Wheat and Grain Products: Difference between revisions

From Halachipedia
(Created page with '==The five grains (wheat, barley…)== # Halacha treats five types of grain as special. They are wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye. If any of these grains were ground up and th…')
 
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
==The five grains (wheat, barley…)==
==The five grains (wheat, barley…)==
# Halacha treats five types of grain as special. They are wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye. If any of these grains were ground up and then made into bread, the appropriate Bracha would be HaMotzei. <Ref>Vezot HaBracha (pg 102, chapter 12) </ref>
# The five grains which our Rabbis designated as the fundamental grains that provide sustenance to man are wheat, barley, spelt, oat, and rye. <ref>
# If any of the 5 grains were ground up and then made into a cooked dish or a baked good such as cake, the appropriate Bracha would be Mezonot. <Ref>There’s two forms of mezonot: Tavshil Mezonot which requires Mezonot even if one establishes it into a meal (S”A 208:2) and Pas HaBah Bekisnin which requires Mezonot if eaten as a snack and HaMotzei if established as a meal (S”A 168:6; see [[Pas HaBah Bekisnin]]). </ref>
* The Gemara Pesachim (35a) identifies the five grains which were distinguished by Chazal as חטים שעורים כוסמין ושיפון ושיבולת שועל. Rambam (Brachot 3:1-3) writes that these grains are the same five which Chazal choose to be Mezonot when made in a cooked dish and HaMotzei when made into bread. Tur 208:1 and Mishna Brurah 208:2 codify this as halacha. [Halacha Brurah (Shaar HaTzion 208:13) writes that this is accepted by all poskim.]
## Oatmeal, which is cooked grains has the Bracha of mezonot and is followed by Al Hamichya. <Ref>Vezot HaBracha (pg 102, chapter 12). Halachos of Brachos (Rabbi Pinchas Bodner, pg 532 and Brachos Handbook pg 64) writes that instant oatmeal which is made into a hot cereal is is Mezonot and Al HaMichya (even if one has a shuir keviyut seudah) unless it's made with a lot of water and it's so thin that it has the form of a drink in which case the bracha would be Shehakol and Boreh Nefashot. [This is based on Shulchan Aruch 208:2 regarding daysa.]
* What is the definition of these grains? Veten Bracha (Halachos of Brochos by Rabbi Bodner pg 480, chapter 27) defines the five grains as wheat, barley, spelt, oat, and rye. Vezot HaBracha (chap 12, pg 102) writes that even though some argue that שיפון isn’t rye and שיבולת שועל isn’t oat, nonetheless, he quotes the Mekor Bracha (26:3) who establish that the generally accepted definitions of rye and oat are correct. The Laws of Brachos (Rabbi Forst, chap 8, pg 230) emphasizes this point by stating that these definitions are supported by the Rishonim and are totally accepted as halacha despite the argument of modern scholars who use methods of questionable halachic value. </ref>
This is also the ruling of Vezot HaBracha (pg 107) that oatmeal cereal is mezonot unless it's very thin and pours like a liquid (he adds that if one pushes the grain to one side of the bowl and it remains there as a clump and doesn't spread out right away it's considered a food and not a drink). </ref>
# <div id="brachaonbulgur"></div>Cooked bulgur is one of the five grains and is mezonot. <ref>Vezot Habracha (pg 105) </ref>
# <div id="brachaonbulgur"></div>Cooked bulgur is one of the five grains and is mezonot. <ref>Vezot Habracha (pg 105) </ref>
# If the grain remained whole and it was only slightly processed (roasted or toasted) then the Bracha would be Haodoma. <Ref>S”A 208:4 </ref>
 
