questions about short prayers called b'rachos ("benedictions" or "blessings")
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May one recite a bracha while in the presence of ervah?
May one recite a bracha while in the presence of ervah? According to Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 75, one may not pray or recite Torah while in the presence of body parts that should be covered. Does ...
8
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1answer
340 views
matzah = mezonos or hamotzi
What is the reasoning of the 2 different minhagim (traditions) on what bracha to say on matzah when its not Peasach?
8
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3answers
193 views
“Baruch shekivanti…”
There is a phrase of self-compliment people use when they find that they have independently arrived at the same conclusion as someone great. It begins with the words "ברוך שכיוונתי", translated ...
8
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2answers
252 views
Polyphasic Sleep and Halacha
I recently read an article on polyphasic sleep and I'm quite interested in experimenting with it. The article advises the Uberman approach which advocates 20-30 minute naps every four hours, meaning ...
8
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1answer
137 views
Why should a choshed bichsherim bless the k'sherim?
Bavli, B'rachos 31:2 says (in my own translation):
"Eli answered [Chana], saying 'go to peace'": Rabbi El'azar said, from here we derive, about someone who suspects his fellow of a matter that ...
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9answers
268 views
When do you say a beracha on a minhag?
When lighting Hanukkah candles in the synagogue, we say a beracha "asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav.." on a minhag. Unlike kiddush in shul, and early counting of the omer in shul, nobody would say that one ...
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4answers
311 views
Can I wash and say “please pass the salt”?
After washing one's hands before eating bread, one is not supposed to talk until he has made Hamotzi and partook of the bread.
I understand that general chatter is not allowed. But what about for ...
7
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3answers
101 views
Mitzvos on which the only b'racha is birkas “Shehechiyanu”
I saw in the name of the Or Zaru'a and others that one does not make a b'racha before writing a sefer Torah even though it is a positive mitzva with an action associated because (among other reasons) ...
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2answers
200 views
Saying 100 Berachoth in a day
What is the source for the idea that one should say 100 Berachoth in a day, and how serious of an obligation is this? Is it mandatory, is it laudatory, or is it merely a nice idea?
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2answers
627 views
Bracha on Food for Life Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Bread
Food for Life manufactures a bread under the Hashgacha of the Kaf-K called Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Bread
This bread is flourless and has the following ingredients. Organic Sprouted Whole Wheat, ...
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2answers
373 views
Bracha on thunder and lightning - how often?
If you are in a rainstorm with thunder and lightning - you make the Brachos for them. What happens if the storm ends and then a few hours later (same day) it is raining again. Do you make another ...
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votes
2answers
131 views
When can I speak after eating?
After making a Berachah on food, it is considered a Hefsek to speak before eating said food.
At what point after beginning to eat is it permissible to speak?
After the first bite?
After the first ...
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votes
1answer
128 views
Minimal Body Covering to say Blessings
Can I say a brachah with just boxers on, or do I need a "double covering" For example, when I wake up and want to wash netilat yadayim?
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votes
2answers
194 views
Berachos over food mixtures
My breakfast regularly presents me with a beracha conundrum. It usually consists of a bowl of bran flakes (mezonos), often sprinkled with raisins (etz) and/or sunflower seeds (adama), and ...
7
votes
1answer
190 views
Where does our blessing for daughters come from?
In many Jewish homes on Shabbat, the head of the household would bless his sons to be like Ephraim and Menasheh but would bless his daughters to be like the matriarchs . What is the source, if any, ...
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1answer
81 views
Beracha on Intravenous
There Gemara Berachot 35 says "anyone who enjoys from this world without a Beracha is stealing."
Does one make a Beracha on intravenous feeding?
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2answers
147 views
Is Mayim Achronim required before Al Hamichya?
As the title asks: is it required or recommended before Al Hamichya (or for that matter, borei nefashos as well).
And if yes or no, why or why not?
