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כיצד מברכין...חוץ מן היין – Since out of its importance (i.e., the wine), they (i.e., the Rabbis) established a blessing of its own.

Introduction According to halakhah it is forbidden to derive any benefit from the world without first acknowledging that the world belongs entirely to God, as it says in Psalms 24:1, “The word in its entirety is the Lord’s.” One acknowledges God’s ultimate ownership over the world by reciting a blessing before one derives benefit, mostly before one eats. Hence, the sixth chapter of Berakhot details what blessings one recites before eating various produce: fruits, vegetables, bread and wine. In my commentary I will give transliterations of the blessings, which might be familiar to many of you.

בורא מיני דשאים – Since there is the midst the “fruit of the ground,” herbs and seeds such as pulse and Rabbi Yehuda requires a recognized blessing for each species/kind. But the Halakha does not follow Rabbi Yehuda. But since it teaches in the Mishnah that on vegetables we recite [the blessing] “who creates the fruit of the ground,” these kinds of vegetables where is customary to eat them raw and he ate them raw, or where it was customary to eat them cooked and he ate them cooked. But those [vegetables] where it was customary to eat raw and he ate them cooked, or [conversely], where it was customary to eat them cooked and he ate them raw, , he only recites [upon them] the blessing “שהכל/for all things [created by (God’s) word].” And those vegetables that we eat either raw or cooked, we make the blessing, “who creates the fruit of the ground/בורא פרי האדמה” whether he [ate them] raw or cooked.

How do they bless over produce?
Over fruit of the tree one says, “Who creates the fruit of the tree,” except for wine, over which one says, “Who creates the fruit of the vine.” Over fruit one generally says, “Bore pri haetz.” However, since wine is the quintessential product made from fruit, it is singled out for a special blessing, “Bore pri hagefen.” Wine was pretty much the only beverage drunk in the ancient world and hence it was considered to be especially important.

Over produce from the ground one says: “Who creates the fruit of the ground,” except over bread, over which one says, “Who brings forth bread from the earth.” Over almost all foods that come from the ground one says, “Bore pri ha’adamah.” The exception is bread, again the quintessential food that comes from the ground. It is singled out for the special blessing of “Hamotzi lechem min haaretz.”

Over vegetables one says, “Who creates the fruit of the ground.” Rabbi Judah says: “Who creates diverse species of herbs.” According to the first opinion vegetables get the same blessing as do everything else that comes from the ground. Rabbi Judah disagrees and distinguishes between foods like grains (not eaten as bread but as cereals or in cooked dishes), over which one would say “Bore pri ha’adamah” and vegetables over which one says, “Bore minei deshaim.” This blessing is no longer recited because the halakhah is according to the previous opinion.

ברך על פירות האילן וכו' – Whenever one takes hold of fruit that comes from a branch and that branch itself produces fruit in the following year (i.e., “perennial”), it is called a “tee” and we make the blessing on its fruits, “בורא פרי העץ/who creates the fruit of the tree;” but, where one takes hold of it [the fruit] and the branch does not remain to produce in the following year, we do not recite the [same] blessing on them, but rather, “בורא פרי האדמה/who creates the fruit of the ground.”

Introduction This mishnah deals with blessings that are valid in a default sense that is to say they are not the preferable blessing to be recited over various food items, but nevertheless if one recites them one has fulfilled his obligation to recite a blessing.

על כולן אם אמר שהכל יצא – And even on bread and even on the wine (i.e., fruit of the vine). However, ab initio, one should not eat any fruit if he does not know at first the appropriate blessing to be recited on it.

If one blessed over fruit of the tree the blessing, “Who creates the fruit of the ground,” he has fulfilled his obligation. But if he said over produce from the ground, “Who creates the fruit of the tree,” he has not fulfilled his obligation. Trees grow from the ground (didn’t need me to tell you that, did you). Therefore, if one recites “Bore pri ha’adamah” over a fruit that grows from the tree, the obligation to recite the blessing has been fulfilled. This does not work in the opposite way. Things can grow from the ground without being from trees (I suppose you knew that as well). Therefore, if one recites “Bore pri haetz” over something that grows from the ground but not from a tree, say a cucumber, one has not fulfilled one’s obligation and he must go back and recite the correct blessing.

