If a person leaves from one room to a different room in the same house while eating or drinking, must he repeat the Beracha before continuing to eat or drink in the new location?
Chacham Ovadia Yosef writes in "Halichot Olam" that if the person is eating or drinking an item over which the Beracha of She'hakol is recited – such as apples juice, orange juice, water, or other beverages other than wine – then he does not recite a new Beracha in his new location. This applies even if he did not have in mind when reciting the Beracha that he will eat or drink in the second room, and even if the second room is not visible from the first room. Although some authorities indeed require repeating the Beracha in such a case, Chacham Ovadia applies here the rule of "Safek Berachot Le'hakel," which dictates that one should not recite a Beracha if its obligation is subject to doubt.
Quite often a person will be drinking water or another beverage in the kitchen, and then take his drink with him to speak to somebody in a different room in the house. In such a case, he does not recite a new Beracha in the second room, regardless of whether or not he knew from the outset that he would relocate.
If a person leaves his house for a few moments while eating and then returns, must he repeat the Beracha?
Chacham Ovadia Yosef rules that if this occurred while one ate a meal with bread or foods requiring Me'ein Shalosh (grain products, wine, or fruits from the seven special species), then he need not recite a new Beracha when he returns inside and resumes eating. This applies regardless of how much one had eaten before he left the table. In this case, too, some authorities require the recitation of a new Beracha upon one's return to the table, but once again Chacham Ovadia rules that one should not recite a new Beracha, due to the principle of "Safek Berachot Le'hakel."
However, if one left his house while eating foods requiring a Borei Nefashot, or while drinking beverages requiring a Borei Nefashot, then he must, indeed, recite a new Beracha when he comes back inside and resumes eating. In such a case, his departure from the house or building constitutes an interruption and requires the recitation of a new Beracha upon the resumption of eating or drinking. Sometimes people drink as they study in the Beit Midrash and then must leave for a few moments. When they return to the Beit Midrash and wish to resume drinking, they must repeat the Beracha of She'hakol.
Summary: If a person began eating a food requiring She'hakol and then moves to a different location in the house, he does not repeat the Beracha in his new location. If a person leaves the house or building for a few moments in the middle of a meal with bread, or while eating foods requiring Me'ein Shalosh, he does not recite a new Beracha when he returns and resumes his meal. If, however, he left the house while eating or drinking food or drink requiring Borei Nefashot, then he must repeat the Beracha before he resumes eating or drinking.
