DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

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

      
(File size: 1.19 MB)
Leaving Leftover Bread on the Table for Birkat Ha’mazon

The Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 180:1) writes that it is not proper to recite Birkat Ha’mazon at an empty table, and one should therefore leave the leftover bread, and crumbs, on the table for the recitation of Birkat Ha’mazon. If all the bread was finished, one should not bring another full loaf to the table, as this was the practice of the pagans. If one has a partial loaf of bread, it may be brought to the table for Birkat Ha’mazon. A complete loaf that had been on the table during the meal may be left on the table for Birkat Ha’mazon.

The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) writes (in Parashat Shelah) that it is customary also to leave the bones, shells and peels on the table for Birkat Ha’mazon. These oftentimes have "Nisosot Kedusha" (sparks of holiness) within them, and reciting Birkat Ha’mazon with these on the table can have the effect of extracting the sparks. If one finds it uncomely to leave these things on the table, he may collect them onto a plate and move them to the side, but they should be left on the table.

Summary: It is proper to leave leftover bread on the table for Birkat Ha’mazon. If all the bread was eaten, one should not bring a new, complete loaf for Birkat Ha’mazon, but one may bring a new piece of bread. It is also proper to leave on the table bones, shells and peels for Birkat Ha’mazon.


 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Visiting the Sick and Comforting Mourners on Shabbat
Crushing Ice or Sugar Cubes on Shabbat
The Recitation of “Nishmat” on Shabbat Morning
Does a Woman Recite Shehehiyanu the First Time She Lights Shabbat Candles?
Reading by an Electric Light on Shabbat
The Importance of Tosefet Shabbat – Adding Time Onto Shabbat
Oneg Shabbat – Enjoying Oneself on Shabbat
Reheating Cold Liquid on Shabbat
Announcing a Lost Mukseh Item on Shabbat
If the Person Who Recites Kiddush Speaks Before Drinking the Wine
May a Husband Repeat Habdala For His Wife if He Had Recited it in the Synagogue?
Is it Permissible to Add Hot Water to a Pot of Dry Hamin on Shabbat?
Using a Crockpot on Shabbat
Placing Food Wrapped in Tin Foil on a Blech Before Shabbat
The Requirement to Eat Immediately After Kiddush
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found