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...
Achieving Atonement for Different Categories of Sin
The Obligation of Vidui – Confession
Yom Kippur- Immersing in a Mikveh on Ereb Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur- Reciting One Hundred Berachot on Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur- Reciting Viduy at Minha on Ereb Yom Kippur
Children Fasting on Yom Kippur
Explaining the Term "Yom Ha'kippurim"; Sins Committed "With the Evil Inclination"
Atonement for Sins Committed Against One's Fellow
Yom Kippur- The Rules Of Fasting for Minors
Saying Shehechiyanu on Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur Laws Regarding Rinsing, Swallowing Saliva, and Accidentally Making A Beracha To Eat
Yom Kippur- The Laws and Custom of Kaparot
May a Non-Observant Kohen Recite Birkat Kohanim?
Reciting Birkat Kohanim After Drinking Wine or Other Alcoholic Beverages
For How Long Must One Stand in Place After Completing the Amida?
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found