Everyday Judaism · Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe

You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of TORCH in Houston, Texas. This is the Everyday Judaism Podcast.

Welcome back. Good morning, everybody. It is so wonderful to be here, Everyday Judaism Podcast. Today we're going to study the laws of blessings for food that one eats or drinks during a meal, just so that we get everything in order. We were talking about the laws of blessings. We talked about the laws of eating a meal, proper dignity in how we eat, who we eat with,
who we should wait for when we eat. We talked about a lot of different aspects of this. Now, before going into chapter 43 in the Ketzeshochanach and hopefully finishing the entire semen today, I want you to just understand that every meal that we are referring to is a meal that begins with bread. So we wash our hands, we recite the blessing of al nitilat yadayim, we take the bread, we make a blessing on the bread, and eat our bread. And now our meal has begun. Okay?
That's the way when we're talking about a meal, that's what we're referring to. And when our halacha in this coming chapter is going to talk about eating something in the meal or within the meal, it's referring that it began with bread. It began with the hamotzi. Okay? So now, what you eat inside that meal is all covered by the hamotzi blessing. You don't need to recite other blessings added on to it. Okay, so let's begin. Any foods that we eat during a meal.
So he says, anything that you eat during a meal to satiate your hunger, like fish, chicken, meat, condiments, cereal, pancakes, even things that you don't eat with bread. It means just a dish, any dish, rice. You're eating that on its own. You're not eating it with your bread. So anything that you eat in the meal that begins with bread, and then will end with the grace after meals, with the birkat hamazon, all of those, they do not require a special individual blessing on those foods.
Not before eating them, and not after eating them. Why? Because the blessing of hamotzi covered them all. The reason for this is that since these foods are eaten to satisfy hunger, they are all considered part of a meal. And the entire meal goes after the bread, meaning anything that is considered part of the meal is not viewed independently, for the entire meal is considered subordinate to the bread with which the meal began. Which is the primary source of sustenance for mankind.
All the foods that are eaten in that meal are exempt from individual blessings before eating them, and blessings after, because you already recited the hamotzi in the beginning of the meal, and you're going to recite the grace after meals after the birkat hamazon, and therefore they are all exempt from individual blessings. Okay, is everything clear? You got this? Okay, great. And even in the case where after he began the meal, food was sent to him from a neighbor.
You do not need to recite a separate blessing on them. Because when one recites hamotzi, he has in mind that everything that's going to be in this meal is part of the meal. Okay, now if you notice when we began, we said food that satiates hunger. What does not satiate hunger? Dessert. Okay, we're going to talk about that. Dessert is one of the most interesting and perhaps confusing parts of the laws of blessings,
because we have to know what falls into the category of being part of the meal, and what does not fall into the category of being part of the meal. Okay, halacha number two. Likewise. You don't need to recite a separate blessing on all the drinks that you will drink throughout the meal. Because beverages are considered part of the meal as well. Because it's very uncommon for one to eat and not to drink. One exception. And that's wine.
Because wine is a very respectable and special and significant thing. Even though he doesn't need to drink wine. Nobody drinks wine to satiate their hunger or thirst, or to quench their thirst. But, for example, the obligation of Kiddush on Shabbos and Havdalah at the conclusion of Shabbos over wine. Therefore one must recite a blessing upon drinking wine even during a meal. But if you began, like on Friday night, you begin the meal with wine, with Kiddush. On Shabbos morning you begin the meal with wine.
Then during the meal you do not need to recite another blessing, because you already recited the blessing at the onset of the meal. However, it's important to know. If you bring during the meal a finer wine onto the table that was not on the table at the time of Kiddush, then you recite a blessing. Not B'orei P'rei HaGafen. Because that you fulfilled already. You recite a different blessing of Atov HaMeitei. We're going to get to those laws soon.
If one recited the blessing on drinking wine before washing his hands for the meal, so typically Friday night, what do we do? We make Kiddush. Then we wash our hands for the bread. We make the Hamotzi on the bread and we eat the bread. Now our meal has begun. So you drank the wine before the Hamotzi, before eating the bread, but you had in mind that all future wine that you're going to drink throughout the meal is included in that blessing.
