What Beracha should one recite before drinking juice extracted from a fruit? Should he recite "She'hakol," the Beracha generally recited over beverages, or should he recite "Bore Peri Ha'etz," the Beracha recited over fruits?
The Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 202:8) addresses the situation of one who drinks the nectar honey extracted from a date, and rules that he should recite the Beracha of "She'hakol." He then adds that this ruling applies to all liquids extracted from fruit; even though the fruit itself would require the Beracha of "Bore Peri Ha'etz," one who drinks the juice should recite "She'hakol." The exceptions to this rule, the Shulhan Aruch notes, are the juices extracted from olives and grapes. One who drinks olive oil must (under certain circumstances) recite the Beracha of "Bore Peri Ha'etz," and one who drinks wine and grape juice recites "Bore Peri Ha'gefen." All other fruit juices, by contrast, require the Beracha of "She'hakol."
Does this Halacha apply to contemporary fruit juices, such as orange juice?
The answer to this question depends on how one understands the unique status afforded to grapes and olives in this regard. From the comments of the Ritva (Rabbenu Yom Tov of Seville, Spain, 1250-1330), in his work on Masechet Berachot, it appears that grapes and olives are singled out because of their special qualities. Wine brings people joy and is drunk for nourishment, not merely to quench thirst, and for this reason it earns a special Beracha. As for olive oil, the Ritva writes, the Torah (Devarim 8:8) speaks of olives as "Zet Shemen" – "oil olives" – suggesting that the oil constitutes an integral part of the olive. Hence, it requires the Beracha of "Bore Peri Ha'etz" just like the olive itself. Other commentators, however, including the Rashba (Rabbi Shelomo Ben Aderet, Barcelona, Spain, 1235-1310) and the Meiri (Rabbi Menahem Meiri, 1249-1315), offered a different explanation for the unique status of these fruits. According to this view, the liquids extracted from grapes and olives earn a special Beracha because these fruits are grown with both the fruit and the liquid in mind; the farmers intend when planting vines and olive trees that the fruits will either be eaten or pressed. This intent lends the juices of these fruits a stature equal to the actual fruit, and they therefore warrant a special Beracha.
It stands to reason that the status of orange juice nowadays would hinge on this debate. Most orange juice today is produced from orchards specifically grown for this purpose. Hence, according to the view of the Rashba and Meiri, today's orange juice is similar to olive oil and wine in Talmudic times, and thus one who drinks orange juice must recite "Bore Peri Ha'etz." Indeed, this was the position taken by the Hazon Ish (Rabbi Yeshaya Karelitz, Israel, 1879-1954). However, according to the Ritva, the fact that orange juice is produced from oranges planted for this purpose has no bearing on the question of which Beracha to recite. The unique stature of olives and grapes is reserved specifically for these fruits, and thus one who drinks orange juice would recite "She'hakol."
The Shulhan Aruch, in the aforementioned passage, establishes a general rule that liquids extracted from all fruits other than grapes and olives require "She'hakol," without making any exceptions. It thus appears that he accepted the Ritva's view, that no other fruits share the unique quality of grapes and olives. Hence, as Rabbi Moshe Halevi (Israel, 1961-2001) rules in his Birkat Hashem (vol. 3, 7:45; listen to audio for precise citation), one who drinks any fruit juice – including orange juice – recites "She'hakol." What more, Rabbi Moshe Halevi writes that if a person recited "Bore Peri Ha'etz" over a fruit juice other than olive oil or grape juice, he has recited a "wasted" Beracha and must correct the mistake by reciting "Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto Le'olam Va'ed" and then reciting "She'hakol" before drinking.
Summary: One who drinks fruit juices other than wine or grape juice (or olive oil, under certain circumstances) recites the Beracha of "She'hakol"; he does not fulfill his obligation by reciting the Beracha of "Bore Peri Ha'etz."
