The Beverage Volume for Borei Nefashos

Q. As previously noted, the halacha mandates benching and reciting a beracha acharona only when one eats a k’zayis (the size of an olive) of bread or other foods in the time span of “k’dei achilas pras”, the amount of time it takes to eat a “pras” (2-9 minutes). This requirement of eating a k’zayis is for solid foods. When drinking a liquid, a beracha acharona is only recited when drinking the volume of a revi’is. In what time frame must one drink a revi’is of liquid to recite a beracha acharona of Borei Nefashos? Is it the same time frame as for a solid food - k’dei achilas pras, or is there a different time frame for liquids?

A. The Rambam (Hilchos Shevisas Asor 2:4) writes that one is only culpable for drinking on Yom Kippur if one drinks a “melo lugmav” (cheekful) within the time span of shtiyas revi’is (the amount of time it takes to drink a revi’is – i.e., a few seconds). The Raavad and Vilna Gaon disagree and maintain that one is culpable even if it was drunk within the time span of k’dei achilas pras (2-9 minutes). The Magen Avraham (210:1) and Mishnah Berurah (210:1) write that this same disagreement applies to how quickly one must drink to recite a beracha acharona. According to Rambam (which is the main opinion of Shulchan Aruch 612:10), Borei Nefashos is only recited if one drank a revi’is within the time span of shtiyas revi’is (a few seconds). According to the Raavad and Vilna Gaon you must recite Borei Nefashos even if you drank slowly, provided it was within the time span of k’dei achilas pras. The Mishnah Berurah concludes that the custom is to follow the Rambam. However, it is praiseworthy to avoid this conflict and drink a revi’is quickly, within a few seconds, so one can recite a beracha according to all opinions.

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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.