** Announcement- This coming Tuesday night, April 20th, American Friends of Mishmeres Hasholom presents Rabbi Eli Mansour and Rabbi Yechiel Spiro who will both speak to Women only- 'Transforming the World, One Word at a Time.' Will take place at 8:00 PM at Ateres Chynka at 129 Elmwood Ave in Brooklyn. **
Today's Halacha:
If three people ate together a meal with bread, which normally requires the recitation of a Zimun before Birkat Hamazon, but one of the three ate non-kosher food, do they make a Zimun? Do we consider this individual part of the group because he did, after all, eat together with the other two, or is he not counted for a Zimun since he ate non-kosher food?
This question is addressed by the Gemara in Masechet Berachot (47), and the Gemara rules that a person who ate non-kosher food cannot join with two others who ate with him to form a Zimun. The Gemara adds that this applies even if the individual ate food that is forbidden only Mi’de’rabbanan (by force of Rabbinic enactment). Even though the food he ate was permissible according to Torah law, he is ineligible for joining a Zimun since the food was forbidden for consumption.
There are different views among the Rishonim (Medieval Halachic scholars) in explaining the precise reason for this Halacha. The Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, Spain-Egypt, 1135-1203) understood that this person cannot join a Zimun because he does not recite Birkat Hamazon. A person who eats forbidden food does not recite a Beracha before eating, or Birkat Hamazon after eating the food. The verse states (Tehillim 10:3), "U’bose’a Berech Ni’etz Hashem," which the Sages understood to mean that one who recites a Beracha over forbidden food blasphemes God, Heaven forbid. The Zimun is recited as an introduction to Birkat Hamazon – "Nebarech L’Elokenu She’achalnu Mishelo" ("Let us bless our God from whom we have eaten"), and therefore, a person who will not recite Birkat Hamazon cannot count toward the Zimun. For this reason, according to the Rambam, one who eats non-kosher food is not included in the Zimun.
The Ra’avad (Rabbi Abraham Ben David of Posquieres, France, 1120-1198) disagreed, and gave a different reason for this Halacha. He claimed that one who ate non-kosher food cannot count toward a Zimun because a Zimun means that the three individuals join together to become a single unit. If a person ate a non-kosher meal, the people with whom he ate do not combine with him to form a single, organic entity. He remains separate from them, and they therefore cannot join together to form a Zimun.
The practical difference between these two reasons arises in a situation where the individual was allowed to eat the non-kosher food, such as if he suffered from a life-threatening illness which required him to eat food which is normally forbidden. According to the Ra’avad’s explanation, this individual would be counted toward a Zimun. Since he did not commit a violation through his eating, he can join with the other two to form a Zimun. According to the Rambam’s reason, however, the group would be unable to form a Zimun, since the individual who ate non-kosher food does not recite Birkat Hamazon. Halacha follows the view that one does not recite Berachot over non-kosher food even in situations where eating the food is permissible. Therefore, according to the Rambam, who understood that a person who ate non-kosher food at a meal cannot join in the Zimun because he does not recite Birkat Hamazon, this would apply in all situations. Even if one was allowed to eat non-kosher food, he would not be counted for a Zimun. This is, indeed, the accepted Halacha.
This discussion applies only when a person ate food which is inherently non-kosher; it would not apply in cases of ill patients who must eat on Yom Kippur for medical reasons. If three such patients ate together on Yom Kippur, they would recite a Zimun followed by Birkat Hamazon. Since they did not eat forbidden food, and were permitted to eat on Yom Kippur due to their medical conditions, they are required to recite Birkat Hamazon, and, as such, they also conduct a Zimun. This case differs from the case described above of an individual who was required to eat non-kosher food for medical reasons. Since he ate food which is intrinsically forbidden, he does not recite Birkat Hamazon, and he therefore cannot join a Zimun.
Summary: If three people ate together, but one of them ate non-kosher food, they cannot make a Zimun, even if that individual was required to eat non-kosher food for medical reasons. The person who ate non-kosher food does not recite Birkat Hamazon, even if he was allowed to eat the food because of his health condition. If three ill patients were required to eat on Yom Kippur for medical reasons, and they ate a meal together, they recite a Zimun followed by Birkat Hamazon.
