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...
"Zugot’- Is The Concept of Avoiding 2 (Pairs) Proper or A Myth
Is It Permissible To Bury a Woman Next to a Man If Other Than Their Spouse
Blood On The Hands From Performing A Mitzvah
Must One Attempt to Flee Before Sacrificing His Life
Is It Permissible To Wear Gloves; Under The Chupa, Turning The Scroll of A Sefer Torah, or While Making Shechita
Is It Permissible For Father & Sons, Rabbis and Students, Etc to Go To The Mikveh Together
Taking A Portion When Making Hallah
Is It Permissible To Shave, Cut Nails, or Take A Hair Cut on Rosh Chodesh
Preferred Rituals When Reciting Birkat Ha’levana
Hitting Older Children, and Causing Others To Become Angry
Is It Permissible To Put On Tefillin At Sunset If One Forgot Earlier In The Day
Answering "Baruch Hu U’Baruch Shemo"
Pronouncing and Saying Amen
Burying a Newborn or Stillborn Infant
Notifying Somebody of a Relative's Death
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found