DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

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

      
(File size: 3.89 MB)
The Proper Sequence When Eating Different “Mezonot” Foods, and When Eating a “Mezonot” Food With Fruit

If a person is eating a standard "Mezonot" item, made from wheat flour, along with rice, then he recites the Beracha over the product made from wheat flour. Although rice also requires "Mezonot," nevertheless, since rice is not one of the five main grains (wheat, barley, oats, rye and spelt), it is considered less significant than products made from wheat flour. Therefore, the Beracha should be recited over the product made from wheat flour, which covers the rice, as well.

Furthermore, baked "Mezonot" items – such as cake – are considered more significant than boiled "Mezonot" items, such as pasta. Since baked "Mezonot" items require "Ha’mosi" if they are eaten in very large quantities, they have a higher status than cooked products like pasta, which can never require "Ha’mosi." Therefore, if a person eats both cake and pasta, he should recite the Beracha over the cake.

If one is eating a "Mezonot" food and a fruit – even a fruit from among the special species of Eretz Yisrael (grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates) – then he should first partake of the "Mezonot" food before eating the fruit. If one eats rice together with a fruit from the special species, then, according to the Shulhan Aruch, there is no required sequence, and one may partake first of whichever food he prefers. However, Hacham David Yosef (contemporary), in Halacha Berura (vol. 10, p. 545; listen to audio recording for precise citation), writes that according to the Rashbatz (Rav Shimon Ben Semah Duran, Algiers, 1366-1444), the Beracha of "Mezonot" always precedes "Ha’etz," even if the Beracha of "Mezonot" is being recited over rice. Therefore, although the Shulhan Aruch does not require any specific sequence in such a case, it is preferable to first partake of the rice, in order to satisfy the view of the Rashbatz.

Summary: If one is eating a "Mezonot" food made from wheat flour, and rice, he recites the Beracha over the product made from wheat flour. If one eats a baked "Mezonot" food (such as cake) and a boiled "Mezonot" food (such as pasta), he recites the Beracha over the baked product. If one is eating a "Mezonot" food and a fruit, he first partakes of the "Mezonot" food before partaking of the fruit, even if the fruit is among the special species of Eretz Yisrael (grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates), and even if the "Mezonot" food is rice.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Is it Permissible to Drink Wine or Grape Juice on Ereb Pesah?
Pesah – Bedikat Hametz After the Home Was Thoroughly Cleaned
Pesah – Verbally Designating Meat for Pesah
Passover- Laws of Matza: the Use of Machine Matza or Matza Made from Oats; the Beracha Over Matza; Dipping Matza in Water; Eating Matza Throughout Pesach
Pesah – The Fourth Cup of Wine at the Seder
Pesah – The Reason for Dipping Celery in Saltwater
Pesah- The Prohibition Against Eating Masa on Ereb Pesah
Pesah – Bringing Books to the Table, Using Tablecloths
Pesah – Halachot of Karpas; Reciting “Kadesh U’rhatz…” Before Each Stage of the Seder
Passover- Eating Rice on Pesah
Passover- The Fast of the Firstborn on Ereb Pesah
Ereb Pesah – Customs Regarding the Burning of Hametz; Refraining From Work on Ereb Pesah
Passover- Eating The Afikoman on Pesach Night
Passover- Buying Hametz After Pesah; Giving the Gentile Access to One’s Hametz During Pesah
The Proper Way to Dip the Marror in the Haroset
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found