Chapter 51 : Laws Relating to the Concluding Berachah

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§1

[After eating] the fruit of any tree, which is not of the seven species (see paragraph seven) or of any fruit of the ground, or any vegetable, or any food that was not grown in the soil, you should say the concluding berachah, Borei nefashos rabbos. Even if you ate and drank, one [after-] berachah is sufficient for both.

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§2

The after-berachah as well as Birkas Hamazon should not be said unless you have eaten the prescribed quantity [of food], which is [no less than] a kazayis. But for less than this quantity, you need not say an after-berachah. According to some authorities, you need not say the concluding berachah after drinking liquids unless you drank a revi'is. Other authorities maintain that even after drinking a kazayis, you must say the after-berachah. Therefore, in order to avoid any doubt be careful to drink either less than a kazayis or [at least] a revi'is. It makes no difference [in this connection] whether you drink whiskey or any other beverage.

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§3

Some authorities maintain, that after eating a whole thing, which grew naturally, such as a nut or some other fruit, even one single bean, even if its quantity is less than a kazayis, nevertheless, since it is a whole fruit, you must recite the after-berachah. Other authorities disagree. Therefore, to avoid any doubt, you should not eat less than a kazayis. If the article was divided before it was eaten, it loses its special importance, and all authorities agree that you should not say the after-berachah if it was less than a kazayis.

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§4

All articles of food combine [to make up] a kazayis. So, if you ate half a kazayis of something that requires the after-berachah, Borei nefashos rabbos, [and then you ate] another half a kazayis of a food after which the "three-faceted" [after-] berachah is said or even if you ate half a kazayis of bread, you recite the after-berachah, Borei nefashos rabbos. And it seems to me that the same ruling applies if you ate half a kazayis of fruit after which the berachah Al ha'eitz is said, together with half a kazayis of food after which the berachah Al hamichyah is said, or [you ate] half a kazayis of bread; (even though in this case there is no food which requires as its after-berachah [the recitation of] Borei nefashos rabbos), nevertheless, you should say Borei nefashos rabbos as the after-berachah. If you ate half a kazayis of a food after which the after-berachah Al hamichyah is said together with half a kazayis of bread, you should recite Al hamichyah as the after-berachah. Food and drink do not combine [to make up the minimum quantity].

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§5

If you ate half a kazayis and waited, then you ate the second half of a kazafis and the interval between the beginning of eating and the end of eating did not exceed the time it takes to eat half a loaf of bread; then the two acts of eating are combined, and the after-berachah is recited afterwards. However, if you paused longer than this interval, they are not combined; and as for drinking, even if your pause was shorter than the interval [just mentioned], the separate acts of drinking are not combined.

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§6

If you drink a hot beverage slowly, (like tea or coffee), since you do not drink the minimum quantity required for a berachah at one time, even though this is the usual manner of drinking; nevertheless, the different sips are not combined and you should not recite the after-berachah.

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§7

The Land of Israel is praised, for seven species of food as it is written, "A land of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey-dates," and thereafter it is written, "A land where you will eat bread without poverty... "When you have eaten and are satisified, you shall bless [Hashem, your God."] Since with regard to bread the Torah is explicit in its command, "When you have eaten and are satisified, you shall bless;" therefore, [if you eat] bread made of the five species of grain, namely: wheat and barley which are expressly mentioned in the Torah text, and also spelt, or oats, or rye which also come under the heading of wheat and barley, you must recite Birkas Hamazon afterwards. Birkas Hamazon consists of three complete berachos and also the berachah Hatov Vehameitiv (which was instituted later on at the Yeshivah in Yavneh). However, [after eating] any food that is not bread, but which is made of flour from the species of grain [mentioned above]; similarly [after drinking] wine or eating grapes, either fresh or dried, large or small, or after eating figs, pomegranates, olives or dates, since dates are the "honey" the Torah speaks of, inasmuch as honey oozes from them; [after eating] any of these you must say the "three-faceted berachah" as the after-berachah. [It is called that name] because it contains in abridged form, three berachos as well as the berachah Hatov Vehameitiv of the Birkas Hamazon.

