Halacha on the Go

Berakhot ברכות

1Introductionא - פתיחה
  1. 1.The Mitzva of Giving Thanks
  2. 2.One Who Eats Without a Berakha Commits Me’ila and Robbery
  3. 3.The Foundation of the Berakha
  4. 4.The Berakhot Before Eating
  5. 5.The Berakha After Eating
  6. 6.The Text of the Berakhot
  7. 7.The Manner of Reciting a Berakha and Its Dignity
  8. 8.Cleanliness and Purity When Reciting a Berakha
  9. 9.The Mitzva of Answering Amen
  10. 10.Rules for Fulfilling Another’s Obligation in Berakhot
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2Washing the Hands for a Mealב - נטילת ידיים לסעודה
  1. 1.The Impurity of the Hands
  2. 2.The Spiritual Reason for the Mitzva
  3. 3.Which Part of the Hand to Wash
  4. 4.Reciting a Berakha on a Rabbinic Mitzva
  5. 5.Washing Hands for Food Dipped in Liquid
  6. 6.For What Quantity of Bread Must One Wash?
  7. 7.The Water
  8. 8.A Vessel
  9. 9.Human Force (Ko’aḥ Gavra) and the Law of a Faucet
  10. 10.Interpositions (Ḥatzitza)
  11. 11.The Order of Washing in Practice
  12. 12.Points of Care During Washing
  13. 13.When to Recite the Berakha
  14. 14.Interrupting Between Drying the Hands and Ha-motzi
  15. 15.Washing the Hands After Relieving Oneself
  16. 16.One Who Relieves Himself in the Middle of a Meal
  17. 17.In a Pressing Situation
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3The Berakha of Ha-motziג - ברכת המוציא
  1. 1.The Berakha over Bread
  2. 2.Enhancements in the Berakha over Bread
  3. 3.Breaking the Bread and Not Interrupting Between the Berakha and Eating
  4. 4.When Is It Good for One Person to Recite Ha-motzi on Behalf of Others?
  5. 5.Whether One Must Dip the Bread in Salt
  6. 6.Which Foods and Drinks Require a Berakha During the Meal
  7. 7.Details of the Laws of Fruit During the Meal
  8. 8.The Law of Cakes and Mezonot During the Meal
  9. 9.After the Meal
  10. 10.How Far the Berakha of Ha-motzi Extends
  11. 11.Whether One May Leave the House in the Middle of the Meal
  12. 12.Foods Eaten Before the Meal
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4Birkat Ha-mazonד - ברכת המזון
  1. 1.The Mitzva of Birkat Ha-mazon
  2. 2.The Berakha of Ha-tov Ve-ha-meitiv
  3. 3.The Meaning of the Berakha of Ha-zan
  4. 4.The Centrality of the Berakha on the Land
  5. 5.Laws of Reciting Birkat Ha-mazon and Educating Children
  6. 6.The Torah Obligation When Satiated and the Rabbinic Obligation for a Kezayit
  7. 7.Additions on Shabbat and Festivals
  8. 8.One Who Forgot to Say Retzeh or Ya’aleh Ve-yavo
  9. 9.Mayim Aḥaronim
  10. 10.Laws of Mayim Aḥaronim
  11. 11.Customs of Birkat Ha-mazon
  12. 12.The Manner of Reciting Birkat Ha-mazon and Its Dignity
  13. 13.Reciting the Berakha Where One Ate (Which Foods Require a Berakha in Their Place)
  14. 14.Until When One May Recite the Berakha
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5Zimunה - זימון
  1. 1.The Meaning of Zimun
  2. 2.The Mitzva of Zimun When People Ate Together
  3. 3.Not Breaking Up a Zimun Group or Separating from It
  4. 4.Who Should Lead the Zimun
  5. 5.The Text of the Zimun
  6. 6.The Leader and the Diners in Birkat Ha-mazon
  7. 7.Women and Zimun
  8. 8.An Am Ha-aretz
  9. 9.Including a Minor
  10. 10.Laws of Those Who Join a Zimun – With What Food and Until When
  11. 11.One Who Needs to Leave Before the Zimun, as at a Wedding Meal
  12. 12.Can One Who Participated in a Zimun Join Another Zimun?
  13. 13.The Cup of Blessing
  14. 14.Laws of the Cup of Blessing
  15. 15.Drinking the Wine
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6The Five Species of Grainו - חמשת מיני דגן
  1. 1.The Berakhot of the Five Species of Grain
  2. 2.What Is Pat Ha-ba’ah Be-kisnin?