## Therefore Granola, which are toasted grains, are Ha'adoma. <Ref> VeTen Bracha (Halachos of Brochos by Rabbi Bodner, chapter 4, pg 67), Vezot HaBracha (pg 103, chapter 12) </ref>
==General rule==
# Puffed wheat is a matter of controversy whether we considered the process of puffing to be enough to make the grain mezonot or if it still remains hoadoma, see [[Bracha on smacks]].  
# Any food which is made flour from one of the grains which was cooked is Mezonot and Al HaMichya. Even if there is a majority of other ingredients the Bracha remains Mezonot. As long as the purpose of adding flour is to fill one up, give a taste to the food, or make the food more fit for consumption the Bracha is Mezonot. <Ref>
===Exceptions===
* In Gemara Brachot 36b, Rav and Shmuel say that anything which has (flour from) the five grains is mezonot. (This is known the rule of Kol SheYesh Bo.) This is quoted by the Rif (Brachot 26a), Rosh (Brachot 6:7), and Rambam (Brachot 3:4) and codified by Tur and S"A 208:2.
* Tosfot 36b D”H Kol writes that if the flour is added in order to fill one up then the food is Mezonot, whereas if it’s added as a binding agent it’s not mezonot. Moreover, the Rashba (Brachot 36b D”H Duvsha) writes that if the flour is added in order to give a taste or make the food more fit for consumption the Bracha is Mezonot. This is quoted by the Bet Yosef 208:2 and codified as halacha by the Mishna Brurah 208:7.
* Rosh (Brachot 6:7) writes that even if there is a majority of other ingredients flour is primary and the Bracha is Mezonot. Bet Yosef 208:2 proves this from the language of the Gemara. The S”A 208:2 codifies this as halacha. </ref>
# The major exception to the above rule is when the grain flour is added only in order to bind, harden, soften, impart a color, or smell the Bracha is made upon the other ingredients of the food (and not Mezonot because of the flour). <Ref>
* In Gemara Brachot 36b, Rav and Shmuel say that anything which has (flour from) the five grains is mezonot. However, on Gemara Brachot 39a Rav Huna states that a cooked dish made out of beets and flour is HaAdama because the flour added was only meant to bind the food together.
* Tosfot 36b D”H Kol writes that if the flour is added in order to fill one up then the food is Mezonot, whereas if it’s added as a binding agent it’s not mezonot. The Rif (Brachot 27b), Rosh (Brachot 6:17), and Rambam (Brachot 3:6) quote this differentiation. The Tur and S”A 208:2 codify this as halacha.
* Additionally, the Rosh (Brachot 6:7) writes that if the flour was added in order to harden the food the Bracha isn’t mezonot. Also, the Rambam (Brachot 3:6) writes that if the flour was added as a binding agent or only in order to impart a color or smell the food isn’t mezonot because of the flour. Sh”t Avnei Nezer 38:2 writes that if one adds flour only in order to soften the food so that someone who doesn’t have teeth could eat it the Bracha is made on the other ingredients.
* Therefore, Halacha Brurah 208:5 rules that if it’s used only in order to bind, harden, soften, impart a color, or smell the Bracha is made upon the other ingredients of the food. </ref> For an example of this, see [#Licorice].
 
==If one eats a grain product as a meal==
# There are two types of grain products that require mezonot. If a grain was ground up and then made into a cooked dish (Tavshil Mezonot) such as oatmeal or a baked good ([[Pas HaBah Bekisnin]]) such as cake, the appropriate Bracha would be Mezonot. However, a cooked dish requires Mezonot even if one establishes it into a meal <ref>S”A 208:2 </ref> whereas Pas HaBah Bekisnin requires Mezonot if eaten as a snack, but HaMotzei if established as a meal. See further details at [[Making a meal on Mezonot]] </ref> S”A 168:6 </ref>
 
