If one ate figs, grapes, or pomegranates, he makes three blessings afterwards. These are the words of R. Gamliel. [One makes three blessings after any of the seven varieties, R. Gamliel holding that "And you shall eat, and you shall be sated, and you shall bless" (Deuteronomy 8:10) refers not to bread alone, but to all of the seven varieties mentioned above in that section (Ibid. 8). And in this verse, three blessings are intimated: "And you shall bless" — "hazan"; "for the land" — the blessing for the land; "the good" — "who builds Jerusalem," viz. (Deuteronomy 3:25): "this goodly mountain."] And the sages say: One blessing, like three [i.e., like three blessings. If he ate grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates, he blesses "for the tree, and for the fruit of the tree, and for the good, desirable land, etc.", and he concludes: "for the land and for the fruits." And in Eretz Yisrael, he concludes: "for the land and for its fruits." And he recites this blessing itself for wine, but begins: "for the vine and for the fruit of the vine." And for all things made from the five types of grain, instead of "for the tree and for the fruit of the tree," he says: "for the food and for the sustenance," and he concludes: "for the land and for the food."] R. Akiva says: Even if he ate shelek [boiled vegetables] and that is his food [i.e., his staple], he recites three blessings afterwards, [for "And you shall eat and you shall be sated" applies to anything one eats. And the halachah is in accordance with the sages, that three blessings are recited only for bread. And for the seven varieties, "one blessing like three," and on all other things: "Borei nefashoth rabboth vechesronan" ("He creates many creatures and (supplies) their lacks"). "their lacks" — such as bread and water, without which it is impossible to survive. "And for all that He created to sustain the spirit of all living things" — that is, for everything in the world, which, even if it had not been created, the creatures could survive without, and which was created only to provide pleasure and additional good. And because this blessing contains two elements, it is a long blessing, which opens and closes with "Baruch," as stated in Yerushalmi, the closing being: "Blessed (Baruch) are you, O L-rd, Life of the worlds."] If one drinks water to assuage his thirst [specifically] he says "shehakol nihyeh bidvaro" ("All came into being through His word"). [But if one drinks water to swallow something stuck in his throat and the like, he does not bless.] R. Tarfon says: "Borei nefashoth rabboth." [He recites this before drinking water. The halachah is not in accordance with R. Tarfon; but before drinking water he says "shehakol," and after, "Borei nefashoth rabboth."]
Tosefta Berakhot
These are the Berachot (blessings) which are [coined to be] short: One who blesses on fruit, and on mitzvot, the Beracha (blessing) of Zimun, and the last Beracha of Shema. These are the Berachot which are [coined to be] long: the Beracha of Fast Days, and the Beracha of Rosh Hashana, and the Berachot of Yom Kippur. From [the way] a person [says] his Berachot it is recognizable if he a fool or if he is a sage.
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Tosefta Berakhot
These are the Berachot (blessings) which do not seal off with [the phrase] Baruch [Ata Hashem] (Blessed are You Hashem): One that blesses on the fruit, and on the mitzvot, Birkat Hazimun, and the last Beracha in Birkat Hamazon. Rebbi Yossi Hagelili used to seal off the last Beracha in Birkat Hamazon and [therefore] make it long.
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Tosefta Berakhot
We make a Beracha (blessing) on the better grain.2 How [does this work?] [If a person has] a whole [loaf of] fine white bread and a whole [loaf of] home-made bread, he makes the Beracha on the whole [loaf of] fine white bread. [If a person has] a slice of fine white bread and a whole [loaf of] home-made bread, he makes the Beracha on the whole loaf of home-made bread. [If a person has] wheat bread and barley bread, he makes the Beracha on the wheat bread. [If a person has] a slice of wheat bread and a whole [loaf of] barley bread, he makes the Beracha on the slice of wheat bread. [If a person has] barley bread and spelt bread, he makes the Beracha on the barley bread. But is not spelt better than barley? But rather [the reason that he makes the Beracha on the barley bread is] that barley is one of the seven species [for which the Land of Israel is blessed] and spelt is not one of the seven species [for which the Land of Israel is blessed]. This is the general rule: Anything that is from the seven species [for which the Land of Israel is blessed] and is a type of grain, Rabban Gamliel says, “he says after [eating] it Three Berachot (i.e. Birkat Hamazon (Grace After Meals))”, and Chachamim (Sages) say, “[he makes after eating it] Beracha One out of the Three (i.e. Al Hamichya (For the Sustenance)).”
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Tosefta Berakhot
Rebbi Yehudah says in the name of Rabban Gamliel, “Anything [made] from the seven species [for which the Land of Israel is blessed] and is not a type of grain or [it is made from] grain which has not been made into bread, Rabban Gamliel says, ‘[After eating it] he makes the Three Berachot (i.e. Birkat Hamazon (Grace After Meals))’ and the Chachamim (Sages) say, ‘[After eating it] he makes the Beracha One out of the Three (i.e. Al Hamichya (For the Sustenance) or Al Haetz (For the Tree) or Al Hagafen (For the Vine))’. And anything which is not from the seven species [for which the Land of Israel is blessed] and is not a type of grain, Rabban Gamliel says, ‘[After eating it] he makes Beracha One out of the Three’ and Chachamim say, ‘He does not make any Beracha [at all].’”
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Tosefta Berakhot
It happened [once] with Rebbi Tarfon, that he was sitting in the shade of a dovecote, on Shabbat, in the afternoon. They (i.e. the servants) brought in front of him a bucket of cold [water to drink]. Rebbi Tarfon said to his students, “[A person] who drinks water to quench his thirst, what Beracha does he say [before drinking the water]?” They said to him, “Teach us our master.” He said to them, “Borei Nefashot Vechesronan (Who Created Souls and Made Them Lack).” [Then] he said to them, “I will ask [you another question].” They said to him, “Teach us our master.” He said to them, “It says [in the Torah], ‘And they sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes, and they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, and their camels are carrying gum, balsam and resin, transporting them to Egypt.’ (Genesis 37:25) Is not it the way of the Arabs to [usually] carry bad smelling skins and tar? But rather [what happened was that God] placed that righteous man (i.e. Yosef) among favorable things. Is not this a Kal Vechomer (a derivation from minor to major)? Just like at the time when [God] is angry [at] the righteous [people, He still] has mercy on them, then at the time [of God’s] mercy, how much more so.”...