If over anything he says “By Whose word all things exist”, he has fulfilled his obligation. There is a default blessing that works for all foods “shehakol niheye bedvaro.” In this generalized blessing, we acknowledge God as the source of everything in the world through the words God used at the moment of creation. As we shall see in the following mishnah, this is also the blessing which we recite over foods that don’t grow from the ground.

נובלות – fruit that fell from the tree prior to being fully ripened.

Introduction Our mishnah completes the list of what blessings are recited over what foods.

גובאי (species of edible locusts) – clean/pure locusts

Over anything which does not grow from the earth one says: “By Whose word all things exist.” Over vinegar, fallen unripe fruit and locusts one says, “By Whose word all things exist.” R. Judah says: over anything which is cursed they do not bless at all. In this section there is a debate over three food objects that are “cursed.” Vinegar is “cursed” because it is spoiled wine (they didn’t seem to use it as salad dressing as we do today, although they did put it to some use.) “Fallen unripe fruit” can be eaten but it is “cursed” because it didn’t stay on the tree/vine until it had reached full ripeness. Locusts, certain species of which are kosher and are to this day eaten by some Jews, are “cursed” because they destroy crops. According to the first opinion, one recites “Shehakol” over all three. One doesn’t recite “Hagefen” (“Who creates the fruit of the vine”) over vinegar because vinegar is not of the same status as wine. He doesn’t recite “Bore pri ha’etz” over fallen fruit because it is not of the same status as fruit that stayed on the vine until maturation. Locusts would be “Shehakol” in any case. Rabbi Judah disagrees and holds that one doesn’t recite any blessing over these foods. We shouldn’t thank God for something that we generally consider to be cursed.

מין קללה – unripe fruit and locusts come from a curse; and the Halakha does not follow Rabbi Yehuda.

Over milk and cheese and eggs one says, “By Whose word all things exist.” Over things that don’t grow from the earth such as meat, fish, cheese, milk, cheese, eggs etc. one recites, “Shehakol nihiye bedvaro.”

מין שבע – wheat, barley, vines, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates, which are preferred since through them, the Land of Israel is praised (see Deuteronomy 8:9).

Introduction This mishnah deals with a case where a person has several different types of foods in front of him and wants to eat them all. The question is which should he eat first so that its blessing will be recited first.

מברך על איזה מהם שירצה – which are beloved to him, and the Halakha follows the Sages.

There were several kinds of food before him: Rabbi Judah says that if there is among them one of the seven species, he blesses over that. But the sages say: he may bless over which ever one he wants. According to Rabbi Judah, he should first bless over any food that comes from one of the seven species with which the land of Israel is blessed (Deuteronomy 8:8): wheat, barley, grapes (for wine), figs, pomegranates, olive (oil) and dates (used to make date honey). In other words, certain foods have intrinsic value and therefore their blessing should be recited first. The other sages, on the other hand, hold that the value of the food is in the eye of the eater, therefore one can bless over which ever food one wishes to eat first.

פטר את היין שלאחר המזון – These words [refer to] Sabbaths and Holy Days where it is customary to impart the character of an appointed meal (Sabbath or Holy Day) on the wine after the meal when reciting the blessing on the wine prior to the [start of the] meal, with the assumption that he has already recited the blessing, but on other days where it is not customary to impart the character of an appointed meal through wine after the meal, the blessing on the wine prior to [the start of] the meal does not exempt one [from being required] to recite a blessing after the meal. And every [expression] of “after the meal” as taught in this Tractate is after one has removed their hands from the bread prior to their recitation of the Blessing after the Meal/ברכת המזון.

Introduction This mishnah begins to deal with the idea that one can recite a blessing over one piece of food and have that blessing count for other foods as well. Today it is customary to begin every traditional meal with bread, whose blessing exempts the other foods eaten during the meal. This does not seem to have been the custom in the time of the Mishnah.

