The Berakha Is over the Enjoyment
הברכה על ההנאה
The Sages instituted the birkhot ha-nehenin (berakhot of enjoyment) for the enjoyment a person derives from his eating and drinking. Even if he eats or drinks the smallest amount, if he enjoys it he must recite a berakha, for “it is forbidden for a person to derive enjoyment from this world without a berakha” (Berakhot 35a). But one who does not enjoy does not recite a berakha. Therefore, one who is completely full, to the point that he is disgusted by further eating, and nevertheless is compelled to eat, for example because he does not want to offend his hosts, should not recite a berakha over this eating, which is called akhila gassa (gluttonous eating). But if, even though he is full, he still has a sensation of enjoyment in his throat, he recites a berakha (MB 197:28).
The same law applies to water: since it has no taste, sometimes one who drinks it does not enjoy it with his palate. Therefore the Sages said that specifically “one who drinks water to quench his thirst recites a berakha” (Berakhot 44a), but if he drank it for another reason, since he did not enjoy it, he does not recite a berakha. For example, one who has food stuck in his throat and drinks water to dislodge it, or who drinks a little water to help him swallow a pill for medical purposes, does not recite a berakha. But one who drinks juice to dislodge food stuck in his throat or to help swallow medicine, even though his main intention is to dislodge the food or to swallow the medicine, since the juice has a taste that he enjoys, he must recite a berakha (Berakhot 45a; Tosafot there; SA OḤ 204:7; MB 42).
Likewise, one who drinks water before a fast in order to store fluids in his body for the fast, or one who is about to set out on a journey and drinks water so that he will not be thirsty afterward, or one who suffers from constipation and drinks water in order to be able to relieve himself, or a nursing mother who drinks water to increase her milk – as long as they do not enjoy the drinking, they do not recite a berakha. But if they drank juice for this purpose, or they were thirsty and therefore enjoy the water, they recite a berakha.
One who eats a food or drinks a beverage for medical purposes, if its taste is bitter, does not recite a berakha. But if its taste is not bad, even though without the medical need he would not eat it, since his palate enjoys it a little, he recites a berakha. However, one who sucks a pill that has a certain flavor recites she-hakol only if he truly enjoys the taste; and if he does not enjoy it, but with the help of the flavor he is able to suck the pill without a feeling of disgust, he does not recite a berakha (SA OḤ 204:8; MB 204:43).
One who tastes a food only to know its taste and afterward spits it out of his mouth does not recite a berakha. Likewise, one who chews food for a baby, even though he senses its taste, does not recite a berakha. But one who chews gum must recite she-hakol, because his intention is to enjoy the taste, and this is an accepted way of enjoyment. In addition, he also swallows the flavor components in the gum.¹
Notes (1)
- According to the Rif and Rambam, one who tastes a cooked dish, even if he swallows up to a revi’it of a beverage or a kezayit of food, does not recite a berakha, since his intention is not to eat or drink, nor even to enjoy its taste, because he is preoccupied with his tasting. According to R. Ḥananel, the Rosh and most poskim, one who swallows the food or drink must recite a berakha, since he is nourished by it; but one who tastes and spits out does not recite a berakha. In practice, it is best not to swallow a cooked dish in order to check its taste, but if one does so, because of the doubt he does not recite a berakha (Rema and SA OḤ 210:2). In order to avoid the doubt, one who needs to swallow a cooked dish in order to sense its full taste should also intend to enjoy the eating, and recite a berakha (MB 210:19).
Regarding chewing gum, its law is like one who sucks sugarcane, who recites she-hakol (SA OḤ 202:15). So wrote explicitly Ḥayei Adam 51:15, cited by MB 202:76. So too wrote many poskim of our generation (Yabi’a Omer 7:33; Or Le-Tziyon vol. 2, 14:8; Piskei Teshuvot 202:34). And although some disagree (Birkat Hashem vol. 2, 1:12), and they drew support from the words of the Rema 567:3, who permitted chewing cinnamon sticks and the like on a fast day, implying that one does not recite a berakha over flavored saliva – one can distinguish, because the taste of chewing gum is very good, and this is an accepted way of enjoying chewing a food’s taste and swallowing it. In addition, chewing gum also has nutritional value, for it has caloric value and other substances. And one cannot apply here the principle that in doubts regarding berakhot we are lenient, since the custom is to recite a berakha, and this is what stands to reason.