Holeless Flowerpot - Beracha

QUESTION: What beracha is recited on vegetables that are grown in a flowerpot that has no hole (halachically viewed as unattached to the ground)?

ANSWER: The Chayei Adam (51:17) writes that the beracha for vegetables that are grown in a flowerpot that has no hole is shehakol. He explains that it is inappropriate to recite borei pri ha’adama (“Who created the produce of the ground”) on these vegetables, since dirt that is not attached to the ground is not referred to as “adama”. However, many poskim disagree with the Chayei Adam. The Sdei Chemed (Maareches Chof, Kelal 100) writes that whether a vegetable is grown in the ground or in a flowerpot that has no hole, the beracha is the same. The Keren Ora (Menachos 70a) as well writes that there is an inference in the Mishnah (Berachos 40b) against the Chayei Adam. Rav Ovadyah Yosef zt”l (Yechaveh Daas 6:12), cites many sources that disagree with Chayei Adam and concludes that proper beracha for vegetables that grow in a flowerpot is “borei pri ha’adama”, even if there is no hole.

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