DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Halacha is In Memory of
 Mesuda Bat Mizlee Lelah

Dedicated By
Isaac Moses

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
      
(File size: 5.92 MB)
Answering to a Zimun if One Did Not Eat

If a group of people are reciting a Zimun, and there is somebody sitting with them who did not eat, he does not answer with the standard response of "Baruch She’achalnu Mi’shelo…" Since he did not eat, he cannot say "She’achalnu Mi’shelo" ("from whom we ate"). Instead, the Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 198) writes, he responds, "Baruch U’meborach Shemo Tamid Le’olam Va’ed." (An mnemonic to help remember this response is "Boshet Lo.") If ten people are present, such that those who ate answer with Hashem’s Name ("Baruch Elokenu She’achalnu Mi’shelo…"), a person who did not eat responds, "Baruch Elokenu U’meborach Shemo…" And if this takes place at a Sheba Berachot, then the person who did not eat responds, "Baruch Elokenu U’meborach Shemo Tamid Le’olam Va’ed She’ha’simha Bi’m’ono."

However, if a person ate or drank anything – then even in circumstances where he would not be counted for a Zimun, he nevertheless recites the standard text of "Baruch She’achalnu Mi’shelo…" For example, if three people are making a Zimun, and there is a fourth person present who did not eat anything but drank water, he answers "Baruch She’achalnu Mi’shelo…" along with the others. Even though he would not be counted for the Zimun if there were only two other people besides him – since he only drank water, and did not eat anything or drink wine – nevertheless, his having drunk water suffices for him to be able to say, "Baruch She’achalnu Mi’shelo…" Similarly, if a fourth person joined the group and ate after the others had washed Mayim Aharonim in preparation for Birkat Ha’mazon, he answers, "Baruch She’achalnu Mi’shelo…" Although he would not be counted for a Zimun if he were the third person – since he arrived after the others washed Mayim Aharonim – he nevertheless responds, "Baruch She’achalnu Mi’shelo…" since he ate. In these cases, the person can say "She’achalnu" like the others even though he would not be counted as one of the three to facilitate a Zimun.

If somebody arrives just as the people in the group are reciting, "Baruch She’achalnu Mi’shelo," and he did not hear the Mezamen (the one leading the Zimun) first announce, "Nebarech She’achalnu Mi’shelo," then he simply recites "Amen" to their response. Their response of "Baruch She’achalnu" is no different than a regular Beracha, and so this person who heard their response answers "Amen." He does not answer "Amen" again after the Mezamen repeats "Baruch She’achalnu Mi’shelo…" If he arrives just as the Mezamen repeats "Baruch She’achalnu Mi’shelo…" then he answers "Amen" to the Mezamen’s response.

Summary: If somebody is present when a Zimun is being recited, but he had not eaten anything, then he responds, "Baruch U’meborach Shemo Tamid Le’olam Va’ed," instead of the standard, "Baruch She’achalnu Mi’shelo..." If a Minyan is reciting the Zimun, then he responds, "Baruch Elokenu U’meborach Shemo Tamid Le’olam Va’ed." However, if he ate or drank anything, even water, and even if he arrived and ate after the others had washed Mayim Aharonim, then he answers with the standard response of "Baruch She’achalnu." One who did not hear the leader of the Zimun announce, "Nebarech She’achalnu Mi’shelo," and heard only the group’s response of "Baruch She’achalnu…" answers "Amen" to their response, and then does not answer "Amen" to the leader’s repetition of "Baruch She’achalnu Mi’shelo…"

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Succot- The Mitzvah of Building the Succah
Succot- The Proper Way To Shake The Lulav in Halel
The Proper Time To Say Selichot
Customs of Elul
The Shofar as an Alarm Clock
Hatarat Nedarim – Annulling Vows Before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Reciting Tehillim During the Month of Elul and During the Ten Days of Repentance
Some Laws and Customs for the Month of Elul
The Proper Procedure for Reciting Selihot Without a Minyan
Selihot – The Recitation of the “Yag Middot”
Selichot and Tikun Hasot
Reciting the “Yag Midot” Without a Minyan
Performing Teshuva Each Day; Repenting for Negative Character Traits
Can a Man Represent His Wife in Hatarat Nedarim?
The Structure of the Selihot Service; Health as a Reward for Charity
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found