throat, or to offset the sharp taste of a beverage. When, by contrast, one desires to partake of the auxiliary food before partaking of the salted food or the beverage, the food is not considered as secondary to it at all. He must recite the blessing appropriate for the food, and not the blessing for the salted food or the beverage, even though that blessing is Shehakol.29

Therefore, it is preferable to eat a bit of [the other food] before reciting the blessing for the salted food or the beverage, so that one will be able to recite the appropriate blessing for that food and not have it covered by the other blessing as a secondary food.30

According to the letter of the law, one need not be concerned about this matter. True, the blessing over the primary food is Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro, which is an inclusive blessing, and the blessing over the secondary food is a more specific and distinct blessing.31 [Generally, in such a situation, the blessing over the secondary food] should not be given precedence over [that of] the primary food, since he is partaking of the secondary food only for the sake of the primary food. Thus, before he begins partaking of the primary food — at which point, he does not desire to partake of the secondary food — he is not obligated to partake of the secondary food in order to recite its blessing first, as stated in sec. 211.32

[Nevertheless, in this instance, there is reason to deviate from that rule, because] there are different blessings ordained for the primary and secondary foods. Were he to recite the blessing over the primary food first, a blessing over the secondary food would not be required at all. [Conversely,] if he were to first recite the blessing over the secondary food, he would still be required to recite a blessing over the primary food. Hence, it is preferable for him to follow the latter course of action, so that he increases the number of blessings [that he recites]. For a person should always add to the number of required blessings that he recites, while reducing the amount of blessings that are not required.33 [In this particular instance,] the blessing is required, because it is specific to the secondary food and not to the primary food. Moreover, the blessing over the primary food is not specific for the secondary food, it merely covers it, [because it is ancillary to it. Our Rabbis] instructed that one should reduce [the number of unrequired blessings he recites] only when he can cover both foods with a [single] blessing that is specific for both.

9 When does the above apply? When the primary food is not relished by the person more than the secondary food and it is mere circumstance that dictates that one be considered as the primary food. For example, a person previously ate very sweet fruit and then he had a need to partake of a salted food to decrease the [harmful] moistness that collected in his stomach. He then partakes of another food together with [the salted food], so that it will not harm his throat. [In truth,] however, he does not [particularly] relish the salted food and does not desire it [now] at all, just as he has no particular desire to partake of the other food at present, were it not for the salted food.34

Alternatively, [this ruling would apply] if the primary food is relished by him more at this time, but, generally, he relishes the secondary food more. Accordingly, [even at this time] the primary food is not given precedence over the secondary food, as stated in sec. 211.35

Needless to say, [a blessing should be recited over the secondary food] when even now he relishes the secondary food more, it is just that he would not have partaken of it had he not needed to partake of the salted food and, therefore, it is considered secondary to it. True, he is not required to give precedence to the secondary food according to law. For even though he relishes it more than the primary food, he would not partake of it at all [at this time] were it not for the primary food. Nevertheless, it is preferable to give the secondary food precedence, so as to increase the number of blessings one will recite, since the primary food does not deserve precedence in and of itself.

Moreover, even when because of its own blessing, the primary food deserves precedence, e.g., its blessing is Borei pri haadamah or Borei pri haetz, and the blessing of the secondary food is Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro, [the blessing over the secondary food should,] nevertheless, [be recited first]. For if he were to first recite the blessing Borei pri haetz or the blessing Borei pri haadamah, he would not at all recite the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro,which is appropriate for the secondary food. Hence, [in such an instance] it is not at all appropriate to speak of precedence and it is preferable to recite more blessings, as explained.

If, however, the person always relishes the primary food more than the secondary food, he must recite the blessing over it first. Since it is more important than the other food and its blessing deserves precedence because it is relished more and not because of its blessing, it is appropriate to recite the blessing over it and cover the secondary food with its blessing, because the secondary food [truly is] of an auxiliary nature. For this is the fundamental reflection of a food’s importance, that it covers another food with its blessing. Precedence alone [with regard to the recitation of a blessing] does not reflect primacy with regard to entities that possess inherent importance, as explained in sec. 211.36

Even if the blessing over the primary food is Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro and the blessing over the secondary food is more specific and more distinct, that is not sufficient to have precedence awarded to the secondary food, because the person would not have eaten it at all had he not eaten the primary food.37

[Moreover,] even if at the time he partakes of the secondary food together with the primary food, he relishes the secondary food more, but when he partakes of it by itself, he does not relish it as much as the primary food, he should not recite a blessing over it at all. [The rationale:] When he partakes of it by itself, he does not relish it as much as the primary food, and when he eats [the two] together, it is considered as secondary to the primary food. Now, whenever [one partakes of both] a primary food and a secondary food, he should recite the blessing over the primary food and cover the secondary food that is eaten together with — or after — it, even though he relishes the secondary food more.38

10 A secondary food, even one that shares the same blessing [as the primary food], is never covered by the blessing over the primary food, unless the secondary food is in the person’s presence — or he specifically had it in mind — at the time he recited the blessing over the primary food. If, however, [the secondary food] was brought to him after he recited the blessing [over the primary food] and he did not specifically have it in mind in a manner that, were it not secondary, he would be required to recite a blessing over it,39 the fact that it is a secondary food is of no consequence [and it is not] covered by the blessing over the primary food. [This rule applies] both to the blessing recited before eating (berachah rishonah) — even when the same blessing is recited over both foods, following the principles explained in sec. 206[:9] — and also to the blessing recited after eating (berachah acharonah) when the blessings for these two foods are not the same,40 unless one sat down in a fixed setting to partake41 of the primary food.42 [Moreover, this leniency applies] only with regard to a type of food that serves as the basis for an established setting, e.g., bread or wine, as stated in sec. 206[:9].43 Similar laws apply to beer and mead in these countries, as stated in sec. 213[:1].

Nevertheless, if one partakes of bread or another food to offset the taste [of an alcoholic beverage] and this is his common practice on most occasions, it is considered as if he specifically intended to do so.44

If this is not a person’s common practice, he should recite the blessing Shehakol nih’yah bidvaro — the blessing for [the alcoholic beverage] — over the bread, because it is secondary to it.45 (He need not, however, wash his hands before [partaking of the bread].46 [This leniency applies] even in an instance where he would have to recite the blessing HaMotzi [over the bread], i.e., the bread is secondary to a food over which one recites a blessing other than Shehakol.47For with regard to washing one’s hands, it is not appropriate to make a distinction between whether one had the intent to partake of the secondary food at the time he recited the blessing over the primary food, or he changed his mind [and decided to partake of it] after [reciting] the blessing. Instead, since he is partaking of the bread as an auxiliary to another food, he is exempt from washing. For [washing] was ordained for bread only when one partakes of it to satisfy one’s heart. For a meal [based on bread] is a common and frequent occurrence. Hence, concern should be shown for an extension [of the restrictions that involve] terumah, as stated in sec. 168[:1]).

11 A secondary food eaten after a primary food is covered by the blessing over the primary food only when it is eaten in the same place where one ate the primary food, without the person changing his location, [even] from room to room, in the interim. Indeed, even if it were not a secondary food, [but was of the same type as the original food,] it would not be covered [if the person moved locations]. For arising from one’s place is considered as the conclusion of his [original] meal and what he eats afterwards is considered as another meal, as stated in sec. 178[:1. There is an exception to this rule] only when the food is secondary to a food requiring that the blessing after it (berachah acharonah) be recited in its place. In such an instance, the fact that the person stands up from his place is not considered as the end of his meal, as long as he did not recite the blessing after [the primary food], as stated in that source.48