Because he's accustomed to drinking wine in the course of his meal. You do not need to recite a separate blessing, a second blessing on that wine. Because it is already exempt on the wine blessing that you recite at the onset of the meal. B'Evrocha She'Be'Roch Halav L'fnei HaSe'Uda B'Yayin Saraf B'Medin HaSe'Nu Liquor that is served many times during a meal. De'Ein Derach Le'Shtoso Tamid B'Soch HaSe'Uda Which is not always a standard to drink during a meal. HaVi Sofe Kimu B'Chal HaSe'Udo Lo
There is a halachic doubt whether or not this blessing needs to be recited on the liquor. So if you're having in the middle of your meal, you're having a shot of whiskey, or a shot of tequila, or one of those delicious things. So HaVi Sofe Kimu B'Chal HaSe'Udo Lo It is a doubt whether or not it is considered a part of the meal. L'Chayim Therefore, Im Da'To Le'Shtoso Y'Ein Saraf B'Soch HaSe'Udo Yishte Me'At Kodim L'Ti HaSe'Udayim
He says, therefore, if one is planning to drink liquor during the meal, he should drink a little bit before he washes his hands for the meal. And to drink a little bit and recite it then, the blessing before. And should have in mind that all the future drinks that he will drink throughout the meal will be included in that blessing. Gama Sh'Yishte B'Soch HaSe'Udo Yim Lo HaSe'Chayim Yivarek Mit'Chilo Al'Gtas Tzukar
He says, then, a solution to this would be to recite a blessing on a little bit of sugar. And then he will exempt the liquor. Some say that you should just dip a little bit of bread into the liquor to avoid the halachic doubt regarding the blessing for the liquor. And there are those authorities who have reservations about the efficacy of this solution. Today, already, it's become completely normal for people to have a shot of alcohol of any kind during a meal. It's a normal thing today.
Most meals that I've ever been to, at some point during the meal, at least in my home, when we're hosting, I will go right after the fish course, I will go and offer everyone a drink of wine or a drink of any beverage, if they're over the age of 21, of course. But what's the reason for that? There's a number of reasons for it. There's an ancient teaching, which we learned here in our halach, that one should not eat fish and meat or chicken together. Okay?
You should always have a separation between fish and eating meat or chicken. Why? Because of danger of one... There's a halacha that talks about the dangers of eating, and eating fish and meat together is problematic. Therefore, in halacha, between... Again, it's not like fish... It's not like dairy and meat. It's not like milk and meat, which the Torah says should not be eaten together. And we separate six hours between eating meat and milk. Different, that's a different law.
What we're talking about now is just not eating them together. So typically, at most Shabbos dinners, they will serve the fish, clear away all the fish, clear away the plates, clear away the forks. You don't use the same forks even. And then you'll drink something to separate between the fish and then the main course being the meat or the chicken or whatever else. Don't eat them together. It's a health thing. I believe the Rambam is the first to bring it down.
Maybe the Talmud, it's actually brought... Okay, now what would happen back in the... What people would do is that they wanted to clean all remnants of the fish. So what they would do is they would drink a shot of liquor or whatever it was, and that alcohol would sort of cleanse their palate, cleanse not only for flavor and taste but also for purification. So if there was anything, any remnants of the fish, it would be cleaned out with that shot of whiskey.
So that's typically when people will make a lachayim. They will do it after eating the fish. Halacha number three. Imrod tzelecho b'soch ha'sud. If one wishes to eat during a meal peyros b'lo pas, fruits eaten separately from the bread, the law is as follows. Kei von she'ein ha'peyros me'ker ha'sud. Since fruits are not the primary component of a meal, therefore, even if they were placed on the table, before the hamotzi was recited, they do not exempt.
They're not exempt of the blessing because of the hamotzi. And one must recite the before blessing for eating fruits because fruits are not typically eaten to satiate one's hunger. And even if those fruits were on the table, it doesn't exempt it from the blessing. Av obrocha achrona einon tzrichin. But the after blessing does go along with the bir kasamozim. K'niftaron bir kasamozim. They are exempt. Ve'im einor tzelecho b'lo pas. If one does not want to eat any fruit unaccompanied by bread,
rak im pas, but only eating it with bread. So he's eating his fruits together with his bread. Ein tzorch l'orach ha'lem. Then you don't need to recite a special blessing on them because what is the main part? The main part is the bread. K'him t'felem l'pas. Because they're considered subordinate to the bread. Ve'im rotz l'echol. And if one wants to eat ktzas im pas ve'ktzas b'lo pas. He wants to eat a little bit of his fruit with the bread, some without the bread.
