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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION
Siman קע״ז · Foods that come during and after the meal
דברים הבאים בתוך הסעודה ואחר הסעודה מה דינם — which blessing (or none) on foods that come "on account of the meal" and those that come "not on account of the meal", the status of what is served after the meal before the Birkat haMazon, the case of one who fixes his meal on fruits, and a gift sent from another household
סימן קע״ז · ה סעיפים
דברים הבאים בתוך הסעודה ואחר הסעודה מה דינם
🌱 Introductory level · מתחילים
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This siman teaches the status of foods served during and after the bread meal: those that come "on account of the meal" (מחמת הסעודה) — the foods that accompany the bread — require no blessing ; those that come "not on account of the meal" (שלא מחמת הסעודה), such as fruits, require a blessing before but not after ; what is served after the meal requires both blessings (rare today) ; one who fixes his meal on fruits makes them like an accompaniment of the bread ; and an unexpected gift is blessed, as a נמלך. Hebrew text, fluent English translation and explanation of the ה seifim, with a section of practical cases.
Topic: Foods that come during and after the meal — מחמת הסעודה, שלא מחמת הסעודה, לאחר הסעודה
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן קע״ז · ה סעיפים
Compiled by: רב יוסף חיים סממה
DAAT · daattorah.com
After teaching that the bread exempts the accompaniments (the previous siman), the Choulhan Aroukh here specifies which foods the bread exempts and which keep their blessing. The principle is a threefold distinction inherited from the Talmud (ברכות מ״א ע״ב): what comes on account of the meal (to accompany the bread) is entirely covered by the bread ; what comes not on account of the meal (fruits) requires a blessing before but not after ; and what comes after the meal requires both. Around this core, the siman settles the case of one who fixes his meal on fruits, that of fruits absent at the HaMotzi, and that of a gift received unexpectedly. We study here at the level of principle ; for personal conduct, one refers to the ruling of the Rav.
📑 Study outline
A. דברים הבאים בתוך הסעודה (seif 1) — on account / not on account of the meal
B. דברים הבאים לאחר הסעודה (seif 2) — both blessings ; rare today
C. קובע ליפתן על הפירות (seif 3) — fixing the meal on fruits
D. לא היו הפירות לפניו (seif 4) — fruits absent at the HaMotzi
E. דורון מבית אחרים (seif 5) — an unexpected gift, כדין נמלך
1-3. Practical cases and comprehension questions
A. דברים הבאים בתוך הסעודה — foods that come during the meal
מֵחֲמַת הַסְּעוּדָה — "on account of the meal": foods one typically fixes a meal upon, to accompany the bread (ללפת בהם את הפת) — meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, cheese, porridge. שֶׁלֹּא מֵחֲמַת הַסְּעוּדָה — "not on account of the meal": that upon which one does not fix a meal to accompany the bread, such as fruits (figs, grapes).
Seif 1 — on account of the meal and not on account of the meal
דברים הבאים בתוך הסעודה אם הם דברים הבאים מחמת הסעודה דהיינו דברים שדרך לקבוע סעודה עליהם ללפת בהם את הפת כגון בשר ודגים וביצים וירקות וגבינה ודייסא ומיני מלוחים אפי׳ אוכלם בלא פת אין טעונין ברכה לפניהם דברכת המוציא פוטרתן ולא לאחריהם דבהמ״ז פוטרתן ואם הם דברים הבאים שלא מחמת הסעודה דהיינו שאין דרך לקבוע סעודה עליהם ללפת בהם את הפת כגון תאנים וענבים וכל מיני פירות (וע״ל סי׳ קס״ח סעיף ח׳) אם אוכל אותם בלא פת טעונין ברכה לפניהם דברכת המוציא אינה פוטרתן דלאו מעיקר סעודה הם ואינם טעונים ברכה לאחריהם דכיון שבאו בתוך הסעודה ברכת המזון פוטרתם ואם בתחלת אכילתו אכל הפירות (עם פת) ובסוף אכל עמהם פת אפילו אם בנתיים אכל מהם בלא פת אינם טעונים ברכה אף לפניהם:
Seif 1: foods that come during the meal — if they are "things that come on account of the meal" (מחמת הסעודה), meaning things one typically fixes a meal upon to accompany the bread, such as meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, cheese, porridge and various salted foods — even if one eats them without bread, they require no blessing before, since the HaMotzi exempts them, nor after, since the Birkat haMazon exempts them. And if they are "things that come not on account of the meal" (שלא מחמת הסעודה), meaning that upon which one does not typically fix a meal to accompany the bread, such as figs, grapes and all kinds of fruit (see above siman קס״ח seif 8) — if one eats them without bread, they require a blessing before, since the HaMotzi does not exempt them, not being of the main meal ; but they require no blessing after, since having come during the meal, the Birkat haMazon exempts them. And if at the beginning of his eating he ate the fruits (with bread) and at the end he ate bread with them, then even if in the interim he ate some without bread, they require no blessing, even before.