  3. 3.The Amount That Constitutes Basing a Meal on a Mezonot Baked Good
  4. 4.Basing a Meal When Eating Mezonot with Other Foods
  5. 5.How to Avoid Situations of Doubt
  6. 6.Sweet Ḥalla
  7. 7.Matza
  8. 8.Baked Goods Filled with Cheese or Meat; Burekas
  9. 9.Pizza
  10. 10.Over a Cooked Dish One Always Recites Mezonot
  11. 11.Malawaḥ, Kubaneh and Jaḥnun (Yemenite Foods)
  12. 12.Fried Bread, Croutons, Fried Matza
  13. 13.Raw Grain Kernels, Shalva, Granola and Wheat Cakes
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7The Berakha over Wineז - ברכת היין
  1. 1.The Significance of Wine
  2. 2.The Danger of Drunkenness
  3. 3.The Berakha over Wine
  4. 4.The Berakha over Wine Exempts Other Drinks
  5. 5.Wine Mixed with Water
  6. 6.Cooked Wine and Grape Juice
  7. 7.The Berakha of Ha-tov Ve-ha-metiv over Additional Wine
  8. 8.Conditions for the Berakha
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8The Berakhot over Fruits and She-hakolח - ברכת הפירות ושהכל
  1. 1.Fruits of the Tree and of the Ground
  2. 2.Between a Fruit of the Ground and a Fruit of the Tree
  3. 3.Over What One Recites She-hakol
  4. 4.The Meaning of the Berakha of She-hakol and the Law in Cases of Doubt
  5. 5.Peels and Seeds of Fruits
  6. 6.Unripe Fruits, Wild Fruits and Sugarcane
  7. 7.Vegetables and Fruits Grown in a Flowerpot or in Water
  8. 8.Cut and Mashed Fruits
  9. 9.Fruits That Were Not Completely Pureed and Retained Their Berakha
  10. 10.Fruits That Were Completely Pureed, Whose Berakha Is She-hakol
  11. 11.Sugar, Soy Products and Chocolate – She-hakol
  12. 12.Cornflakes, French Fries, Falafel Balls, Coconut Candy
  13. 13.Rice, Rice Cakes and Popcorn
  14. 14.Raw and Cooked Fruits
  15. 15.Fruit Juice
  16. 16.Vegetable Soup (Without Grain)
  17. 17.Fruit Soup, Coffee and Tea
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9General Rules of the Berakha Rishonaט - כללי ברכה ראשונה
  1. 1.The Berakha Is over the Enjoyment
  2. 2.The Normal Manner of Enjoyment
  3. 3.Not Interrupting Between the Berakha and the Eating
  4. 4.How to Recite the Berakha
  5. 5.How Far a Berakha Exempts
  6. 6.Diverting One’s Attention
  7. 7.Which Change of Location Requires a New Berakha
  8. 8.The Order of Precedence Among Different Berakhot
  9. 9.The Order of Precedence Among Identical Berakhot
  10. 10.The Order of Precedence in the Berakhot over Fruits, and the Praise of the Land of Israel
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10The Final Berakhaי - ברכה אחרונה
  1. 1.The Final Berakha
  2. 2.The Me’ein Shalosh Berakha
  3. 3.Laws of the Me’ein Shalosh Berakha
  4. 4.Borei Nefashot
  5. 5.The Kezayit Measure for a Final Berakha
  6. 6.Volume, Not Weight
  7. 7.The Measure of Akhilat Pras
  8. 8.Enhancements in the Laws of the Measures (A Whole Item and a Kezayit)
  9. 9.The Measure for a Final Berakha over Cake
  10. 10.The Measure for a Final Berakha over Drinking
  11. 11.Cheese, Leben, and Ice Cream Are Considered Food
  12. 12.Until When One May Recite the Berakha
  13. 13.When One Who Snacks and Drinks Intermittently Recites the Berakha
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11Primary and Secondaryיא - עיקר וטפל
  1. 1.Primary and Secondary
  2. 2.When There Is Doubt Whether One Food Is Secondary to Another
  3. 3.A Mixture of Two Species
  4. 4.A Mixture Containing a Grain Species
  5. 5.Additional Foods (Schnitzel, Kubbeh, Strudel, Stuffed Pepper, Moussaka)
  6. 6.A Crispbread (Matziya) and What Is on It
  7. 7.Various Cakes, Ice Cream in a Cone, and Krembo
  8. 8.Sweets
  9. 9.Soup Containing Several Species
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12General Rules of Berakhotיב - כללי ברכות
  1. 1.The Prohibition of a Berakha in Vain
  2. 2.An Unnecessary Berakha
  3. 3.In Cases of Doubt Regarding Berakhot, We Are Lenient
  4. 4.May One Derive Benefit When in Doubt Whether He Recited a Berakha?
  5. 5.One Hundred Berakhot
  6. 6.Rules Regarding the Text of the Berakhot
  7. 7.Two Who Eat Together – Is It Better for One to Recite the Berakha?
  8. 8.The Obligation to Answer Amen
  9. 9.Does One Fulfill One’s Obligation by Hearing through a Loudspeaker?
  10. 10.One Who Eats Something Forbidden
  11. 11.If One Recited a Berakha over Something Forbidden, Should He Eat?
