A basic rule in Halacha states that the recitation of Birkat Ha'mazon after a meal is deemed a "Siluk," meaning, the formal conclusion of the meal. Hence, if the individual wishes to continue eating after reciting Birkat Ha'mazon, he must recite a new Beracha. Since the meal had formally ended, any food eaten subsequently can no longer be seen as part of the meal, and it therefore is not covered by the Beracha recited over the bread at the beginning of the meal.
Does this Halacha apply as well to Birkat Ha'besamim, the Beracha one recites over smelling spices? If, for example, a person smells a Hadas branch during a Shabbat meal and recites the Beracha of "Al Atzei Besamim" (which is a laudable practice), and he then wishes to smell the Hadas again after Birkat Ha'mazon, must he repeat the Beracha? On the one hand, we might argue that just as one must recite a new Beracha over foods eaten after Birkat Ha'mazon, so must he recite a new Beracha over smelling spices after Birkat Ha'mazon. Alternatively, we might contend that Birkat Ha'mazon constitutes a "Siluk" only with respect to foods, and not with regard to smelling spices.
The Ben Ish Chai (Rabbi Yosef Chayim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in his work Rav Pe'alim (vol. 2, Orach Chayim section, 31), writes that Birkat Ha'mazon does not constitute a "Siluk" with respect to smelling spices. Thus, so long as the individual had in mind to continue smelling the spices after his initial smelling, he does not recite a new Beracha if he smells the spices again after Birkat Ha'mazon. The Ben Ish Chai proceeds to record that the Arizal (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, famed Kabbalist, Israel, 1534-1572) did repeat the Birkat Ha'besamim when he smelled the spices again after Birkat Ha'mazon. The reason, the Ben Ish Chai claimed, was that the spices had been removed from the table in the interim. The spices' removal from the table constituted a "Hefsek" (interruption) which warranted a new Beracha when the Arizal smelled the spices again. He repeated the Beracha not because he had recited Birkat Ha'mazon, but rather because the spices had been removed from the table.
Chacham Ovadia Yosef, however, in his work Yabia Omer (vol. 10, 134), argues that one need not repeat the Beracha even if the spices had been removed from the table. In his view, if the individual had in mind initially to continue smelling the spices, then the original Beracha remains in effect regardless of whether or not the spices remained on the table. Chacham Ovadia notes that according to the Mishna Berura (commentary to the Shulchan Aruch by Rabbi Yisrael Kagan, the "Chafetz Chayim," Lithuania, 1839-1933), in the laws of Besamim (217:6), even if one leaves his house and then wishes to smell the spices again upon returning, he does not repeat the Beracha. Since he had initially intended to continue smelling the spices, the Beracha remains in effect even if he leaves the home in the interim.
Thus, if one recites Birkat Ha'besamim during a meal with the intention of smelling the spices again subsequently, he does not repeat the Beracha when he smells the spices again after Birkat Ha'mazon, even if the spices had been removed from the table, and even if he had left and then returned in the interim.
