May one use bottled perfume for the Beracha of "Borei Minei Besamim" during Havdala?
This question depends on the issue of whether one recites this Beracha when smelling pleasant fragrances that were chemically engineered, or if the Beracha is recited only over natural fragrances. Chacham Bentzion Abba Shaul (Jerusalem, 1924-1998) held that one does, indeed, recite "Borei Minei Besamim" over synthetic perfumes. Among the proofs he cites is the Halacha requiring the recitation of this Beracha when smelling musk, a fragrant substance produced from animal excrement. Of course, the excrement in its original form does not emit a pleasant aroma; it undergoes a certain chemical process which results in a pleasant fragrance. This would seem to prove that the Beracha of "Borei Minei Besamim" applies to any pleasant smell, regardless of whether it is natural or synthetic. Likewise, the Shulchan Aruch, based on the Rambam, rules that if a fragrance was produced from olive oil, one recites "Borei Atzei Besamim" when smelling the oil. Here, too, the oil itself does not produce a fragrance; the fragrance results from a man-initiated process of engineering. Similarly, Chacham Bentzion argued, one would recite the Beracha of "Borei Minei Besamim" on synthetically engineered perfumes. This is also the position of Rabbi Moshe Halevi, in his work "Birkat Hashem," and of Rabbi Pinchas Scheinberg.
However, the work "Shemirat Shabbat Ke'hilchata" cites Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Jerusalem, 1910-1995) as advising that one not use synthetic fragrances for Besamim, since a distinction could be drawn between the cases discussed above and chemically engineered perfumes. Fragrances can be produced from olive oil because olive oil contains within it the potential to become fragrant. True, it takes a manmade process for this potential to materialize, but the olive oil is itself capable of producing a fragrance. The chemicals used in the manufacture of perfumes, however, are intrinsically incapable of producing a fragrance; it is only their combination with other chemicals and the ensuing reaction that result in a pleasant smell. The argument can therefore be made that one should not recite the Beracha of "Borei Minei Besamim" when smelling chemically engineered perfumes. Rabbi Shlomo Zalman therefore advises that one avoid this question and not use perfume for Besamim. This is also the view of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv and Chacham Ovadia Yosef.
By the same token, one should refrain from purposefully smelling perfume for enjoyment, so as to avoid the question of whether he must recite the Beracha. If one happens to smell perfume, he certainly does not recite the Beracha; but if one goes out of his way to open a bottle of perfume to enjoy its fragrance, he encounters this Halachic question as to whether a Beracha is warranted. It is best to avoid this question by refraining from intentionally smelling perfume.
Summary: It is uncertain whether one recites the Beracha of "Borei Minei Besamim" over chemically engineered perfumes. Therefore, one should not use perfume for Besamim during Havdala, and, by the same token, one should not purposefully smell perfume to enjoy its fragrance.
