The Five After-Blessings (Bracha Achrona)
I. Al HaMichya
Type and Volume of Foods
Say al ha’michya after eating at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of non-bread foods baked from the Five Grains (wheat, rye, oats, barley, or spelt) within four minutes.
Say al ha’michya if you ate a total volume of crust + filling of at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) or more within four minutes--even if the total mezonot-based crust you eat is less than 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup).
Say birkat ha’mazon instead of al ha’michya if you ate enough bread-like foods (mezonot) or bread-like food combinations (such as crackers with tuna salad) to be the volume of your normal biggest meal of the day. This is true even if:
You had not planned to have a meal (for example, you planned to eat only one slice of pizza but then ate two more), and
Did not wash your hands before the meal.
Doubt
Don’t say al ha’michya after eating mezonot if you are not certain whether you said it or not.
Situation: You ate some mezonot. It might be more than 72 minutes since you finished eating but you are not certain.
What To Do: Doubt about a blessing (safek bracha) does not get a blessing.
Note: You may not eat one of the Five Special Fruits in order to say the after-blessing of al ha’eitz and include al ha’michya. You could eat fruit and say the al ha’eitz blessing, but you may not include mezonot food in the blessing by adding al ha’michya.
Forgetting V'Zachreinu L'Tova
Don’t repeat al ha’michya on Rosh Chodesh if you forget to add v’zachreinu l’tova….
II. Al HaGafen
Type and Volume of Drink
Say al ha’gafen after drinking at least a revi’it (3.3 fl. oz., or 99 ml) of wine (or grape juice) within 30 seconds.
If you drank at least 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of grape juice or wine water within 30 seconds and then drank some water or another beverage, saying the after-blessing of al ha’gafen on the wine/grape juice covers the water or other beverage.
Which Blessing Ending
After drinking wine made from grapes grown in Eretz Yisrael (regardless of where you are physically located when you drink the wine), end the after-blessing with al ha’aretz ve’al pri gafna instead of al ha’aretz ve’al pri ha’gafen.
III. Al Ha'Eitz
Say the after-blessing of al ha’eitz after eating at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup), within four minutes, of the Five Special Fruits:
Olive, Date, Grape, Fig, Pomegranate.
Note: The after-blessing of al ha’eitz also covers any non-special fruits that you ate while eating the Five Special Fruits.
Situation: You ate at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) within four minutes of the Five Special Fruits, such as figs, and any amount of non-special fruits, such as walnuts, at about the same time.
What To Do Say:
Fore-blessing of borei pri ha’eitz, and
After-blessing of al ha’eitz.
You may not eat non-special fruits sequentially with or even interspersed with the Five Special Fruits in order to make the minimum volume for saying the after-blessing of al ha’eitz.
Situation: You ate a date and then ate the remainder of 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of cherries.
What To Do Say:
Fore-blessing of borei pri ha’eitz over the date (and cherries).
After-blessing of borei nefashot on all the fruits.
The volume of special and non-special fruits DO combine for the after-blessing if:
They are considered to be one food, AND
The main component is the Special Fruit.
Situation: You eat at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) within four minutes of dates stuffed with almonds.
What To Do: Say the after-blessing of al ha’eitz over both types of fruits.
Situation: You say borei pri ha'eitz and eat a few olives, but less than 1.3 fl. oz. Then, you say borei pri ha'adama and eat lettuce mixed with enough olives to constitute the minimum volume when combined with the first olives. You eat them all within four minutes. It is time to say the after-blessing.
What To Do: You may not combine all the olives in order to say the after-blessing of al ha'eitz unless the olives remain distinct from the lettuce and you continue to eat them separately. Say borei nefashot after finishing eating as long as the total food eaten was at least 1.3 fl. oz.
Ve'al HaPeirot or Ve'al Peiroteha
Situation: You ate some of the Five Special Fruits and they were grown in Eretz Yisrael.
What To Do: End the after-blessing al ha’eitz with al ha’aretz ve’al peiroteha instead of ve’al ha’peirot.
IV. Borei Nefashot
Type and Volume of Foods
Say borei nefashot after:
Eating at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of non-mezonot food or non-special fruits within four minutes, OR
Drinking at least 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of non-grape juice drinks or wine within 30 seconds.
To say the after-blessing on popcorn, you only need to eat a few popped kernels as long as in the popped state they fill 1 fl. oz. (30 ml).
V. Birkat HaMazon
Source
The source of birkat ha’mazon is Deuteronomy/Devarim 8:10: You will eat and be satiated and bless Hashem, your God, for the good land that He gave you.
Although the mitzva d'oraita is to thank God only when you are satiated from the meal, chazal decreed that we say birkat ha’mazon even when eating only the volume of a k’zayit and even if not satiated. So you must still say birkat ha’mazon after eating at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of bread within four minutes--even if you are not full. This is known as birkat ha’mazon d’rabanan.
How Much Food
Say birkat ha’mazon if you ate a “meal” as defined by halacha—that is, if you ate at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of bread made of the Five Grains within four minutes.
Note: If you didn’t eat the minimal amounts within four minutes, don’t say birkat ha’mazon (even if you washed and said ha’motzi).
Say birkat ha’mazon after eating mezonot if it constituted a meal—that is, if you ate:
The amount a person would eat for his/her dinner meal, OR
Mezonot in addition to other foods that are normally eaten with bread in a quantity sufficient to be a normal dinner meal.
Note In either case, you must eat at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of mezonot made of the Five Grains within four minutes.
Regardless of how much bread you plan to eat, if you eat at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) within four minutes, say birkat ha’mazon.
If you planned to, but did not, eat a full meal:
Do not say al ha’michya if you did not eat at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of foods baked from the Five Grains within four minutes--even if you had washed your hands and said ha’motzi.
Do say the appropriate bracha achrona for any other foods of which you ate the minimum (1.3 fl. oz.--39 ml, or 1/6 cup) quantity within four minutes, even though you did not say an individual bracha rishona (since you were planning to Birkat HaMazon: Time Limit
For time limits on birkat ha'mazon, see After-Blessings (Bracha Achrona): Time Limits.
Location
You should sit down for birkat ha'mazon, but you do not need to sit in your original seat. You may sit anywhere in the room in which you ate, even at a different table.
Situation:
You said ha’motzi.
Ate bread without planning to continue your meal elsewhere.
Then changed your mind and wanted to eat at a second place.
What To Do: The ideal practice is to:
Say birkat ha’mazon where you are, and then
Start a new meal--wash, make ha’motzi, and eat at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup)—of bread in the second place.
B’di’avad, it is OK to say birkat ha’mazon at the second place, but only if you also ate at least
1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of bread at the second place (no additional washing or ha’motzi is needed).
Say birkat ha’mazon at either place if:
You eat in one place, intending to continue your meal in another place, AND
You ate at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of bread at either place.
Note: If you intend to eat only a snack only at the second place, you do not need to say birkat ha’mazon before you go there; you only need to say whichever fore-blessings are required for the foods you will eat there. You must return to the first place to say birkat ha’mazon.
Copyright 2015 Richard B. Aiken. Halacha L’Maaseh appears courtesy of www.practicalhalacha.com Visit their web site for more information.
This material is provided for informational purposes only – not a substitute for the consultation of a competent rabbi.