DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

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

      
(File size: 3.81 MB)
Does One Recite “Ha’mosi” over Sweet Bread, or over So-Called “Mezonot Rolls”?

It is clear from the Shulhan Aruch’s discussion about the properties of halachic "bread" (Orah Haim 168) that if bread was baked with a sweetening agent, such as sugar or honey, and the sweet flavor is easily discernible when eating the bread, then one does not recite "Ha’mosi" over such bread. Bread with a noticeably sweet flavor, according to the Shulhan Aruch, falls under the category of "Pat Ha’ba’a Be’kisnin," and thus one recites "Mezonot" and "Al Ha’mihya" over such bread, instead of "Ha’mosi" and Birkat Ha’mazon.

Rabbi Moshe Ha’levi (Israel, 1961-2000), in his Birkat Hashem, contends that even the Shulhan Aruch would agree that if one uses sweet bread in the way ordinary bread is used, then the bread requires "Ha’mosi." In his view, "Pat Ha’ba’a Be’kisnin" requires "Mezonot" instead of "Ha’mosi" because such products are eaten as snacks, and not as a meal. As such, even if one eats sweet bread, he recites "Ha’mosi" if he eats this product the way regular bread is ordinarily eaten.

However, Hacham David Yosef (contemporary), in his Halacha Berura, disagrees with this ruling, and refutes the proofs which Rabbi Moshe Ha’levi brought to support his position. According to Hacham David, anytime one eats sweet bread whose sweet flavor is easily discernible, the Beracha is "Mezonot," and not "Ha’mosi," even if he eats this bread as ordinary bread.

Therefore, when preparing or purchasing bread for the Shabbat meals, one must ensure not to prepare or purchase bread that has a readily discernible sweet flavor.

However, Hacham David emphasizes that this Halacha pertains only to bread whose sweet flavor is easily discernible. Some companies produce bread with fruit juice instead of water, and label the product "Mezonot rolls" because the bread is considered sweetened. Hacham David writes (listen to audio recording for precise citation) that these rolls are, generally speaking, not discernibly sweet, and so they require "Ha’mosi" and Birkat Ha’mazon just like ordinary bread.

This is especially true for Ashkenazim, who follow a different opinion, and recite "Ha’mosi" even over noticeably sweet bread, unless the sweetener constitutes the majority of the product. According to Ashkenazic custom, one certainly recites "Ha’mosi" over so-called "Mezonot rolls," and even over discernibly sweet bread.

Summary: According to Sephardic custom, bread baked with sugar, honey or other sweetening agents, and thus has a discernibly sweet taste, is not considered Halachic "bread," and thus one recites "Mezonot" and "Al Ha’mihya" over this bread, instead of "Ha’mosi" and Birkat Ha’mazon. Such bread should therefore not be used for "Ha’mosi" at the Shabbat meals. However, if the bread does not have a discernibly sweet taste, then even if it is baked with sweetening ingredients, such as fruit juice, it is considered bread and requires "Ha’mosi" and Birkat Ha’mazon like ordinary bread. Therefore, so-called "Mezonot rolls" which were baked with fruit juice require "Ha’mosi" and Birkat Ha’mazon, unless they have a discernibly sweet flavor.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Cases Where One Eats a Fruit Followed by a Food Which Requires "Ha'etz" According to Some Authorities
Reciting a Beracha Before Eating Shells or Peels
Reciting a Beracha Before Drinking Olive Oil
Reciting a Beracha Before Eating a Lemon
Holding The Talet When Reciting The Beracha
May One Recite Netliat Yadayim In Shul If He Forgot But Washed At Home
Can One Recite Boreh Nefashot If He Does Not Have The Ability To Say Meen Shalosh When Required
Is One Permitted To Recite Birkat Ha’levana or Asher Yatzar For A Friend If The Friend Answers Amen
Does One Recite a Beracha Before Smelling a Lemon?
The Order of Beracha Rishona When Eating a Mezonot, Etz, and Adama
What is The Beracha on Rice with Vegetables and When Eating Apples with Bananas
The Beracha Recited Upon Seeing a Rainbow
Is It Proper For Sephardim To Make HaMotzih on Shabbat on Halah That Contains Strong Sweeteners
Reciting Birkat Ha'gomel When Experiencing Temporary Relief From a Chronic Illness, Upon Being Saved From Drowning, and After Parachuting
Reciting Birkat Ha'levana When a Thin Cloud Covers the Moon
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found