Hilchos B'rachos part XIV
Which Bread First?
“On
which item should the b’racha be recited?” is an important sector of
Hilchos B’rachos.
For
example, we are familiar with the concept of Shiva Minim (seven species)
versus regular fruit, where in most cases the shiva minim take precedence
and one recites a boreh p’ri ho’eitz on the pomegranate and not on the
apple.
We find
a similar concept relating to on which bread we recite hamotzi when faced
with several types of bread.
What difference does it make?
When
one intends eating two types of bread or more, one recites hamotzi on the
most important one.
A
b’racha should l’chatchila always be recited on the most important
item, as a hidur mitzvah – to perform the mitzvah (in this case
the b’racha) in the most beautiful manner possible.
What is the order of importance?
The
Mishna Berura cites the order as follows: Seven species – Whole –
Clean – Big.
Seven Species –
çéèä åùòåøä – wheat and barley are
specifically mentioned in the torah and precede the other three grains, namely
ëåñîéï, ùéôåï åùéáåìú ùåòì which are generally
translated as spelt, rye and oats and are not specifically mentioned.
Wheat
bread has precedent over barley bread, and these two have precedent over the
other three.
The
table looks like this:
Wheat >
barley/ spelt/ rye/ oats
Barley >
spelt/ rye/ oats
Spelt >
rye/ oats
Rye > oats
What if I want to eat rye bread and not the wheat bread?
Recite
the b’racha on rye bread, because when you do not intend eating one of
the breads it does not enter the equation.
You
need not eat the more important item just because of the b’racha.
Whole versus slice
A whole
loaf of bread has precedent over a slice of bread,
even
if the slice of bread is larger than the whole bread. Consequently, one should
recite the b’racha over a whole roll (bun) even when it is small, rather
then reciting hamotzi over a large, sliced challa.
What if the sliced bread is
purer than the whole bread?
Purer
meaning finer wheat or better sifted. Even in such an event, one recites the
b’racha over the whole bread. Whole wheat bread is less fine than pure white
flour, and consequently one recites hamotzi over a whole wheat roll and
not on sliced white bread.
Large
Size is
also a factor but of lesser importance. When faced with two loaves or slices of
similar quality, one recites hamotzi over the larger one.
Cleaner
or whiter flour precedes size, and therefore one recites hamotzi on a
smaller slice of white bread and not on larger dark bread.
What is the relationship
between size, clean and whole?
The
equation is whole > clean > size.
A whole
brown pita has precedent over a pure white slice of challa, but only if one
intends on consuming both. If one only wants to eat the challa, one recites the
b’racha on the slice of challa.
What if you took a slice
of bread into your hand before you began the b’racha and a whole bun is then
placed on the table?
In such
a case one takes the whole bun together with the slice and recites the
b’racha on both.
If
one already recited the b’racha on the slice and then the bun was placed
on the table, one first eats the slice on which the b’racha was recited.
The
Mishna Berura does not discuss a case where the whole bun was placed on the
table during the recital of the b’racha, but it would seem that in
such a case one does not take the bun.
