Is there or what is the Bracha on Tobacco Snuff especially now that they come with mint and buble gum flavor (at least in Israel)?
asked Jan 22, 2012 at 3:32
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13Q: What bracha do you make on poison? A: Bracha Achrona!– Double AA ♦Commented Jan 22, 2012 at 3:41
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I would say no Beracha assuming it is bad for you?– Hacham GabrielCommented Jan 22, 2012 at 4:05
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3No bracha is made on smoking anything, or inhaling any substance through the nose. Only when enjoying a naturally-occurring scent of a plant does one make the appropriate bracha (isvei, atzvei, minei) according to different customs.– user1095Commented Jan 22, 2012 at 9:57
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3@Will See this question regarding if it has to be naturally occurring. But it certainly does not have to be a plant as the Shulchan Aruch OC 216:2 explicitly mentions musk which is not a plant.– Double AA ♦Commented Jan 22, 2012 at 15:44
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1@DoubleAA The carcinogens of smoking cigarettes don't appear to be an issue by inhaling snuff. See, e.g., ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14561353– LoewianCommented Oct 3, 2019 at 12:55
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3 Answers
HaRav Moshe Levi ZSWQ"L (Birkat Hashem vol. 3 12:3) and Maran HaRav Ovadia Yosef Zswq"l (Hazon Ovadia - Tu Beshvat/Berachot pg. 331) write not to make a blessing on snuff.
באר היטב (216:32) writes not to make a bracha on regular, unflavored snuff (טואבק) inhaled by nose, because it is subject to a disagreement cited in Shulchan Aruch (ad loc., 6) regarding smells "שאין לו עיקר," ≈ a smell without a visible source.
The Dirshu edition of Mishna Berura (the first, not expanded edition) (note 24) cites Rav Elyashiv z"l (שיעורי מס' ברכות עמ' תע, וזאת הברכה בירור הלכה סי' מג אות ב) as ruling that scented snuff is the same as regular snuff; one should avoid smelling it. The author of the Dirshu writes parenthetically that if one did smell it, they should make a bracha according to some opinions, although Rav Elyashiv notes that this practice is not generally followed.1
The Dirshu note also cites ערוך השלחן (סעיף ד) who provides an alternate reason to not make a blessing on snuff tobacco.
At the end of the note, they also cite מור וקציעה (סוף סי' רי) who does require a blessing on snuff (I did not see the מור וקציעה; however, I assume this includes snuff without added scent), but concludes that, as noted above (see footnote 1), this practice is not normative.
1 הטבק שנותנים בו טיפות של ריח תלוי במחלוקת המובאת בשו"ע כאן, ומספק נכון שלא להריח אותו [...] (ואם למעשה מריח אותו, מבואר במשנ"ב להלן (ס"ק לב) שנקט במחלוקת זו שמברך. וראה בשיעורים שם בשם הגרי"ש אלישיב שלמעשה העולם נוהגים שלא לברך.)
The bracha for snuff, is borei minei/Isvei Bsamim. Same bracha you make on anything that you sniff or smell.
Some even use the snuff to help them reach 100 brachot a day.
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I would've thought that snuff is Borei Isvei Vesamim as it is ground up leaves (to the best of my knowledge). Also, I thought the question was more about the added scents.– Double AA ♦Commented Jan 22, 2012 at 9:13
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@DoubleAA Not sure, I think it depends if they are sefardi or Ashkenazi.– aviCommented Jan 22, 2012 at 9:17
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2The pleasant scent of snuff is artificial, not from the tobacco leaf itself. There is no bracha made on it. Those who smell leaves to help reach 100 brachos (like on a fast day where Birchas Hamazon won't be said) use fresh leaves or flowers of various varieties.– user1095Commented Jan 22, 2012 at 9:56
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@Will I'll be sure to tell the people at a shul in Harnof that they are all doing it wrong then.– aviCommented Jan 22, 2012 at 10:14
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4how about a source for your claim I have seen many elderly men in Yerushlayim and I never saw someone make a Bracha? Commented Jan 22, 2012 at 13:05