==Noodles==
# Noodles and macaroni are mezonot. <Ref>Halacha Brurah 208:5</ref>
 
==Oatmeal and farina==
# Hot cereals made from the five grains, farina, and oatmeal have Bracha Rishona of Mezonot and Bracha Achrona of Al HaMichya (even if one makes a meal out of it) <ref>The Gemara Brachot 36b records that everyone agrees that Daysa is Mezonot. Rashi (D"H Daysa) explains that Daysa is (a cooked dish) made from crushed up wheat. This ruling is implied from the Rif (Brachot 25b), Rosh (Brachot 6:7), and Rambam (Brachot 3:4) and codified by Tur and S"A 208:2. Therefore, The Laws of Brachos (Rabbi Forst, pg 272) and Halachos of Brachos (Rabbi Bodner, chap 27, pg 532, and Brachos handbook pg 64) rule that oatmeal and farina is Mezonot and Al HaMichya. Halachos of Brachos adds that even if one makes a meal (Koveh Seuda) out of oatmeal the bracha is still Mezonot. </ref> unless it is made with a watery consistency. <ref>Halacha Brurah 208:5 rules that hot cereal which are made out of the five grains is Mezonot unless it is very thin and watery. This is also the ruling of Vezot HaBracha (chap 12, pg 107) that oatmeal cereal is mezonot unless it's very thin and pours like a liquid (he adds that if one pushes the grain to one side of the bowl and it remains there as a clump and doesn't spread out right away it's considered a food and not a drink). </ref>
 
===Licorice===
# If the grain is mixed into the food in order to bind the ingredients together the Bracha is not Mezonot. <Ref>S”A 208:3 </ref>
# If the grain is mixed into the food in order to bind the ingredients together the Bracha is not Mezonot. <Ref>S”A 208:3 </ref>
## Licorice is Shehakol because even though it contains flour, the flour is only used as a binding agent. <Ref>Vezot HaBracha (pg 108, chapter 12), http://www.ou.org/torah/tt/5759/eikev59/specialfeatures.htm  </ref>
## Licorice is Shehakol because even though it contains flour, the flour is only used as a binding agent. <Ref>Vezot HaBracha (pg 108, chapter 12), http://www.ou.org/torah/tt/5759/eikev59/specialfeatures.htm  </ref>

Revision as of 03:38, 4 August 2011

The five grains (wheat, barley…)

  1. The five grains which our Rabbis designated as the fundamental grains that provide sustenance to man are wheat, barley, spelt, oat, and rye. [1]
  2. Cooked bulgur is one of the five grains and is mezonot. [2]

General rule

  1. Any food which is made flour from one of the grains which was cooked is Mezonot and Al HaMichya. Even if there is a majority of other ingredients the Bracha remains Mezonot. As long as the purpose of adding flour is to fill one up, give a taste to the food, or make the food more fit for consumption the Bracha is Mezonot. [3]
  2. The major exception to the above rule is when the grain flour is added only in order to bind, harden, soften, impart a color, or smell the Bracha is made upon the other ingredients of the food (and not Mezonot because of the flour). [4] For an example of this, see [#Licorice].

If one eats a grain product as a meal

  1. There are two types of grain products that require mezonot. If a grain was ground up and then made into a cooked dish (Tavshil Mezonot) such as oatmeal or a baked good (Pas HaBah Bekisnin) such as cake, the appropriate Bracha would be Mezonot. However, a cooked dish requires Mezonot even if one establishes it into a meal [5] whereas Pas HaBah Bekisnin requires Mezonot if eaten as a snack, but HaMotzei if established as a meal. See further details at Making a meal on Mezonot </ref> S”A 168:6 </ref>

Noodles

  1. Noodles and macaroni are mezonot. [6]

Oatmeal and farina

  1. Hot cereals made from the five grains, farina, and oatmeal have Bracha Rishona of Mezonot and Bracha Achrona of Al HaMichya (even if one makes a meal out of it) [7] unless it is made with a watery consistency. [8]

Licorice

  1. If the grain is mixed into the food in order to bind the ingredients together the Bracha is not Mezonot. [9]
    1. Licorice is Shehakol because even though it contains flour, the flour is only used as a binding agent. [10]

