Hilchos B'rachos part XXIII
Order of Berachos
Is there any importance in the order one recites Berachos, and if yes, why?
The Mishna Berachos 40b cites R’ Yehuda saying that for one who has
fruits before him, one first recites the b’racha on one of the seven
species and Chachamim say that one recites the b’racha on the fruit one
prefers.
We therefore see from Chazal that there is significance to the order of
Berachos, and it should not be taken lightly.
The Shulchan Aruch HaRav writes
that
it is a îöåä îï äîåáçø, and the Mishna
Berura writes
that
it is a äéãåø îöåä. The consensus is that one
should recite the b’racha on the most important item. The poskim
then argue as to what is considered the most important item. For example, an
item one prefers over others, or one of the seven species. As we will see, the
idea is to enhance the b’racha to its utmost.
What defines the correct order of Berachos?
There are two categories: different berachos and different foods of the
same b’racha.
Different Berachos
Two or more items of different berachos, one recites the more important
b’racha, regardless of the type of food. The order of Berachos is:
1) Mezonos, 2) Gefen, 3)
Eitz, 4) Adamah, 5) Shehakol. (In Lashon Hakodesh the acronym is
îâò àù – îæåðåú, âôï,
òõ, àãîä, ùäëì).
However, between eitz
and ha’adamah, things are not that simple. Variables will dramatically
change the order, as follows.
1)
Generally preferred
2)
Seven species
For example, one has an
olive and a carrot. If one likes carrots more than olives, one would recite
ha’adamah over the carrot and then ha’eitz for the olive. If no
preference, one would recite ha’eitz, both because the olive is of the
seven species and because when no preference, ha’eitz precedes
ha’adamah.
L’ma’ase:
cookies, lokshen and cake precede everything else, because one recites
mezonos over them.
~ A piece of
cake precedes a glass of Coke, even though one tends to always prefer Coke to
anything else.
~ An apple
precedes candy, even if one always prefers candy, because an apple is ha’eitz
and candy is shehakol.
~
A melon and grapes and one prefers melon, one will recite ha’adamah on the melon
and then ha’eitz on the grapes.
Must one finish eating the
first item and only then recite the b’racha on the second item?
One need not finish eating
the first item, as the order of the
berachos
only deals with the reciting of the b’racha and not with the entire
eating.
What if a more important
item is on the table but I do not want to eat it?
One need not recite a
b’racha on the more important item just for the sake of the b’racha,
as the order of
berachos deals
with the items one wishes to eat and not with items available.
Similar Berachos
When one wishes to eat
several fruits and vegetables and they share the same b’racha, one must
recite the b’racha over the most important item, as in the following
list:
1)
Seven species, 2) Whole, 3) Preferred.
2)
Within the seven species, one recites the b’racha on the one closer to
the
àøõ,
of
àøõ çéèä
åùòåøä âôï úàðä åøîåï, àøõ æéú úîø
. A date precedes
a grape because a date is 2nd from the second
àøõ
and a grape is 3rd from the first
àøõ.
~
A date and an apple – the
date.
~
A whole apple precedes half
a pear, even though the pear is preferred.
If however one slices the apple before the b’racha is recited, it loses
its precedence.
~
Carrots and watermelon, the
b’racha is recited on the preferred item (watermelon, to most people).
As stated, one need not eat the entire watermelon and only then eat the carrot.
It is enough to have one bite of watermelon and then one may eat the carrot.
~
Rice and dates, one recites
mezonos on the rice and then ha’eitz on the dates.
~
Puffed wheat and figs, first
recite ha’adamah on the puffed wheat and then ha’eitz on the figs.
The Mishna Berura
writes that wheat precedes species mentioned later in the
possuk.
If you recited a b’racha
on a secondary item instead of the main one, the b’racha is valid.