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§8

The "three-faceted berachah," which is [said] after [eating food] [over which the berachah] Borei minei mezonos is said begins as follows: ["Blessed are You]... for the food and for the sustenance," and concludes [with the words]: "And we thank You for the land and for the food. Blessed are You, Hashem for the land and for the food, and for the sustenance." The berachah after drinking wine begins: "For the vine and for the fruit of the vine," and concludes, "And we thank You for the land and for the fruit of the vine. Blessed are you Hashem for the land and for the fruit of the vine." The berachah after eating fruit begins: "For the trees and for the fruit of the trees," and concludes: "And we thank You for the land and for the fruits Blessed are You Hashem for the land and for the fruits." In Eretz Yisrael or even elsewhere, if you eat fruit that comes from Eretz Yisrael, you conclude the berachah thus: "for the land and its fruits." If you eat various kinds of food made of grain and drink some wine [with them], you combine the two berachos into one berachah. The same rule applies for fruit and wine; even if you eat grapes and drink wine, or eat fruit and food made of grain, or even food made of grain in conjuction with wine and fruit, you combine the three berachos into one. First you say "for the food" and then "for the vine" and finally. for the trees." When you combine "for the food" with any other formula then do not say at the conclusion "and for the sustenance," but say "Blessed are You Hashem for the land and for the food and for the fruit of the vine," or "for the food and for the fruits" or "for the food and for the fruit of the vine and for the fruits." The text has already been published in prayer books, and it is the duty of every Jew to know this berachah well and commit it to memory.

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§9

On Shabbos or Yom Tov or Rosh Chodesh, we include [in the after-berachah] whatever relates to these days, but if you forgot to include it, you need not repeat the berachah.

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§10

You should be as strict [with this berachah] as you are with the Birkas Hamazon (mentioned in Chapter 42:6, above).

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§11

In the berachah Borei nefashos, some authorities hold [that we should say] shebarasa [which You have created], while others hold [that we should say] shebara [which He has created]. The latter version is the correct one, for the meaning of the berachah is: Who has created numerous living things, and what they lack. He has created the living beings and also their wants, that is to say, all their basic needs, which are indispensible to sustain life, such as bread and water, and also for all the other things which He created which are not so vital, but are a source of enjoyment, such as fruit and the like. [For all these] we thank You, Who are the life of the worlds. You should pronounce the letter ches [in the phrase choi cholomim] with a pasach [chai] [as in Chaim].

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§12

If you have eaten fruit, whose after-berachah is the "three-faceted berachah," and you have also eaten some fruit whose after-berachah is Borei nefashos, you should recite the "three-faceted berachah," and since you mention in it "the fruit of the tree" you exempt with it all other kinds of fruit you have eaten. However, if you had to say the berachah, Borei nefashos, for any other kind of food you ate [not fruit of the tree], then you are not exempt by the "three-faceted berachah." You should first say the "three-faceted berachah," and afterwards Borei nefashos.

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§13

Initially you are forbidden to leave your place or to engage in any activity until you have recited the after-berachah, lest you forget to say it. Nevertheless, if you left your place, and the berachah you [neglected] to say was Borei nefrshos rabbos, you may say it where you are now. But if you must say the "three-faceted berachah," then you must return to your place [where you have eaten] just as you would have to do it if it were Birkas Hamazon (see Ch. 44:9 above).

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§14

[If] after eating or drinking, you neglected to say the after-berachah immediately, you may recite the berachah until the food is digested, which is as long as you have no desire to eat fruit, and after drinking, as long as you are not thirsty again. After these time limits, you can no longer say the berachah. If you are unable to estimate [the time properly], you should, after remembering that you did not say the after-berachah, say a [pre-]berachah and eat some more of the same kind of food, and then say the after-berachah thereby exempting the food you ate before.

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§15

If someone ate or drank and vomited, the concluding berachah should not be said; as it is the same [as though] [the food] had already been digested.