Tzorch l'zor. One should be careful. Le'echol t'chilo b'lo pas. Ve'ivor ha'lem. Ve'achakach yechon le'echol gam im pas. Then you should eat the first bite of the fruit without the bread. Recite the blessing on it. And then eat it with the bread. Avl'im yorchol t'chilo im pas. But if one eats first with the bread, ve'achakach b'lo pas, and then without the bread, yiko sfeiko b'brocho, then there is a doubt whether or not he is obligated to recite that blessing.
And whenever you have a doubt with blessings, le'kulo, we go to the more lenient side, and you do not recite a blessing. Whenever you have a doubt regarding blessing, for example, if someone doesn't remember if they recited a blessing, sfeiko b'rochos le'hakel. We assume that you recited the blessing, and you do not recite a blessing again. An exemption to the above halacha. Ve'yei she'rigilim le'echol, bein ma'achol le'ma'achol, eize dover she'mam shichtav es ha'achilo.
People, there are people who are accustomed that between courses, they eat something to arouse their appetite. Kigon, zayis moloch, pickled olives, limonim moluchim, pickled lemons, tznon, radish, the kadoma, and the like. In Israel, they do this. They have these spicy vegetables that they, that they, that sort of is like opening up your palate for your next course. That's going to be eaten. Ze'u nikra ma'ach ma'suda. Although fruits ordinarily require a broccoli shona, even during the meal,
these are considered part of the meal. Why? Because their only purpose is to open your appetite for the next course. Kigon, sha'a yidei chayin, hu yochal yose, because like this, you're going to eat more because you're going to have a bigger appetite. Lo chayin, ein tzorach levorach halav. Therefore, you do not need to recite a blessing on those fruits that are eating during, eaten during the meal. Sha'a pas potro, because the bread absolves that, that obligation of blessing.
Number four, halacha number four, in Simeon 43. Im kovay eker suda sa'al perus, if one designates fruits as the main part of his meal, sheyoch lemim hapas, so he will eat them with his bread. Keven shehu eker suda, since this is the main part of his meal, niftam berech ha'motzi, they are exempt because the ha'motzi covered that. Ve'afilu lo hay azal ha'shochan, even if they were not on the table at the time of the ha'motzi. Rak tzorach shechilas achilas ha'perus yeim hapas.
The only thing that you should be cautious is to eat the beginning of your fruit dish with some bread. Ve'achakach ga'ma sheyoch ha'blo pas, einot tzorach levorach ha'leim. Then even what you eat after, without the bread, will also be included in that meal. Okay, now, there are some people, I remember my grandfather, my grandfather was a vegetarian, except for once a year. There's a special mitzvah to eat meat before Yom Kippur. So he would eat meat before Yom Kippur
and it would give him strength for the whole Yom Kippur for fasting. And it's very interesting that I was trying to persuade my grandfather, I said, if it gives you so much strength for Yom Kippur when he was older, already in his 90s, I said, you should eat it every day if it gives you so much strength, you should, you know, he didn't take my advice. But either way, now, one of the reasons he was,
if I am not mistaken, this is something that I learned from an interview that someone interviewed my grandmother, of blessed memory. And she said that when my grandfather was in Sweden, he had heard that there was an entire train load of hundreds of Jewish girls that were taken from DP camps that were being imported into Sweden because there was a shortage of women for the Swedish men. And my grandfather heard about this and he said, no way, not our Jewish girls,
they're not going to be defiled by the Swedish men, non-Jews, we're not going to do that. So he opened up a school overnight for these girls. My grandfather was single. One of those teachers was my grandmother. So, very amazingly, my grandfather also went on Rosh Hashanah bed to bed because there were many sick girls. They were in a hospital. My grandfather went from one room to another room and blew the chauffeur for each of these girls.
