Laws of Blessings (Adv.)
Crash Course in Jewish Blessings
9 min read
7 min read
Generally, when other foods are eaten with bread, the only bracha recited is Hamotzee.
In the previous class we learned about situations where bread loses its bracha of Hamotzee. In today's class, we'll learn about foods that require a bracha when eaten during a bread meal.
At this point let's introduce two new Hebrew terms, that we'll encounter frequently as we proceed through this course:
Bread is considered the staple food of every meal. One might say that any food eaten in a bread meal – meat, pasta, salad – is being eaten "with the bread." Other foods are secondary to the bread, which is the main part of the meal. In other words, bread is the ikar, and the meat, etc. is the tafel.
This means that when other foods are eaten in the same meal as bread, there is generally only one bracha recited: Hamotzee.1 The bracha on bread (the ikar) "covers" the other foods (the tafel) eaten in that meal.
There is one caveat, however. For bread to cover the other foods, the bread must be consumed in what is a halachic "act of eating." This is defined as consuming at least a kezayit of bread, within four minutes or less.2 (As we learned in the last class, a kezayit is about the size of half a middle piece of rye bread – 30 cc or one liquid ounce.) It is preferable to eat this amount of bread at the beginning of the meal.3
In the event that you eat less than a kezayit of bread, your Hamotzee over the bread does not cover any other foods that you wish to now eat. The best way to handle this is to first say the relevant brachot on the other foods, and then say Hamotzee on your "less-than-kezayit" amount of bread.4
The reason why Hamotzee covers other foods is because, just like the bread, the entire meal is being eaten for sustenance. This includes main dishes (meat, fish) as well as side dishes (rice, cooked vegetables, casseroles).
However, desserts and sweets – which are eaten simply for their good taste, not for nourishment and satiation – are not covered by Hamotzee. These foods require a separate bracha even when eaten in the course of a meal.5 So if you want to pop a candy in your mouth between the entrée and the main course, you should say Shehakol.
To summarize so far: All satiating foods in a meal are covered by the Hamotzee said on the bread, but snack foods require their own bracha. It should follow, therefore, that whenever you eat cake during a meal for satiation, no bracha is required, whereas if the cake is being eaten as a dessert or for a good taste, a bracha (Mezonot) is in order.
However, it's not so simple. In determining if a baked good is considered "hamotzee" or "mezonot," we listed three characteristics that can define it as "mezonot":
The only way to be sure that a baked good is not bread is if it satisfies all three of these conditions. A pastry that fulfills only one or two of the conditions is subject to dispute – it may be bread or it may be cake.6
Therefore, you can only say the bracha Mezonot during a bread meal on a baked good that you are absolutely sure is not bread.7 So in practice, the question only begins if a baked grain food fulfills all three characteristics of Pat Haba'ah B'Kisnin – i.e. it is sweet dough, filled, and thin/crispy. We'll call this the "triple-Pat Haba'ah B'Kisnin." One common example is a pie with a hard crust.
In addition, baked foods made from a very soft dough are never considered bread (as discussed in Class 10). This applies to blintzes made of a thin dough wrapping and according to some authorities to wafers.
On any other Pat Haba'ah B'Kisnin eaten for dessert, you should not say a bracha.8 It is recommended, however, that when saying Hamotzee on the bread in the beginning of the meal to have in mind to cover the cake as well.9
A second consideration when determining if to say a bracha on baked goods during a bread meal, is whether you are eating the pastries as a dessert. When eating any baked goods as a nourishing part of the meal, no bracha is recited.10
Furthermore, even a "triple-Pat Haba'ah B'Kisnin" eaten for dessert is sometimes exempt from a bracha. If you are still hungry and you are eating it to satiate as well, then it is considered as part of the meal and is covered by the Hamotzee said on the bread.11 For this reason, in practice many people do not say a bracha on any cake eaten for dessert.
To summarize: During a bread meal, the only time you would say a bracha on Mezonot is if all three of the following conditions are met:
This concludes class #13 on Hilchot Brachot. In the next lesson, we'll learn about fruit that requires a bracha during a bread meal.