Alleyways To Torah: Nusach Habracha

Nusach Habracha

A Tu Bishvat question. If you eat an Israeli grown date or grape, you say at the end of the after bracha "al ha'aretz vi'al pairoseHA" on the land and HER fruits [and not vi'al hapeiros]. [However, if you go on a date in Israel there is no special bracha. But if you eat a date on a date then you do make a bracha on the date....]

If you drink Israeli wine you make an "al ha'aretz vi'al pri gafNA" - on the land and HER grapevine [and not vi'al pri hagaffen]. Great! Eretz Yisrael is special. [I personally dream of living there...]

So why don't we say [in Israel] after eating mezonos "al ha'aretz vi'al michyaSA"? Everyone says vi'al hamichya?!

Love and blessings!!!

| Permalink

Rav Ehrman shlit"a,

The Tzitz Eliezer zt"l discusses this issue in vol. 11 #12. There he brings from the Pe'as Hashulchan that there were in fact Ba'alei Hatosafos and other rishonim that said "Al HamichyaSA", as well as in benching saying "al ha'aretz v'al mezonoSEHA".

The Tzitz Eliezer explains however, that our minhag is as it is since this aforementioned opinion is clearly not accepted by the poskim (a point that the Netziv makes in Ha'emek She'eila).

He also brings another explanation based on a diyuk in the Gemara Brachos (44) that the main focus of brachos is on fruit and not grain since generally fruit is eaten as is as opposed to grain which is first processed and turned into bread.

Anyway, take a look at the Tzitz Eliezer there where he discusses this issue at length.

Kol Tuv

Posted by Kal Vachomer | 7:40 PM