עברית
Halachot and Customs
Regarding Eating Bread and Birkat HaMazon
Question
Hello Rabbi!
1. I understand that according to the Rambam, if I am not mistaken, biblically speaking, if I ate bread and did not become full from it even though I ate a minimal amount (approximately 30 grams), I do not need to recite Birkat HaMazon. Is this correct? And rabbinically, if I ate at least this minimal amount even though I did not become full, do I need to recite it?
2. The same question applies to other foods. If I ate a piece of fruit or a snack with a different blessing than ’hamotzi’ and I ate a minimum amount or more, do I need to recite a blessing only if I became full, or also if I did not become full?
3. Regarding drinking water, if I am at home and I usually drink a lot of water throughout the day, is it sufficient for me to recite the blessing once on the water and intend to exempt all the other water I drink throughout the day, and only recite the blessing once?
Answer
Greetings,
1. According to all opinions, the biblical obligation to recite Birkat HaMazon is only if you eat enough to become full, as stated in the Torah (Deuteronomy 8:10), "And you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless..." However, rabbinically, there is an obligation to recite a blessing even after eating a minimum amount (27 grams) - even if you did not become full (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 174:6; Mishnah Berurah 174:22).
Ideally, one should eat the minimal amount within 4 minutes, and if necessary, up to 7.5 minutes (see Responsa Yichave Da’at, Part 1, Section 17).
2. There is a necessity to recite a concluding blessing on other foods if eaten in the minimal amount (even if you did not become full), provided they were eaten within the aforementioned time frame.
3. If you are not leaving the house, it is sufficient for you to recite the blessing once on the drink, intending to exempt all that you will drink for the rest of the day; however, if you go out of the house, it counts as a change of place, and you must recite the blessing again (see Responsa Yabia Omer, Part 6, Orach Chaim, Section 27; and Responsa Yichave Da’at, Part 6, Section 11).
Best wishes,
Hillel Meirs
