Welcome To My Kosher Home

    When God put man in the world, He created many pleasures for him to enjoy. Our Rabbis, ever so cognizant of man and his role in Creation, established various brachot, blessings, to help man acknowledge and appreciate that all the good he receives in this world comes from God. The Anshei Kenesset HaGedolah, the rabbinic body that prophetically composed the brachot that we make today, determined six categories of brachot. They established as a general rule, that the more significant the food, the more specific the bracha we say on it.
    As suggested by our title, the grape, or more specifically the juice that comes from it, is somewhat special when it comes to brachot. Its bracha is different from all other fruit juices. When a juice is extracted from a fruit, the fruit has been changed. Fruits that have been changed or have been processed are no longer referred to as prei haaitz, fruit of the tree. Therefore, the appropriate bracha on apple juice or orange juice is shehakol, the general bracha that includes all foods. Why then, does wine merit the more specific bracha of borei prei hagafen?
    Wine is inherently different than all other fruit juices. It’s the beverage that Halacha considers the most important. The two reasons for this are intertwined: first, due to the alcohol content of wine, it is mesamchei lev, it “gladdens the heart” and secondly, it traditionally has played a central role in social gatherings. It’s for this same reason that wine served in the middle of a meal is the only beverage on which we make a separate bracha.
With respect to the brachot we say on food in general, there are a few other points of interest. For instance, from the time of the Anshei Kenesset HaGedolah, until very recently, bread was the mainstay of every person’s diet. Also referred to as “the staff of life”, it was served at every meal to fill a person up. As the words of the pasuk state, “… bread, the hearts of man satiates.” It is for this very reason that the bracha we say on bread includes all the other foods at a meal.
    Another point is that while the brachot on fruit, vegetables and grains use the formula, “borei prei . . .”, which translates as “He created the fruit of . . . “, the bracha on meats, water and other food stuffs uses the formula, “shehakol niheye bidvaro” which translates as “. . . all that came into being according to His word”. The reason for this is that a plant, whether it is replanted or rejuvenated each season is considered to be created each year. Therefore, foods that came from plants, whether they be fruits, vegetables or grains, are referred to with the term borei, “He created”. However, animals or water that live or last for many years are referred to with the term “neheye” that “came into being”.
    May this deeper understanding of the meanings of our brachot make them more meaningful to us and help us to be more aware and more fully appreciate that everything good that we receive in this world comes from God.