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3answers
289 views
Croutons Bracha
What Bracha are the Croutons that are really just dried pieces of bread separately and when there in my instant soup and is there a difference?
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1answer
91 views
Wheelchair-bound and matir asurim, zokef kefufim?
Is someone who is wheelchair-bound obligated to say matir asurim or zokef kefufim if they cannot get up?
7
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1answer
249 views
Al Hamichya and Al Haetz
If I eat a pastry and grapes at one sitting, do i make two brachos achronot al hamichya and an al haetz? or may I combine the words into one bracha acharona by saying "al haetz V'al hamichya" ?
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1answer
107 views
Papaya - Ha'Etz or Ha'Adama?
I have heard that there is a dispute as to which Bracha you should make on papaya, Ha'Etz or Ha'Adama? Why? (sources)
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3answers
460 views
What bracha do you make on smoothies?
If I put grapes, apples, strawberrys, watermelons, and other fruits and vegetables, as ingredients, in a smoothie, what bracha do I make, because its filled with foods of different brachos?
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1answer
51 views
Do you take challah from something that will be deep fried?
If the requisite amount of dough is made that would require taking challah if it were baked in the oven, should one take off challah with a bracha if she intends to deep fry the dough instead?
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1answer
85 views
Is there a bracha for blooming non-fruit trees?
I understand that one says Birkat Ha'Ilanot on seeing the blossoms on a fruit tree. Does a tree that blooms but doesn't produce fruit get a bracha? And if so, which one?
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1answer
196 views
Do married men stop saying a bracha on their *tallit katan*?
This question concerns the Ashkenazic practice.
I was always told that the tallit katan (worn under clothing, every day, starting in preschool years) got the bracha of al mitzvat tzitzit, but the ...
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2answers
157 views
washing your hands and forgetting
If you wash your hands and your mind goes blank and you dont remember if you said a bracha or not. do you make a new one? Do you wash again and then make a new one?
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2answers
163 views
bracha on tefillin while sitting
The shulchan aruch apparently writes (by hilchos tzitzis) that one should stand while reciting birchas hamitzvah. Tefillin are a mitzvah. So why is the Sfardic minhag to sit while putting them on and ...
7
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2answers
168 views
What bracha do you make on Martini
The Italian company Martini and Rossi make a bottled drink called "Martini" - it has a good hechsher from Rav Gerlich from Milano and the Israeli Rabbinate. Martini is made from red wine and alcohol - ...
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2answers
459 views
Does "Brich Rachamana Malka D'Alma Ma'rei D'Hai Pita' really fullfil the obligation of Birkas Hamazon?
I heard from a friend that, as per the Gemara, saying the following phrase in Aramaic discharges the obligation to recite Bircas Hamazon in its entirety:
Brich rachamana malka d'alma ma'rei d'hai ...
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2answers
145 views
Can you do benching for 3 people when one person does not know what to say in response?
When you have at least 3 men who ate a meal together, you can bench using the formula "Rabbosai Nivorech", at which point the other men at the table respond "Yehi Shem..." and so on. However, what ...
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1answer
166 views
Where did Baruch She'amar come from?
The Mishnah Berura (51:1) says that the blessing "Baruch She'amar" was instituted by the Anshei K'nesset HagGedola, based on a page that "fell from the sky" (whatever that means).
What is the ...
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1answer
63 views
Do we make a bracha on a talis, the night of Yom Kippur?
The mitzvah of tziztit does not apply at night, so when we wear a talis all of davening on Yom Kippur, starting this year on Friday night for Maariv, do we make a bracha when we put the talis on?
Is ...
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1answer
60 views
Should the chazzan say amen after the Priestly Blessing?
The chazzan says the words of the Priestly Blessing word after word, and Kohanim (priests) repeat after him.
Should the chazzan say "amen" after each blessing?
What about "amen" after the blessing ...
7
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2answers
86 views
Maple syrup bracha
What is the bracha on maple syrup and why?
