Siman - Berachos Daf 36
- Beracha over wheat flour
There is a machlokes concerning the berachah recited over wheat flour(קמחא דחיטי) :
-Rav Yehuda says that one recites a ha’adamah, since it is likened to eating wheat kernels. The fact that the flour is ground does not change its status.
-Rav Nachman says that one recites a shehakol, because the ground flour is no longer in its original state of wheat kernels, which would require a ha’adamah, but has not yet reached its final state of bread, which would require a hamotzi.
- Caper bush husks not a shomer
The Gemara asks why the husks of a caper bush are not subject to the orlah restriction, given that a shomer (protective covering) of an orlah fruit is considered orlah. Rava teaches that something is only considered a fruit’s shomer if without it the fruit would die. Caper bush husks are not needed to keep the berries alive, so they do not attain the status of shomer and are not subject to orlah.
- Foods that contain one of the five species of grain
Rav and Shmuel teach that one recites a borei minei mezonos on any food that contains one of the five species of grain, even if the grain is not the primary ingredient. Tosafos adds that this is only when the grain is there to enhance the dish, rather than merely to serve as a binder.
