DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 628 KB)
Birkat Ha’re’ah - Honeysuckles, Cinnamon, Shampoo, Deodorant, Soap and Air Freshener

Somebody who smells honeysuckles recites the Beracha of "Baruch Ata Hashem…Boreh Aseh Besamim." Since they grow on a bush, the proper Beracha is "Aseh Besamim" ("fragrant trees").

If one smells cinnamon – as many people do for the Besamim at Habdala – the Beracha depends on which cinnamon is used. Although cinnamon grows on trees, and should thus require the Beracha of "Aseh Besamim," most cinnamon that people have in their homes was ground for seasoning, and not for smelling. Therefore, before smelling such cinnamon one recites "Boreh Mineh Besamim." One recites "Aseh Besamim" over cinnamon only if it was bought specifically for its fragrance.

One does not recite any Beracha at all before smelling a substance that was made for the purpose of cleaning or eliminating odor. This would include shampoo, soap, deodorant and air fresheners. All these products are made for either cleaning or deodorizing, and thus one does not recite any Beracha before smelling them.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Rules Pertaining to a Husband and Wife Eating Together During the Period of Nidda
Some Laws Relevant Under the Chupa At The Wedding Ceremony
Sitting On The Bed or Couch During The Time of Nidah
Marrying The Daughter of A Kohen
Sephardim Only Should Make 2 Blessings, Not 7, When Making Sheva Berachot Outside The Groom’s House During The Week Following A Wedding
A Heker Is Required When A Husband Is Eating Alone With His Wife While She Is Needah
Is It Permissible For A Yisrael To Marry The Daughter of A Kohen
A Special Prayer for Ereb Rosh Hodesh Sivan
Yehi Shem on the 1st 13 Days of Sivan
Do Metal Peelers Require Tebila?
Is It Required To Dip An Oven Grate or Appliances Such As An Urn or In The Mikveh Kelim
If a Utensil That Had Not Undergone Immersion Became Mixed with Immersed Utensils
Do Plastic or Teflon Utensils Require Immersion in a Mikveh?
Is It Permissible To Allow Minors or Non-Jews To Dip Kelim In The Mikveh
Immersing a New Utensil in a Mikveh on Shabbat
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found