Don't let your after blessings be an afterthought

Prepared for print by Faigy Peritzman

During our Tu B’Shevat seudah, I ate one grape along with several other fruits. Do I need to say al ha’eitz for this one grape?

You should avoid eating only one whole grape, or even two or three of them, since it’s questionable if al ha’eitz is required over that quantity of whole grapes. But in the event that you did, do not recite al ha’eitz unless you ate at least four large grapes, six medium grapes, or 13 small grapes.

I’m a big fan of sucking on candies, popping one in right after finishing meals so I don’t nosh. However, I never know what to do — should I say a borei nefashos on my meal and then a shehakol on the candy, or not?

What to do depends on your post-meal plans: If you’re planning to leave the area right after the meal, recite borei nefashos, and make a shehakol when you are ready to suck the candy. If, however, you’re planning to stay in the same home in which you had your meal, then you may recite a borei nefashos after you finished sucking the candy (or candies), even if that will be a while after you finished your meal.

At a recent shul kiddush, I had a little bit of grape juice and some small crackers with liver. I’m not sure if any of it was a k’zayis. What brachah do I make after that?

If the liver and the crackers together add up to a k’zayis (approximately the volume of one fluid ounce), recite borei nefashos. If they add up to less than that amount, do not recite any brachah acharonah at all. The grape juice cannot be combined with the liver and crackers to form the minimum amount.

I’ve heard a lot of debate regarding mezonos rolls that come with airline meals. I don’t want to get up and find a place to wash and then bentsh, but if I’m eating it as lunch, do I have to?

As you noted, this is a debatable issue, and while some poskim permit eating one mezonos roll with other foods without washing or bentshing, other poskim disagree, and it’s appropriate to be stringent. If you can’t — or won’t — wash, bring along a pair of plastic gloves, and eat the hamotzi meal while wearing them. Alternatively, you can circumvent the problem by eating the roll by itself, recite al hamichyah, and then eat the rest of the meal followed by borei nefashos.

I’m in the first trimester of pregnancy, and sometimes I throw up most of what I ate at the seudah. I never know if I’m supposed to bentsh after that.

Unless you are sure that at least of k’zayis of bread remained in your stomach, which is difficult to know, then do not bentsh. Rather, ask another adult (man or woman) who is bentshing anyway, to be motzi you with Bircas Hamazon.

I had a party at my daughter’s preschool and ate a few cookies. When I was halfway back home, I realized I never said al hamichyah. Do I have to drive back there to say it?

If driving back will not be an inconvenience, you should make an effort to go back, as long as the drive back will not delay the brachah past shiur ikul (when the food is digested and a brachah can no longer be said). If driving back will be inconvenient, then you are not obligated to do so.

I dropped by my parents on Motzaei Shabbos on the way to our yeshivah’s annual Melaveh Malkah. They were having pizza, so I grabbed one slice, intending to wash at the yeshivah. However, one thing led to another, and I had three slices of pizza. What brachah acharonah do I make now?

Bircas Hamazon. The fact that you failed to wash and recite hamotzi before eating the second slice (which is what you were supposed to do) isn’t a reason to make another mistake and omit bentshing as well.

I often nosh while working, eating pretzels or nuts over a period of several hours. What do I do about brachah acharonah?

As long as you continue to nosh every once in a while, and as long as you don’t leave the building, then recite the brachah acharonah at the end of the work session.

I made garlic bread and lasagna for supper and everyone washed, besides me, since I only ate the lasagna. Without thinking, though, I bentshed with everybody. Do I still need to say an al hamichyah?

No, you do not, since bedieved, Bircas Hamazon works for mezonos items as well.

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 775)