Two categories, two rules. What comes on account of the meal (foods that accompany the bread) is entirely exempt: אין טעונין ברכה לפניהם דברכת המוציא פוטרתן ולא לאחריהם — the bread covers it before, the Birkat haMazon after. What comes not on account of the meal (fruits) requires a blessing before — אם אוכל אותם בלא פת טעונין ברכה לפניהם — but not after. And if one frames the fruits with bread (at start and end), they become like an accompaniment and require no blessing at all.
B. דברים הבאים לאחר הסעודה — foods that come after the meal
Seif 2 — after the meal: a blessing before and after
ודברים הבאים לאחר סעודה קודם ברכת המזון שהיה מנהג בימות חכמי הגמרא שבסוף הסעודה היו מושכים ידיהם מן הפת ומסירים אותו וקובעים עצמם לאכול פירות ולשתות כל מה שמביאים אז לפניהם בין דברים הבאים מחמת הסעודה בין דברים הבאים שלא מחמת הסעודה טעונים ברכה בין לפניהם ובין לאחריהם דהמוציא וברכת המזון אין פוטרתן אלא מה שנאכל תוך עיקר הסעודה ודין זה האחרון אינו מצוי בינינו לפי שאין אנו רגילין למשוך ידינו מן הפת עד ברכת המזון:
Seif 2: and things that come after the meal, before the Birkat haMazon — for it was the practice in the times of the Talmudic sages that at the end of the meal they would withdraw their hands from the bread, remove it, and settle in to eat fruits and to drink whatever was then brought before them — whether things that come on account of the meal or things that come not on account of the meal, they require a blessing both before and after, since the HaMotzi and the Birkat haMazon exempt only what is eaten within the main meal. And this last ruling is not common among us, since we are not accustomed to withdrawing our hands from the bread until the Birkat haMazon.
After the meal: both blessings. Once one has "withdrawn one's hands from the bread" to settle in to eat fruits before the Birkat haMazon, one has left the frame of the meal: טעונים ברכה בין לפניהם ובין לאחריהם — a blessing before and after, since the bread and the Birkat haMazon cover only what was eaten within the main meal. But the Mehaber honestly adds: ודין זה האחרון אינו מצוי בינינו — this case is no longer found among us, since we no longer withdraw our hands from the bread before the Birkat haMazon.
C. קובע ליפתן על הפירות — fixing the meal on fruits
Seif 3 — fixing on fruits: fruits as an accompaniment
ואם קובע ליפתן סעודתו על הפירות הוו ליה הפירות כדברים הבאים מחמת הסעודה ואפי׳ אם אוכל מהפירות בתחלת סעודתו בלא פת אינו מברך לא לפניהם ולא לאחריהם ויש חולקין ולכן טוב שיאכל בתחלה מהפירות עם פת ואז אפילו אם אח״כ יאכל מהם בלא פת אינם טעונים ברכה כלל: הגה ואע״פ שאינו חוזר לבסוף לאכול עמהם פת מאחר שעיקר קביעות היה עלייהו (ב״י בשם הר״י):
Seif 3: and if one fixes his meal's accompaniment on fruits, the fruits are [then] like things that come on account of the meal, and even if he eats fruits at the beginning of his meal without bread, he recites no blessing, neither before nor after them. And some disagree, therefore it is good to first eat some fruits with bread — for then, even if he afterward eats them without bread, they require no blessing at all. Rama's gloss: and this even if he does not return at the end to eat bread with them, since the main fixing was upon them (Beit Yossef in the name of the Ri).
Fixing the meal on fruits binds them to the bread. One who fixes his meal's accompaniment on fruits — ואם קובע ליפתן סעודתו על הפירות הוו ליה הפירות כדברים הבאים מחמת הסעודה — makes them like an accompaniment, and blesses neither before nor after. But one view disagrees ; therefore, ideally, ויש חולקין ולכן טוב שיאכל בתחלה מהפירות עם פת — it is better to eat some fruits with bread first, and then, even without bread afterward, they require no blessing. The Rama adds: this holds even if he does not return to eat bread with them, the main fixing being upon them.
D. לא היו הפירות לפניו — fruits absent at the HaMotzi
Seif 4 — since they come to accompany the bread
אע״פ שלא היו הפירות לפניו בשעה שבירך על הפת כיון דללפת את הפת הם באים אינם טעונים ברכה כלל:
Seif 4: even if the fruits were not before him at the time he blessed on the bread, since they come to accompany the bread, they require no blessing at all.