פרפרת – Everything that serves as a relish for bread such as meat, or eggs or fish is called appetizer/פרפרת; and sometimes they would bring appetizers before the meal/main course, in order to continue the eating and then they once again bring other "פרפרות" after the meal/]dessert] after they have withdrawn their hands from the bread.

If he blessed over the wine before the meal he has exempted the wine after the meal. Wine seems to have been drunk before the meal and after the meal but not usually during the meal. One who blesses over the wine at the beginning of the meal need not recite another blessing over the wine at the end of the meal.

מעשה קדרה – Such as flat cakes and grist of early ripened and tender barley which are boiled in water such as pancakes and other similar things. And there are those who explain the word “פרפרת” of our Mishnah as shrunken pieces of bread (soaked) in a bowl which does not appear to look like bread, and on which (when we consume it), we recite the blessing on it, “בורא מיני מזונות/Who Creates various kinds of foods.” And now, it is appropriate that we should teach, “If one has made the blessing on the appetizer, one is not exempt from reciting the blessing on the bread,” even though it also is a form of bread. But something that has been made in a pot exempts us [from reciting the blessing on the bread]. And the School of Shammai holds that just as if we made a blessing on the appetizer, we are not exempt from [reciting the blessing on] the bread, similarly, we are exempt by something made in a pot. And the Halakha does not follow the School of Shammai.

If he blessed over the appetizer ( before the meal, he has exempted the dessert ( after the meal. The word in Hebrew for appetizer and for dessert is the same. One who blesses over an appetizer that comes before the meal has exempted a similar type of food that would come after the meal. According to most commentators, this refers to a situation where he didn’t eat bread, because if he ate bread he need not bless in any case over the parperet, as we shall in the next section.

If he blessed over the bread he has exempted the appetizer/dessert (, but if he blessed over the appetizer/dessert ( he has not exempted the bread. Bet Shammai say: [he has not even exempted] a cooked [grain] dish. In this section the word parperet can refer either to the appetizer or the dessert. In either case, the bread is considered to be more essential than the parperet and therefore one who has already blessed over the bread need not recite the blessing over the parperet. However, if he recited the blessing over the parperet, the less central food item, he is still obligated to recite the blessing over the bread. Bet Shammai equates a cooked dish made with grains with the bread. If one blessed over the parperet he must still bless over the cooked dish.

היו יושבין – Without reclining and the sign is that they were not gathered to eat together, since it was customary when groups of people gather together to eat, they would recline on couches and eat and drink while leaning to the left.

Introduction In ancient Greco-Roman custom, formal meals were eaten while reclining on couches. Indeed, a banquet was to a certain extent defined by reclining. Today, the only time Jews recline, even symbolically, is at the Pesah seder. In contrast, people sitting upright and eating together were not at a banquet, rather they were just putting food in their mouths so that they wouldn’t be hungry.

כל אחד מברך לעצמו – For they did not have an established meal without reclining. However, if they said: “Let us go and eat bread in a certain place,” even though they did not recline, it is as if they had reclined, and one makes the blessing for (i.e. on behalf of) everyone and they join together also for the invitation [to recite ברכת המזון/The Blessing after the Meal].

If [those at the table] are sitting upright, each one blesses for himself. People sitting and eating together are not really eating a meal together. Hence, when the food arrives everyone blesses for himself.

בא להם מים בתוך המזון כל אחד מברך לעצמו – Since the esophagus is not free, and the hearts of those leaning are not facing the individual who is making the blessing, other than to swallow what is in their mouths. If so, there is concern lest a person choke when he comes to answer “Amen” [to the blessing recited].

If they are reclining, one blesses for them all. If they are reclining, then they are eating a formal banquet together and one person can bless on behalf of them all.

והוא אומר על המוגמר – He who recites ברכת המזון/The Blessing After the Meal, he is the one reciting a blessing on the spices on perfume, “who creates the trees of spices/בורא עצי בשמים”, and even though that there is one that is preferable to it, even so, since he began with one, he would move to the other.

If wine came during the meal, each one says a blessing for himself. If after the meal, one blesses for them all. As I stated in yesterday’s mishnah, wine was generally not served during the middle of the meal. When it was, it wasn’t social wine but rather wine to help one digest one’s food. Also, it would be drunk at different times and not everyone would drink together. Therefore, each person blesses for himself. If the wine came at the end of the meal then everyone would drink together and one person could bless for them all.

