DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

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

      
(File size: 4.63 MB)
The Beracha of “She’ha’kol”

The Aruch Ha’shulhan (Rav Yechiel Michel Epstein of Nevarduk, 1829-1908) observes an intriguing difference between the Beracha of "She’ha’kol" and most of the other Berachot we recite before eating. Other Berachot use the verb "Bara" ("create") – "Boreh Peri Ha’adama," "Boreh Peri Ha’etz," "Boreh Mineh Mezonot." In the Beracha of "She’ha’kol," however, we use the verb "Niheya," which means "made," as opposed to "create."

To explain this difference, the Aruch Ha’shulhan writes that the verb "Bara" refers to a new creation, and we therefore use it in Berachot over food items that are produced anew each year – fruits, vegetables, grains, and so on. The Beracha of "She’ha’kol," by contrast, is recited over things like meat and fish, which come from animals – creatures that are not recreated anew. Therefore, the more appropriate verb is "Niheya," as opposed to "Bara."

There are different texts of the Beracha of "She’ha’kol," as some Ashkenazim recite, "She’ha’kol Niheyeh Bi’dbaro." The custom among Sepharadim, however, is to recite, "Niheya," not "Niheyeh," and everybody should follow his or her community’s custom.

Summary: In the text of the Beracha of "She’ha’kol," there are those who recite, "She’ha’kol Niheyeh Bi’dbaro," but Sephardic custom is to pronounce the word as "Niheya," and not "Niheyeh."

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
The Sandak at a Berit Mila
Reciting the Beracha of “Yesimcha Elokim Ke’Efrayim Ve’chi’Menasheh” at a Berit
Wearing Tefillin at One’s Son’s Berit
The Practice That a Mohel Serves as Hazzan on the Day of a Berit
Berit Mila – The Custom to Place the Foreskin in Earth
Is There a Concept of “Sandak” at the Berit Mila of an Adult?
Scheduling a Berit Mila if it Cannot be Performed on the Eighth Day
Determining the Time of Birth with Respect to Berit Mila; Scheduling a Berit Mila for a Child Born Late Friday Afternoon
Reciting She’hehiyanu at a Berit Mila
Is it Appropriate for a Mohel to Request Payment for Performing a Berit?
Berit Mila – When Does the Father Recite the Beracha “Le’hachniso Bi’brito Shel Abraham Abinu”?
Must the Father Formally Appoint the Mohel as His Agent?
Which Skin Must be Removed for a Berit Mila to be Valid?
Omitting Tachanun and Reciting Yehi Shem on the Day of a Brit Milah
If Two Brothers Died as a Result of Berit Mila
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found