Sunday, April 30, 2006

R ' Yechezkel Rosenberg on the Quantities for a Brocha Achrona on Food and Drinks

Daf Yomi is learning Arvei Pesachim, which deals with issues of Brochos and whether you have to say a new brocha when you change from one place to another. R' Moshe Schwerd asked the following classic halachic question, "Can a Jew walk and check gum at the same time?".

Here's the explanation. The halacha is that if you change to a different location for eating, you have to say a new brocha rishonah (before brocha), if you are eating food for which you don't have to go back to the place you ate for the brocha achronah (after beracha). This would be the case for all foods over which the brocha achronah is Borei Nefeshos (ie, fruits, vegetables, gum).

So if you say a beracha and begin eating an apple in your house and then go to the park and continue eating the apple, you would have to say a new brocha. But how about foods that you continually eat, like sucking candies and gum? In that case if you said the brocha in your house on the gum and continued chewing it, you would not need to say a new brocha if you walked outside.

If you are staying inside, why not spend some time learning Torah. Here are two relatively short mp3's (20 minutes each) given by R' Yechezkel Rosenberg, on the sugya of what is the quantity of food for which we have to make an after Brocha on foods and drinks. The source is the gemorra in Berachos on page 49b and R' Rosenberg surveys the major Rishonic opinions on this issue. Download part 1 here and part 2 here.

(Cross posted on www.beyondbt.com.)