On the night of Tu Bishvat, which will fall out next week, it is customary to eat a variety of fruits. We shall therefore learn the proper order of the Blessings of Enjoyment during the coming days.
We should point out that these laws are indeed fairly simple and we shall explain them in a short time. It is such a shame that so many people are not fluent in the laws of priority regarding blessings and transgress these laws daily.
Once, Hagaon Harav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l participated in a wedding of a student and when he entered the hall, he saw Yeshiva boys standing at the smorgasbord eating and drinking their fill. Harav Auerbach wished to rebuke them with his great wisdom and he told them, “I am so happy to see such great Torah scholars like you! Every time I am served food, I pause and think to myself which blessing I should recite first. However, you boys immediately recite a blessing on whatever you wish. It seems that you are truly fluent in these laws!”
The Reason for the Specific Order of Blessings
When one wishes to recite blessings on various foods in front of him, one may not just recite any blessing based on the order one decides; rather, there is a specific order of blessings. There can be two reasons to explain why one blessing must be recited before another:
One reason can be because of the innate importance of the given blessing. This will be explained further in the next Halacha, G-d willing. The other possibility when one blessing has priority over another is because of the innate significance of the fruit or other food one is about to recite a blessing on. The following is an explanation of this possibility.
Priority of a Blessing on One of the Seven Species of Fruits the Land of Israel Was Praised With
We must first discuss the law in a situation where one is served a variety of fruits, which one should one recite the blessing on?
The Land of Israel was praised with seven species of fruits as the verse (Devarim 8, 8) states, “A land of wheat and barley, grapevines, figs, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey.” (“Honey” here refers to dates as is explained in the Talmud Yerushalmi Chapter 1 of Masechet Bikurim, Halacha 3). The blessing on any one of the Seven Species precedes any other fruits.
For instance, if one has apples and dates in front of him, one must first recite a blessing on the dates (which are one of the Seven Species), eat a piece, and only then proceed to eat the apple.
Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zt”l writes that even if one enjoys apples more than dates, the blessing must nevertheless be recited on the fruit that is one of the Seven Species first.
Priority of a Blessing among the Seven Species Themselves
As we have explained, the fruits of the Seven Species are those mentioned in the verse. Any fruit mentioned earlier in the verse has priority, for it is more important. Thus, if one has figs and grapes in front of him, one should recite a blessing on the grapes first, for they are mentioned in the verse before figs.
Besides for this, there is another kind of priority given to any fruit closer to the word “land” in the verse. This means that the Torah states: “A land of wheat and barley, grapevines, figs, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey”. The word “land” is mentioned twice in this verse. If so, the fruit of the “olive” is mentioned first after the word “land” (“a land of olive oil”) while the fruit of the “grapevine” is mention third after the word “land” (“A land of wheat and barley, grapevines”). Thus, if one has olives and grapes in front of him, one must recite the blessing on the olives first, for they are closer to the word “land” in the verse, as opposed to grapes which are further away from the word “land” and so, they are of lesser importance.
Just as olives precede grapes, similarly dates precede grapes as well, for dates are written second after the word “land” (“a land of olive oil and dates”) while grapes are only mentioned third after the first “land” in the verse (“A land of wheat and barley, grapevines”). For the same reason, dates take precedence over figs and pomegranates for the importance of a fruit is measured by its proximity to the word “land” in the verse.
Priority Regarding the Various Blessings Among the Seven Species
Based on the above, the correct order for blessings over the Seven Species is as follows: The blessing of “Hamotzi Lechem Min Ha’aretz” comes before any other blessing (it is for this reason that we cover the bread on Shabbat and Yom Tov while making Kiddush on wine in order to make it as if there were no bread here so as not to have to recite its blessing first before the blessing on the wine as we have explained in the Halachot of Kiddush. This is because all of the laws of priority of blessings only apply when both foods are in front of the person and one wishes to partake of both; there is no obligation, however, to wait until the prioritized food is brought out in front of him). After that comes the blessing of “Boreh Minei Mezonot.” Bread or cakes made out of wheat flour precede bread or cakes made out of barley flour, for wheat precedes barley in the verse. Next in line are olives, then dates, then grapes, then figs, then pomegranates, and finally any other type of fruit. Similarly, one blessing of “Boreh Peri Ha’etz” is sufficient to exempt any fruits one has in mind to eat at this point.
If one mistakenly recited the “Boreh Peri Ha’etz” on a fruit that is mentioned later in the verse than another, for instance, if one recited the blessing on a pomegranate while there were figs in front of him, or even if one recited a blessing on a fruit that is not one of the Seven Species at all, for instance ,if one blessed on an apple while there were fruits of the Seven Species in front of him, one has nevertheless fulfilled his obligation and need not recite the blessing again, for the laws of priority regarding the order of the Seven Species only apply if one has not yet recited a blessing but not if one has already done so.
