A bourekas is a piece of dough (which is prepared with either oil or margarine) filled with cheese, potatoes or mushrooms. With respect to the laws of Berachot, this food falls under the Halachic category called "Pat Ha'ba'a Be'kisnin," and therefore requires the recitation of "Mezonot" before it is eaten. If one partakes of a Ke'zayit – or thirty grams – of such foods, he must recite the Beracha Acharona of "Al Ha'michya," and if a person eats 230 grams (approx. 8 oz.), he recites Birkat Ha'mazon.
The question arises as to whether or not the cheese, potato or mushroom filling is to be taken into account when considering the amount consumed for purposes of this Halacha. If we include the filling, then a person who eats even one or two bourekas will be required to recite "Al Ha'michya," as he will have partaken of a Ke'zayit of bourekas. If, however, "Al Ha'michya" is required only if a person eats a Ke'zayit of dough, then one will recite an "Al Ha'michya" only after eating several bourekas. And, according to this approach, one who eats several bourekas would be required to recite "Borei Nefashot" over the filling. Since we view the dough and filling as separate entities, the consumption of a Ke'zayit of filling will require its own Beracha Acharona. According to the first approach, by contrast, the consumption of even a single bourekas requires the recitation of "Al Ha'michya," and "Borei Nefashot" is never required for bourekas, since the filling is seen as subordinate to the dough.
This issue is subject to a major dispute among the Halachic authorities. The Magen Avraham (commentary to the Shulchan Aruch by Rabbi Avraham Gombiner, Poland, 1637-1683) addresses a situation of bread eaten together with meat, as in a sandwich, and rules (168:13) that one must indeed include the meat together with the bread in calculating the amount eaten. Thus, if the meat and bread together comprise a Ke'zayit, then one must recite Birkat Ha'mazon even if the bread independently does not comprise a Ke'zayit.
The Chid"a (Rabbi Chayim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806), however, in his Birkei Yosef (168:6), questions the ruling of the Magen Avraham, and maintains that in such a case one would recite Birkat Ha'mazon only if the bread itself constitutes a Ke'zayit.
Seemingly, the question of calculating a Ke'zayit when eating a bourekas would hinge on this debate. According to the Magen Avraham, one would recite "Al Ha'michya" whenever the filling and dough together comprise a Ke'zayit, whereas the Chid"a would require reciting an "Al Ha'michya" only if one ate enough bourekas that the dough itself constitutes a Ke'zayit.
However, Rabbi Moshe Halevi, in his work Birkat Hashem (chapter 2, pp. 184-5), contends that with regard to bourekas, even the Chid"a would agree that the filling is taken into account when determining the amount one has eaten. The Magen Avraham and Chid"a argued regarding a situation of bread eaten with meat, where the two foods are eaten together but remain separate entities. In the case of bourekas, by contrast, the dough and filling are baked together and thus blend into a single entity. After all, dough itself is often prepared with ingredients besides flour, such as eggs and oil, and nevertheless it is all taken into account when determining the amount of dough one has eaten. Similarly, Rabbi Moshe Halevi claims, one who eats a bourekas takes into account both the dough and the filling when determining whether he has eaten a Ke'zayit, even according to the view of the Chid"a.
Chacham Bentzion Abba Shaul (Jerusalem, 1924-1998), in the introduction to the third volume of his Or Le'Tziyon, disagrees. In his view, since the filling is not actually blended into the dough – as opposed to the eggs and shortening, which blend with the flour to become part of the dough – it retains its independent identity with respect to the laws of Berachot. Hence, one recites "Al Ha'michya" after eating bourekas only if he ate a Ke'zayit of dough. One who eats bourekas must therefore pay attention to not merely the total quantity, but also the amount of dough and the amount of filling. If he eats several bourekas, such that he partook of a full Ke'zayit of dough, he must recite "Al Ha'michya" for the dough and "Borei Nefashot" for the filling. If he ate a shiur if filling and not dough, he makes "Borei Nefashot."
Summary: One who eats bourekas recites "Borei Minei Mezonot" before eating. After eating, he recites "Al Ha'michya" only if he ate thirty grams of dough, without the filling. If he did not have 30 grams of dough but 30 grams of filling, he must recite "Borei Nefashot."
