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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 can't I just make two (or more) brachos and then eat everything?

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  • Perhaps you can (CYLOR). Isn't the shehechiyanu blessing recited as part of the kiddush on Yomim Tovim recited after the borei p'ri hagafen but before the wine is drunk? To me, that seems like a hefseik (an interruption - see Monica Cellio's answer). But we don't worry about that, for whatever reason. Maybe because that is part of the nusach of kiddush. So too here, why shouldn't we say e.g. regarding Crispix that reciting two blessings one after the other is part of the nusach habrachot for that food?
    – Adam Mosheh
    May 15, 2012 at 15:45
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    @AdamMosheh There is no nussach haberachot for that food because it isn't one food! If it was one food, then the rules of ikar and tafel would apply and only one bracha would be said. The whole issue here assumes it is two foods so two separate brachot need to be said. Hence each would be an interruption of the other.
    – Double AA ♦
    May 15, 2012 at 15:54
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    @DoubleAA that's what I'm having trouble understanding. I'm not making a hefsek that is unrelated to what I'm doing (eating crispix). Would this be similar to making 2 brachos on lighting the menorah?
    – Identitytheft-Dave
    May 15, 2012 at 15:58
  • @Identitytheft-Dave - Yes, exactly! Or three blessings on the first night.
    – Adam Mosheh
    May 15, 2012 at 16:00
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    Thus people purposefully separate the 2 and eat each individually to obligate themselves in both brachot. So in this case you are not intending to eat both b'vas achas. If you did and said both brachot before eating the whole salad/Crispik, either one be levatala as unnecasary OR the second would be a hefsek to the first because the two are distinctly seperate entities. You can't say they are one entity but say two brachot, and you can't say two brachot and expect the two to be related.
    – Double AA ♦
    May 15, 2012 at 17:07

2 Answers 2

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If you make both brachot before eating, you are introducing an interruption between the first bracha and the eating to which it applies. We make brachot as close as possible to the act that calls for the bracha.

This answer assumes that you are eating two (different) types of food as separate entities. If the food is really one combined item, then you would say only one bracha based on the rules of precedence. See @DoubleAA's explanation in the comments on the question.)

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I disagree with Monica Cellio's answer because I think that a hefseik should be permitted in cases where there is no hesech hadaat. For example, the shehechiyanu blessing in Yontif Kiddush is recited after the borei p'ri hagafen but before the wine is drunk. So too here, we should be able to say e.g. regarding Crispix cereal that reciting two blessings one after the other is part of the nusach habrachot for that food and there is no hesech hadaat like kiddush on yontif.

(This hefseik is not unrelated to what you are doing. See Identitytheft-Dave's comment on the initial question.)

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  • What if you said HaEtz on an apple, and then had a phone conversation with someone, but all the time were holding the apple and aware of it? Would that still work?
    – Double AA ♦
    May 15, 2012 at 16:01
  • Theoretically, yes it should still work! Practically, I wouldn't do it myself though because I wouldn't be able to control my thoughts to keep them on task.
    – Adam Mosheh
    May 15, 2012 at 16:02
  • But DoubleAA, you are not having a phone conversation between saying the first blessing and eating. You are just saying another blessing. That is a short enough time period to control your thoughts.
    – Adam Mosheh
    May 15, 2012 at 16:03
  • This hefseik is not unrelated to what you are doing. See Identitytheft-Dave's comment on the initial question.
    – Adam Mosheh
    May 15, 2012 at 16:04
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    -1 L'chatchila, if there is no need to make a hefsek, you may not interrupt. B'dieved, you do not need to repeat a b'racha so long as the interruption was relevant. Since a b'racha on the second food is not relevant to eating the first food, I doubt that it is acceptable even b'dieved.
    – Fred
    May 15, 2012 at 17:34

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