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...
Compensation for Damaging a Reputation
If a Kohen Became Tameh
May a Kohen Work for Hatzalah, or Inspect a Body to Prevent an Autopsy?
A Kohen Under the Same Roof as a Corpse
May a Kohen be in a Room with Someone Whose Death is Imminent?
Is It Permissible to Refer a Charity Collector to a Person of Means Without His Permission?
Peace as a Prerequisite for Parnasa
Birkat Kohanim and the Blessing of Parnasa
Eating a Peeled Onion, Garlic or Egg Left Overnight
Learning From Our Ancestors in Halab
May a Minor be Called for an Aliya to the Torah?
Reciting Birkat Kohanim at Minha on Fast Days
Must One Recite a New Beracha Over the Mezuza When Returning To A Summer Home?
A Renter’s Obligation in Mezuza
The Sefer Haftara
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found