Questions

  1. What's the bracha on bulgur/bulgar? see above

References

    • The Gemara Pesachim (35a) identifies the five grains which were distinguished by Chazal as חטים שעורים כוסמין ושיפון ושיבולת שועל. Rambam (Brachot 3:1-3) writes that these grains are the same five which Chazal choose to be Mezonot when made in a cooked dish and HaMotzei when made into bread. Tur 208:1 and Mishna Brurah 208:2 codify this as halacha. [Halacha Brurah (Shaar HaTzion 208:13) writes that this is accepted by all poskim.]
    • What is the definition of these grains? Veten Bracha (Halachos of Brochos by Rabbi Bodner pg 480, chapter 27) defines the five grains as wheat, barley, spelt, oat, and rye. Vezot HaBracha (chap 12, pg 102) writes that even though some argue that שיפון isn’t rye and שיבולת שועל isn’t oat, nonetheless, he quotes the Mekor Bracha (26:3) who establish that the generally accepted definitions of rye and oat are correct. The Laws of Brachos (Rabbi Forst, chap 8, pg 230) emphasizes this point by stating that these definitions are supported by the Rishonim and are totally accepted as halacha despite the argument of modern scholars who use methods of questionable halachic value.
  1. Vezot Habracha (pg 105)
    • In Gemara Brachot 36b, Rav and Shmuel say that anything which has (flour from) the five grains is mezonot. (This is known the rule of Kol SheYesh Bo.) This is quoted by the Rif (Brachot 26a), Rosh (Brachot 6:7), and Rambam (Brachot 3:4) and codified by Tur and S"A 208:2.
    • Tosfot 36b D”H Kol writes that if the flour is added in order to fill one up then the food is Mezonot, whereas if it’s added as a binding agent it’s not mezonot. Moreover, the Rashba (Brachot 36b D”H Duvsha) writes that if the flour is added in order to give a taste or make the food more fit for consumption the Bracha is Mezonot. This is quoted by the Bet Yosef 208:2 and codified as halacha by the Mishna Brurah 208:7.
    • Rosh (Brachot 6:7) writes that even if there is a majority of other ingredients flour is primary and the Bracha is Mezonot. Bet Yosef 208:2 proves this from the language of the Gemara. The S”A 208:2 codifies this as halacha.
    • In Gemara Brachot 36b, Rav and Shmuel say that anything which has (flour from) the five grains is mezonot. However, on Gemara Brachot 39a Rav Huna states that a cooked dish made out of beets and flour is HaAdama because the flour added was only meant to bind the food together.
    • Tosfot 36b D”H Kol writes that if the flour is added in order to fill one up then the food is Mezonot, whereas if it’s added as a binding agent it’s not mezonot. The Rif (Brachot 27b), Rosh (Brachot 6:17), and Rambam (Brachot 3:6) quote this differentiation. The Tur and S”A 208:2 codify this as halacha.
    • Additionally, the Rosh (Brachot 6:7) writes that if the flour was added in order to harden the food the Bracha isn’t mezonot. Also, the Rambam (Brachot 3:6) writes that if the flour was added as a binding agent or only in order to impart a color or smell the food isn’t mezonot because of the flour. Sh”t Avnei Nezer 38:2 writes that if one adds flour only in order to soften the food so that someone who doesn’t have teeth could eat it the Bracha is made on the other ingredients.
    • Therefore, Halacha Brurah 208:5 rules that if it’s used only in order to bind, harden, soften, impart a color, or smell the Bracha is made upon the other ingredients of the food.
  2. S”A 208:2
  3. Halacha Brurah 208:5
  4. The Gemara Brachot 36b records that everyone agrees that Daysa is Mezonot. Rashi (D"H Daysa) explains that Daysa is (a cooked dish) made from crushed up wheat. This ruling is implied from the Rif (Brachot 25b), Rosh (Brachot 6:7), and Rambam (Brachot 3:4) and codified by Tur and S"A 208:2. Therefore, The Laws of Brachos (Rabbi Forst, pg 272) and Halachos of Brachos (Rabbi Bodner, chap 27, pg 532, and Brachos handbook pg 64) rule that oatmeal and farina is Mezonot and Al HaMichya. Halachos of Brachos adds that even if one makes a meal (Koveh Seuda) out of oatmeal the bracha is still Mezonot.
  5. Halacha Brurah 208:5 rules that hot cereal which are made out of the five grains is Mezonot unless it is very thin and watery. This is also the ruling of Vezot HaBracha (chap 12, pg 107) that oatmeal cereal is mezonot unless it's very thin and pours like a liquid (he adds that if one pushes the grain to one side of the bowl and it remains there as a clump and doesn't spread out right away it's considered a food and not a drink).
  6. S”A 208:3
  7. Vezot HaBracha (pg 108, chapter 12), http://www.ou.org/torah/tt/5759/eikev59/specialfeatures.htm