The question was asked in Halacha about the eating of dairy products after eating meat. According to the Halacha, we know that one has to wait 6 hours from the time he finishes eating meat until he is able to eat dairy products. The issue today is about a fellow who forgot, and within the 6 hours he picked up a glass of milk, and he made ‘Shehakol Nehiye Bidvaro’. So the question is whether or not he should or is allowed to taste the milk in order to fulfill the Beracha, or do we say that since he’s drinking the milk within 6 hours, that he should just put the milk down, and say ‘Baruch Shem Kivod Malchuto Liolam Vaed’? In this case of putting the milk down, seemingly his Beracha then would be Beracha Livatala (wasteful).
Actually Chacham Ovadia discusses this question in Yichave Da’at. And Chacham Ovadia says as follows. If a person made this mistake, he definitely should taste from the milk, because the other option of not tasting brings a bigger problem of Beracha Livatala. Here the guy made the Beracha of ‘Shehakol Nehiye Bidvaro’. If he is not going to taste the milk, then that Beracha goes to waste. Why then are we being lenient on the law of 6 hours? Because there are some opinions, like the opinion of the Tosafot that hold that the law of 6 hours does not even apply. Tosafot holds that you are not allowed to eat milk and meat in the same Seuda. But outside the same Seuda, it’s OK. It’s true that Maran doesn’t hold like that. Maran holds you have to wait 6 hours. But already we found opinions that hold that as long as it is not in the same Seuda it is OK. And therefore, since we have those opinions that are lenient on 6 hours, even though we don’t hold like them, you can use them in this case over here to be lenient, and if a person did make a Beracha, he can taste the food.
There are some opinions that wanted to go farther and say, that once you tasted even a drop, that you should continue and eat the whole thing in order to make the Beracha of ‘Bore Nefashot’. What’s their logic? Because there is an opinion that says, that once you begin eating, you should continue and eat the required minimum Shiur and make the Beracha of Bore Nefashot. Chacham Ovadia doesn’t go that far. He said, that we do not take that opinion whereby you would be required to make the Beracha of Bore Nefashot once you have already eaten a drop. We don’t take it as Halacha, and we don’t even regard it. So therefore, he says you can only taste a little. That means if a person took a big bite out of an ice cream, according to Chacham Ovadia, that person should spit out the rest. Spit out the rest and only eat the minimum amount in order to fulfill the Beracha of ‘Shehakol Nehiye Bidvaro’ or whatever he made. But more than that, we don’t say once it is in his mouth already, let him swallow it and let him eat it. Chacham Ovadia is only lenient to eat the bare minimum in order that the Beracha of ‘Shehakol Nehiye Bidvaro’ will not be Beracha Livatala.
It should be pointed out that Birkat Hashem, Rav Moshe Halevi, has a whole different view of this Halacha, and he comes out that it is better not to taste it, and better just to say ‘Baruch Shem Malchuto Liolam Vaed’. But the Halacha in this case, we have Chacham Ovadia to rely on, to taste the foods if within the 6 hours.
