Siman - Berachos Daf 41
- מין שבעה או מין חביב
Rebbe Yehuda and the Rabbonon debate in the Mishna on דף מ:, regarding which food one recites a berachah on first when several foods are in front of him:
a Rebbe Yehuda says that if one of the foods are one of the seven species[O1] , then that food takes precedence (מין שבעה עדיף).
b.The Rabbonon say that the food that he prefers takes precedence (חביב עדיף).
The Amoraim dispute the parameters of the debate:
- One Amora states that they disagree only when the different foods share the same berachah, such as an apple and an olive. In a case where they have different berachos, such as a potato and an olive, then both Tannaim in the Mishna will agree that one recites the beracha first on the food that he prefers (חביב עדיף).
-The other Amora states that the same disagreement also applies when the berachos are different[O2] . The disagreement then would be in regards to which of the two berachos is recited first.
- What the list of seven species teaches
There is a machlokes regarding what can be learned from the pasuk which lists the seven species (("ארץ חטה ושעורה וגפן ותאנה ורמון ארץ זית שמן ודבש":
- Rav Yosef teaches that the order of foods listed in the pasuk indicate which foods attain precedence in berachos. The closer the food is to the term “ארץ”, the greater the precedence.
- Rav Chanan teaches that the purpose of the pasuk is to teach the measurements for different halachos, with each food item representing a different unit of measure.
- Making berachos during the meal
Rav Pappa stated the following rulings regarding the berachos recited on foods eaten in the course of the meal:
- Foods that are eaten together with bread, which are eaten during the meal, do not require a berachah either before or after eating them.
- Foods that are not eaten together with bread, which are eaten during the meal, require a berachah before eating them but not after.
- Foods that are usually eaten after the meal, such as dessert, even when eaten during the meal, require a blessing both before and after eating them.
