Hilchos Berachos part II
Various laws pertaining to Hamotzi on bread
How must one hold the bread for the
b'racha?
Whenever one recites a b'racha for food or smelling spices, one must
hold the item in one's right hand.
The Levush explains that 'holding' an item will focus one's mind on what
is being said,
and the right hand demonstrates importance of the b'racha.
A left-handed person will
hold in his left.
Bread too, must be held during the b'racha.
It is correct to place both hands on bread during the b'racha
(irrespective of whether the bread is a whole loaf, a roll or a slice).
Why should one place both hands on bread?
Two hands have ten fingers, and:
Ten mitzvos involve producing bread. Plowing – do not plow with an
ox and donkey harnessed together (kil'ayim). Planting – not to
plant kil'ayim. Threshing – not to muzzle the animal threshing the
grain. לקט, שכחה, פאה, תרומה, מעשר ראשון, מעשר שני
וחלה.
The b'racha hamotzi has ten words.
There are four pesukim that entail sustenance and bread:
מצמיח חציר לבהמה וגו';
עיני כל אליך וגו';
ארץ חטה ושעורה וגו'; ויתן לך וגו'.
What is the importance of all of this?
We should internalize Hashem's kindness and be aware that everything is a
b'racha from Hashem.
What is the importance of salt?
We dip bread in salt for two reasons, halacha and kabala.
The halachic reason applies to tasteless bread. To lend importance to the
b'racha, one should bite into tasty bread and thus if the bread is
tasteless, one should add salt or some other enhancer, such as peanut butter or
cream cheese to the piece one eats after the b'racha.
Consequently, tasty bread does not require salt or an enhancer.
The kabalistic reason is twofold, salt should be present on the table because
our table is like the altar and eating in place of a korban, and the
possuk says that one should salt all korbanos.
Salt also protects Yisroel from harm, because people sitting around the table
waiting for everyone to wash for bread are not performing mitzvos and the
presence of salt on the table prevents harm.
The Mekubalim say that one should dip bread in salt three times.
Eating and nashing before a bread meal
At least two issues are involved with eating before a bread meal. If for example
one sees carrot sticks on the table and one would like to sample one before
washing, one will have to make a p'ri ha'adamah, even though a few
minutes later it will be included in the bread meal. This seems to be a
b'racha she'eina tz'richa - an unnecessary b'racha.
Also, the issue of b'racha acharona must be taken into account, i.e. a
boreh nefashos might have to be recited before the meal.
The poskim write that one should refrain from eating an item that is
included in a meal if one is about to begin the meal,
so as not to recite a
b'racha she'eina tz'richa.
In the example mentioned one should not partake of the carrot, since one is
about to wash and make hamotzi and the carrot is included in a bread
meal.
~ You're at home waiting for tardy guests, it is not a problem to eat those
carrot sticks because you do not know when the guests will arrive and in the
meantime you're hungry.
When may one eat something before a meal?
Appetizers
– one may eat appetizers before a meal, such as pickles and sweet items, because
eating them before the meal enhances appetite. It is not a b'racha
she'eina tz'richa when there is reason to eat in this manner.
To avoid a safeik b'racha
– if your meal includes an item that is in doubt whether it requires a
b'racha during a meal, you may eat that item before hamotzi so as not
to have a safeik during the meal.
~ Fruit served at the beginning of a meal might require a b'racha rishona,
so to avoid the problem, one may recite a b'racha on the fruit and eat
some before washing.
~ It is not clear which cakes eaten at the end of a meal are included in
hamotzi and which not, so to avoid the issue one may recite a mezonos
over cake before washing.