  12. 12.Giving Food to Someone Who Will Not Recite a Berakha
  13. 13.The Law of One Who Errs in His Berakha
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13Derekh Eretzיג - דרך ארץ
  1. 1.A Table of Kindness
  2. 2.The Guest
  3. 3.Not Destroying Food
  4. 4.Leftover Food
  5. 5.Bal Teshaktzu in Eating
  6. 6.Not Disgusting Other People
  7. 7.Table Manners
  8. 8.Words of Torah and Conversation at the Meal
  9. 9.Not Eating Too Much
  10. 10.Healthy Foods and Harmful Foods
  11. 11.Is It Forbidden to Eat Harmful Foods?
  12. 12.Excreting Waste from the Body and the Berakha of Asher Yatzar
  13. 13.Bal Teshaktzu in Holding In One’s Needs
  14. 14.The Laws of the Berakha of Asher Yatzar
  15. 15.The Berakha for Healing
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14The Berakha over Fragranceיד - ברכת הריח
  1. 1.The Berakhot over Fragrance
  2. 2.The Berakha over Liquid and Synthetic Perfumes and Tobacco
  3. 3.Four Kinds of Pleasant Fragrance over Which No Berakha Is Recited
  4. 4.The Conditions Required for the Berakha over Fragrance
  5. 5.The Different Berakhot
  6. 6.Laws of the Berakha over Fragrance
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15Berakhot over Sightsטו - ברכות הראייה
  1. 1.Introduction to the Berakhot over Sights
  2. 2.The Berakha over Seas, Rivers, Deserts, Mountains, and Hills
  3. 3.Several Berakhot over Different Landscapes
  4. 4.Seeing That Involves Novelty and Wonder
  5. 5.The Berakha over Landscapes in Our Times
  6. 6.Earthquakes, Comets, and Raging Winds
  7. 7.Lightning and Thunder
  8. 8.Birkat Ha-ilanot in Nisan
  9. 9.The Berakha of Thanksgiving for Rain
  10. 10.A Rainbow in the Clouds
  11. 11.Birkat Ha-ḥama
  12. 12.Beautiful Creatures and Trees
  13. 13.Continuation of the Practical Halakha
  14. 14.Meshaneh Ha-beriyot
  15. 15.Berakhot for Zoo Visitors – Seeing a Monkey and an Elephant
  16. 16.Idolatry and the Houses of Wicked Gentiles
  17. 17.Ḥakham Ha-razim
  18. 18.Upon Seeing Torah Sages and Gentile Scholars
  19. 19.The Berakha over a Jewish King and a Gentile King
  20. 20.The Berakha over Kings in Our Times
  21. 21.Jewish Graves
  22. 22.Matziv Gevul Almana
  23. 23.Over Which Settlements to Recite the Berakha and When
  24. 24.Places Where Miracles Were Performed for the Jewish People
  25. 25.Places Where Miracles Were Performed for an Individual
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16Birkat Ha-gomelטז - ברכת הגומל
  1. 1.General Introduction
  2. 2.A Minyan
  3. 3.When to Recite Ha-gomel
  4. 4.A Sick Person Who Recovered
  5. 5.A Woman After Childbirth, Women, and Minors
  6. 6.Desert Travelers and Those Who Travel on Roads
  7. 7.Air Travel and Sea Voyages
  8. 8.One Saved from Danger or an Accident
  9. 9.Soldiers and Ha-gomel
  10. 10.One Released from Prison
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17Berakhot of Thanksgiving and Joyיז - ברכות ההודאה והשמחה
  1. 1.A Berakha for Good and for Bad
  2. 2.Obligatory and Optional She-heḥeyanu
  3. 3.She-heḥeyanu and Ha-tov Ve-ha-metiv
  4. 4.She-heḥeyanu on Clothing and Small Gifts
  5. 5.Winning Money and Bonuses
  6. 6.When to Recite the Berakha
  7. 7.A New House
  8. 8.Good and Bad News and Receiving Titles
  9. 9.Holy Books, a Sefer Torah, and a Synagogue
  10. 10.She-heḥeyanu upon Meeting a Friend
  11. 11.Details of the Law
  12. 12.The Berakha over a Friend Not Seen for Twelve Months
  13. 13.A Berakha on the Birth of a Son and the Birth of a Daughter
  14. 14.New Fruits
  15. 15.Fruits That Are Renewed and Those That Are Not
  16. 16.Two Varieties of One Species
  17. 17.Fruits from Grafted Trees
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18Tefilat Ha-derekh (The Wayfarer’s Prayer)יח - תפילת הדרך
  1. 1.Tefilat Ha-derekh and Its Meaning
  2. 2.For Which Journeys Is It Recited
  3. 3.Some Laws of Tefilat Ha-derekh
  4. 4.The Prayer on Short, Dangerous Roads
  5. 5.Must Tefilat Ha-derekh Be Joined to Another Berakha?
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