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...
Using a Peeler on Shabbat
Drinking From the Kiddush Cup
Adding Water to a Pot of Hot Food on Shabbat
May One Transfer Food From One Hotplate to Another on Shabbat?
Is it Permissible to Smear Butter or Other Foods on Shabbat?
Snapping One’s Fingers on Shabbat
Making Up a Missed Tefila on Rosh Hodesh and Shabbat
Halachot Regarding the Kiddush Cup and How to Hold the Cup During Kiddush
Preparing for Kiddush
The Procedure for Reciting Kiddush and Drinking the Wine
Adding Salt or Spices to a Pot of Food on Shabbat
If One Did Not Recite Kiddush on Friday Night
Customs for When One Arrives Home From the Synagogue on Friday Night
Situations Where Food Cooked on Shabbat is Permissible
Spraying Perfume or Deodorant on Shabbat
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found