לאחר הסעודה – After [reciting] ברכת המזון, that currently is not [connected to] the needs of the meal, even so, since he has begun reciting other blessings, he should finish them.

The same one says [the blessing] over the incense, even though the incense is not brought until after the meal. At the end of a formal meal incense would be brought in front of the diners. The person who blesses over the wine at the end of the meal also recites the blessing over the incense “Who creates the wood of incense” (Bore atzei besamim).

מוגמר – they were accustomed to bring trees of spices/perfume after the meal snuff-dishes on a fire for the purposes [of providing] a good smell.

מליח – every salty thing.

Introduction This mishnah continues to teach what blessing one recites when one is eating two foods that have different blessings.

שהפת טפלה לו – Whomever ate a large meal [consisting of] extremely sweet fruits, eats afterwards something salty to sever the moisture that is stuck is attached in his body on account of the large amount of fruits [consumed], and because he is incapable of eating something salty alone, he eats from the bread with it. But the salty [food] alone is essential and the bread is secondary to it.

If they brought in front of him salted food at the beginning of the meal and bread with it, he blesses over the salted food and thereby exempts the bread, since the bread is ancillary to it. This is the general principle: whenever there is one kind of food that is the main [food] and another that is ancillary, he blesses over the main food and thereby exempts the ancillary. The general rule in this mishnah is straightforward. If one has two foods to eat together, one recites the blessing over the food that is considered to be the main food and does not need to recite any blessing over the ancillary food. This is true even if the ancillary food is generally deemed to be the more important of the two, such as bread. We learned above in mishnah five that if one blesses over bread, he exempts the accompanying food. Here we learn that if the function of the bread was ancillary to the main food, then he recites the blessing over the main food and thereby exempts the bread.

מברך אחריהן שלש ברכות – Anything from the seven species, [after eating] one recites the three blessings [of ברכת המזון] as Rabban Gamaliel holds that [the words] “when you have eaten your fill, give thanks [to the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 8:10), does not refer to bread alone, but to all seven of the species that are mentioned above in the portion of this verse (ibid., verse 8, “a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey”). And in this verse, the three blessings are hinted at: “give thanks” – this is the blessing for food; “for the…land” – this is the blessing of the Land (of Israel); “for the good [land which He has given you]” – [this is the blessing of] “who builds Jerusalem.” And similarly, he says, “that good hill country and the Lebanon” (Deuteronomy 3:25).