Some of them didn't make it through Rosh Hashanah even. They were so sick. But my grandfather, where did he sleep? He didn't have where to sleep. And he slept on the floor and apparently he got very, very sick. And that's one of the reasons, if I understood the interview correctly, that's one of the reasons he was limited on what he could eat and why he didn't eat meat unless he absolutely needed to because his whole digestive system
was from that illness that he got in the hospital because he was so cold and he was so frigid, he asked for a second blanket, but he was just so cold. And that affected the rest of his life. He was affected because of that experience in the hospital. This is my grandfather, Rabbi Shlomo. Although, friend, this is something I never knew about until I read this interview that my grandmother was interviewed in some newspaper in Israel. All right, either way,
halacha number five. Although fruit is generally not considered part of a meal, it can be served during the meal in a way that, according to some authorities, its presentation clearly demonstrates that it is one of the regular courses of the meal and is therefore exempt from the requirement of the first blessing, the bracha ruchonah. Now, I want you to understand this. The reason why I mentioned my grandfather is because sometimes he would have fruit during the meal. He would start his meal
and he would have either a tea or some fruit juice and then he would have some fruit because he wouldn't eat the regular, ordinary foods that we were eating when we were guests at his table. So that's why I was thinking my grandfather would always eat fruits as part of his meal because that was the dish that he was eating. Okay. Peiros ha-mevushom letzar chesuda. Fruits that were cooked for the purpose of eating them during the meal. Kimoshe rugil levashe,
which is a customary to cook, there was a custom that people would have a side dish that was served with the main dish, bein im bossa, bein b'lo bossa, whether it was cooked with the meat or without the meat. Yesh le'echol me'hen b'tchila u'basof. One should eat both. So one should begin and conclude the eating of these fruits by eating it with some bread. K'tzas im ha-pas. So be'emtza, Yochol le'echol me'hen gam b'lo pas. And then it means
the bookends of your dish that you're eating should be with bread, but all in the middle, it's fine and then there's no obligation. Ve'ein tzrichen brocha. Then it does not require an extra blessing. Halacha number six and number seven. We have six and seven and then we're at six, seven. And then we conclude this chapter. Maase ofeh. Baked goods like sugar cake or tort or almond cake and the like. Im ochol me'hen macha m'sor oven.
If a person is eating it because he's hungry and this is part of his, satisfying his hunger. K'dayl izba me'hen. Einot tzorich le'var chalem. You do not need to recite a special blessing on them. Avol im ochol me'hen rach l'tanuk. But if he's eating it just because he enjoys this cake and this is his dessert. Yesh sofek ba'brocha. There is a doubt whether or not one should recite a blessing on this. So what's the solution? Al k'ein.
Therefore, Ro'oi l'chavin b'shaz berchas hamotzi. Liftor kol ma'sh yochol me'minim elu. When one recites the hamotzi at the beginning of the meal, he should have in mind that everything that he's eating inside the meal is part of the meal and even that fruit or that kompot or whatever it is that one is going to be eating is already included in the first blessing. Halacha number seven. Im la'ach ha'g'mar ha'suda. If after the conclusion of the meal,
kol der berchas hamotzi, before he recites the grace after meal, shoteh kafeh. K'dayl la'ak el hamazon she'ochal. He drinks coffee to help digest the food that he ate. Tzorich le'vorech olav berach ha'rishonu. You need to recite a special blessing for it. Ki ma'sh shohu bo'la'ak el. Because that which serves as an aid for digestion, eino nechshav min tzorach ha'suda, is not considered to be a component of the meal. U'mikol mokom. Nevertheless, tov le'vorech im'at tsukar
berchas shahakol. It is a worthy practice to recite the shahakol on a bit of sugar. Liftor gam es ha'kafeh to exempt the requirement to recite the first blessing upon the coffee as well. So, my dear friends, this concludes Semen 43. And now we will turn the floor to you, my dear friends, for Ask Away number 32. 32 is Lamed Bez. Lamed Bez is Leif. So put all your heart in this. Leif is heart. I want to hear
all of your questions. Wear your heart on your sleeve. And I look forward to the next broadcast with our Ask Away number 32.

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