The Order of Berachos on Rosh Hashana Fruits

Q. On Rosh Hashanah night after reciting Hamotzi, I will eat a number of foods as a siman tov (good omen) for the coming year. Among those, it is customary to eat three fruits: apples (dipped in honey), dates and pomegranates. What is the halacha for fruits eaten at the beginning of the meal on Rosh Hashanah? Do I recite a beracha of Borei Pri Ha’eitz on these fruits or are they covered by Hamotzi? If a beracha is required, which fruit should I eat first?

A. The Mishnah Berurah (583:3) writes that one is required to recite Borei Pri Ha’eitz (one time) on these fruits. The beracha of Hamotzi does not cover these items because they are served as a “siman tov” (a good omen) to merit a good year, and not as part of the meal.

When eating more than one fruit, halacha establishes rules of priority (kedimos) based on the level of importance of each item. Which fruit is eaten first on the night of Rosh Hashana? There are three different opinions in the poskim about this matter. In general, fruit of the seven species of Israeli listed in the Torah (Devorim 8:8) take precedence, because they are more important. Furthermore, dates have a more prominent position than pomegranates in the aforementioned verse, and for that reason, they take precedence for brochos as well. As such, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l (Halichos Shlomo, Tishrai,1:17) writes that the berocha of Ha’eitz is recited on the dates and the pomegranate and apple follow without an additional beracha. The Kaf Hachayim (583:14) quotes others who maintain that the Borei Pri Haetz is recited on the apple on the night of Rosh Hashanah because the apple dipped in honey is the most important siman tov of the evening, as reflected in Kabalistic literature (see Maharil Hilchos Rosh Hashana 7). It is well known that many great rabbis recited the beracha on the apple first. Still other poskim recommend avoiding the issue altogether by not bringing the dates and pomegranates to the table until after the beracha is recited on the apple. The beracha is recited on the apple while having in mind the other fruit, but the they are left in a different room until after the apple is consumed (See Sefer Piskei Teshuvos 583:2).

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