Absence at the HaMotzi does not prevent the exemption. One might have thought that, to be covered by the HaMotzi, the food must have been present at the blessing over the bread. The Mehaber rules that it is not so: אע״פ שלא היו הפירות לפניו בשעה שבירך על הפת — even absent then, once they come to accompany the bread (כיון דללפת את הפת הם באים), they are covered and require no blessing at all. What matters is their role as an accompaniment, not their presence at the HaMotzi.
E. דורון מבית אחרים — an unexpected gift
Seif 5 — כדין נמלך: a gift one did not have in mind
אם אחר שבירך על הפת שלחו לו מבית אחרים שאינו סמוך עליהן ולא היה דעתו על הדורון אפי׳ מדברים שדרכן לבא ללפת את הפת צריך לברך עליהם כדין נמלך: (ולא ראיתי נזהרים בזה ואפשר דטעמא דסתם דעת האדם על כל מה שמביאים לו בסעודה וע״ל סי׳ ר״ו):
Seif 5: if, after he blessed on the bread, someone sent him [a gift] from another household to which he is not attached, and he had not had that gift in mind — even from things that are typically brought to accompany the bread, he must bless on them, as in the law of one who changes his mind (נמלך). [gloss]: (and I have not seen people careful about this, and perhaps the reason is that a person's default intention covers everything brought to him during the meal ; cf. above siman ר״ו).
A gift outside one's intention is blessed. The principle of the siman is that what comes to accompany the bread is exempt. But if a gift (דורון) arrives from another household, to which one is not attached, and one did not have it in mind — ולא היה דעתו על הדורון — it falls outside the original intention: צריך לברך עליהם כדין נמלך. The gloss notes, however, that people have not been seen to be careful about this, perhaps because the default intention covers whatever is brought to the meal.
The siman in one sentence: everything depends on the relation to the bread — what comes on account of the meal (to accompany the bread) requires no blessing at all ; fruits (שלא מחמת הסעודה) a blessing before only ; what comes after the meal requires both (rare today) ; one who fixes his meal on fruits binds them to the bread (better: with bread at the start) ; and an unexpected gift is blessed, כדין נמלך.
Practical cases
Case 1 — Fruit in the middle of the meal
Situation: I am in the midst of a bread meal, and fruits are brought to me (which I eat without bread). Must I bless on them?
Conduct: yes — fruits are שלא מחמת הסעודה: the HaMotzi does not cover them, so one recites the blessing (borei peri ha-etz) before (seif 1). After, one says nothing: having come during the meal, the Birkat haMazon exempts them. For the details (which fruit, cases of doubt), one follows one's Rav.
Case 2 — A dessert before the Birkat haMazon
Situation: at the end of the meal, before the Birkat haMazon, a dessert is served that I still eat with bread. Must I bless?
Conduct: for us, as long as one has not withdrawn one's hands from the bread, one is still within the meal: the case of לאחר הסעודה (blessing before and after) is practically no longer met — ודין זה האחרון אינו מצוי בינינו (seif 2). For the exact conduct (if one decides to conclude the meal), one refers to one's Rav.
Case 3 — A gift brought unexpectedly
Situation: during the meal, a neighbor sends me from his house a dish I did not expect. Must I bless?
Conduct: by the letter of the Mehaber, a gift from another household that one did not have in mind is blessed, כדין נמלך (seif 5). But the gloss observes that the custom is not careful about this, since a person's default intention covers what is brought to the meal. In practice, one follows one's Rav.
Comprehension questions
Check your understanding:
- What is the difference in status between מחמת הסעודה and שלא מחמת הסעודה, and which blessing does each require (seif 1)?
- Why do fruits require no blessing after them when eaten during the meal (seif 1)?
- What are the דברים הבאים לאחר הסעודה, and why is this case no longer found among us (seif 2)?
- What happens when one fixes his meal on fruits, and why is it better to eat some with bread first (seif 3)?
- Why must a דורון (gift) received unexpectedly be blessed, כדין נמלך (seif 5)?
To go further
If you wish to deepen this siman:
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- 📚 Level 2 — Lamdan: for the pilpul — גדר « מחמת הסעודה » ; שלושת חילוקי רב פפא ; קובע ליפתן ומחלוקת היש חולקין
- ✨ Level 3 — Synthesis: for review and quick memorization
- 👑 Level 4 — Daat HaRav (the Alter Rebbe): the shitah of the Choulhan Aroukh HaRav — foods on account of the meal, not on account, and after the meal