If one has eaten grapes, figs or pomegranates he blesses after them three blessings, the words of Rabban Gamaliel.
The sages say: one blessing which includes three.
Rabbi Akiva says: even if one ate only boiled vegetables and that is his meal, he says after it the three blessings.
If one drinks water to quench his thirst, he says “By Whose word all things exist.”
Rabbi Tarfon says: “Who creates many living things and their requirements.”
Until now the Mishnah has been discussing blessings recited before eating. This mishnah and the next chapter deal with the Birkat Hamazon, the blessing after food (I don’t really like the term, “Grace After Meals”). The concept of Birkat Hamazon is derived from Deuteronomy 8:10, “When you eat and you are satisfied you will bless the Lord your God.” Today the Birkat Hamazon contains four blessings, but the Mishnah refers to it as “three blessings” the fourth blessing was a later addition.
The full Birkat Hamazon, all three blessings, is recited only after eating certain foods or after eating a “meal”. After eating other foods which don’t constitute a “meal,” one blessing is recited. This one blessing includes the themes in the three blessings of the full Birkat Hamazon. In our mishnah there is a debate over when one recites the full version of the Birkat Hamazon and when one recites the abbreviated one blessing version.
Section one: According to Rabban Gamaliel the full Birkat Hamazon is recited over grapes, figs or pomegranates, all of which are among the seven species mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:8. This is the verse to which the blessing in verse 10 (see above in introduction) refers, and hence one recites the full Birkat Hamazon over these foods. Rabban Gamaliel would also hold that the full Birkat Hamazon is recited over the other foods that are referred to in the verse, including bread.
Section two: According to the sages, one recites an abbreviated version of the Birkat Hamazon over these foods. Today this blessing is called, “Brakhah Acharonah” the “last blessing.” One would recite the full Birkat Hamazon only over bread, because only bread constitutes a proper meal.
Section three: According to Rabbi Akiva what foods are eaten does not determine whether one recites a full or abbreviated Birkat Hamazon. Rather what is determinative is whether or not something constitutes a “meal” or a “snack.” If one eats boiled vegetables as one’s meal, then one says Birkat Hamazon. This would have many ramifications for today’s practice, where many people don’t necessarily eat bread with every meal. For instance, according to Rabbi Akiva, if one sat down for a meal of steak and potatoes, a hearty meal by most accounts, one would recite Birkat Hamazon afterwards, whereas according to the other sages in this mishnah, he would not.
Section four: The final section of this chapter returns to briefly discuss blessings recited before eating. Water was sometimes drunk to quench thirst, and sometimes drunk merely in order to help digest food. Our mishnah implies that if its function was just to clear the food from one’s throat, then no blessing is recited. In such a case water is not “food” and therefore no blessing is recited. However, if the function was to quench thirst, then the water counts as food and a blessing must be recited. The first opinion holds that the blessing recited is, “By Whose word all things exist,” the default blessing referred to above in mishnayot 2-3. Rabbi Tarfon says that a different blessing is recited, one which we today recite after eating foods over which we don’t recite a full Birkat Hamazon or even an abbreviated Birkat Hamazon. This blessing is generally called today “Bore Nefashot.”

וחכ"א ברכה אחת – [One blessing] that is an abstract of the three blessings; if he ate grapes, figs, pomegranate, olives or dates, he recites the blessing, “on the tree and on the fruit of tree and on the splendid good land, etc.” and concludes the blessing [with the words: Praised are You….] on the Land and on the fruit thereof.” And in the land of Israel, one concludes the blessing: “on the Land and on its fruit.” And this blessing itself he would recite, “on the wine,” but he would open [with the words]: [Praised are You….] on the wine and on the fruit of the vine” (see Berakhot 44a). And on ever thing that is made from the five kinds of grain (i.e., wheat, rye, barley, spelt and oats), he would substitute [the words] “for the sustenance and on the provision” for “on the tree and the fruit of the tree” and conclude [the blessing with the words, “Praised are You…] for the sustenance and on the provision.”

אפילו אכל שלק – [overboiled] vegetables and it is the meal that he depends upon [for nourishment, making a meal of it], he recites the three blessings of “when you have eaten your fill, [give thanks [to the LORD your God] (Deuteronomy 8:10), since it refers to what he has eaten. And the Halakha follows the Sages, that we do not recite the three blessings [of Birkat HaMazon] other than for bread , and on the seven species [of the Land of Israel], we recite the one blessing that is an abstract of the three [ברכה אחת מעין שלש] , but on all other things, we recite “בורא נפשות רבות וחסרונן/Who Creates Many Souls [who have] their Deficiencies/lacking”. And the explanation of the word, “חסרונן”/Deficiencies/that which they are lacking, such as bread and water where it is impossible to exist without them “on everything that [God] created for a living person to exist , that is to say, on everything in the world that also, had it not been created, human beings could exist and everyone was not create for pleasure and additional goodness and because there is this blessing, these two matters are covered in one long blessing that begins with “Praised [are You]” and concludes with “Praised [are You]” as it is found in the Jerusalem Talmud , “Praised are You, O LORD, eternal life of the universe.”

השותה מים לצמאו – Specifically [drinking water to quench one’s thirst], he recites the blessing, “For all things [that will be like God’s word]/שהכל נהיה בדברו".” But if one drinks water in order to swallow [i.e. wash down] some food that is stuck in his throat, he does not recite a blessing.

רבי טרפון אומר בורא נפשות רבות – He recites he blessing before drinking the water, but the Halakha does not follow Rabbi Tarphon, but rather, beforehand, recites “Shehakol” and afterwards, “בורא נפשות רבות”/Who Creates many souls.”