Achilas Pras - Time Span (Continued)

Q. In a previous Halacha Yomis we discussed k’dei achilas pras. The mitzvah to bench or recite a bracha acharona applies only when one eats a kezayis of bread or food in the time span of “k’dei achilas pras”, the amount of time it takes to eat a “pras”. Is the time span of “k’dei achilas pras” the same for all foods?

A. In a previous Halacha Yomis, we noted that that according to many poskim the time span of k’dei achilas pras for bread is 3 or 4 minutes. Is this the same for all foods, or does each food have a different amount of time? For example, if one eats an apple, in what time span must a kezayis be consumed to recite a bracha acharona?

The Magen Avrohom (81:2) makes the following comment, which implies that k’dei achilas pras varies from food to food. One cannot recite a bracha or daven if excrement is visible to the person. This is not the case with excrement of an infant whose body is not yet developed. However, once an infant can eat a kezayis of wheat in the time span of k’dei achilas pras, the baby’s excrement has the same status as that of an adult. The Magen Avrohom writes that we assess the time span of k’dei achilas pras for a baby that eats baby cereal according to how long it would take a grownup to eat a “pras” (a measurement equal to 3 or 4 eggs) of this same type of cereal. The Pri Megadim notes that the language of the Magen Avrohom implies that that each food has its own length of k’dei achilas pras. For foods which are more difficult to eat than bread, you would have longer than 3-4 minutes. This is also the opinion of the Minchas Chinuch (Mitzvah 313). However, Shulchan Aruch Harav (Seder Birchas Hanehenin 8:2) and Chazon Ish (Kuntres Hashiurim 18) imply that the time span of k’dei achilas pras is the same for all foods.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.