Being that the trees are probably planted specifically for the purpose of the syrup, it's not so far off to think it might be ha'eitz. After all, I've ...
7
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2answers
204 views
What do you do if your Shabbos host serves chocolate chip challah?
Based on this shiur from R. Sobolofsky, chocolate chip challah is no different from chocolate babka or other cake and thus has the bracha of mezonos.
...
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2answers
103 views
Making two brachos at once
When eating a food that requires two brachos (Crispix, some salads etc.) I was told that the correct procedure is to make one bracha on part, eat it and then make another bracha on the next part. Why ...
7
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1answer
71 views
Hefsek (interruption) between the blessing on food and eating the food
Is it considered a hefsek to play with one's fingers or silverware or such while waiting for the challah to be passed around on shabbat, after the blessing made on it? Even though it isn't talking, it ...
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0answers
126 views
Saying a b'racha acharona and continuing to eat (other food)
Suppose someone is eating something that requires a b'racha meen shalosh — for example, noodles — and something that requires a "bore n'fashos" — for example, salad or water. Then he ...
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1answer
129 views
When I wake up before Alot Hshachar and won't go back to sleep, what can/can't I do?
If I wake up early in the morning, like any time from 2am to 6am, before Alot Hashachar, and I'm pretty sure I'll start my day and not go back to sleep, at least not before a possible afternoon nap, ...
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votes
2answers
129 views
Proper bracha on Chanuka candles: lhadlik ner (shel) Chanukah
Why do some people have the custom to say, in the blessing on the Chanukah lights, the word "Shel" before "Chanukah" and some do not? And I have been told some people put the words together as ...
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votes
3answers
201 views
What is the beracha on gnocchi?
According to Wikipedia, this is Gnocchi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnocchi
How do I know which beracha to make considering it is made from potatoes and is not a normal pasta? Should I just stick ...
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2answers
109 views
Does being Yotzei a Bracha count for 100?
There are many brachos where by listening to the bracha one can be yotzei his obligation for that bracha. If someone does do so, does that bracha count towards the quota of 100 brochos a day?
6
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3answers
118 views
Meat right after Milk… make a new bracha?
Suppose someone is planning on having some dairy food just before a meat meal. May the person make a bracha to cover the entire dairy/meat meal, or must he finish his dairy, make a bracha achrona, and ...
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4answers
176 views
Brochos on Desserts
Time to get it straight once and for all. When do you / do you not make a Brocho on dessert in a meal (where you washed)?
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3answers
97 views
Which comes first, borei nefashot, or me'en shalosh?
Which berachah acharonah should one say first: borei nefashot, or me'en shalosh?
(Please cite your sources.)
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1answer
67 views
Final Nun vs. Final Mem in “Madlikin”
In the Hanerot Halalu that we recite when lighting the Hanukkah candles, it says "anachnu madlikin." Why madlikin and not madlikim? Why is a final nun used and not a final mem? I have searched ...
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3answers
339 views
When to say Hamapil
In the bedtime shema, some siddurim have the bracha of Hamapil printed immediately before the paragraph of shema, whereas others have it printed at the very end of the bedtime shema prayers. What is ...
6
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1answer
91 views
Is there an exhaustive list of astronomical/environmental events for which there are blessings?
Inspired by:
What Bracha do you say on a Hurricane?
What Blessing Does One Make on a Solar Eclipse?
Bracha for the transit of Venus?
Is there anywhere in the Halachic literature that lists all of ...
6
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2answers
115 views
Brochos Listed on Food Packages
I noticed that many times there are Brochos listed on food packages (e.g. "ברכתו מזונות"). Is there any standard with regards to who is supplying the Halachic data? Is it generally the Hashgacha ...
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4answers
153 views
Lamdeni chukecha. . . amen?
When one is saying a b'racha and realizes only after saying God's name that the b'racha is no longer valid, he can avoid the problem of uttering God's name in vain by tacking on the words "למדני ...
