Chapter 52: 7-9
Laws of Ho'eitz,Hadomoh and Shehakol
7. The blessing shehakol is also recited when partaking of inferior types
of fruit that grow wild, without cultivation, on thorn bushes, brambles,
and other trees, and are not fit to be eaten raw - e.g., wild apples, when
they are cooked, even when cooked with honey or sugar, and thus are fit to
be eaten.
In contrast, hazelnuts are considered important even though they grow wild
in forests, and the blessing borey pri ho'eitz is recited before we partake
of them.
8. When herbs grow naturally without cultivation - even though they are fit
to be eaten raw, or even if they were cooked, and in that state are a
significant food - they are not considered fruit in this context, since
they are not cultivated, and we recite the blessing shehakol for them. In
contrast, lettuce and vegetables which are cultivated requires the blessing
borey pri hadomoh.
Similarly, wild growths which have important fruit - e.g, gooseberries and
raspberries - require the blessing borey pri hadomoh.
9. [With regard to blessings,] a part of a fruit which is not its essential
element [e.g., its peel] is not regarded as the fruit itself, but rather
one level below it. Thus, the blessing borey pri hadomoh is recited for a
less significant part of a fruit that grows on a tree, and the blessing
shehakol for a less significant part of a fruit which grows from the ground.
For example, the leaves of the caper tree are fit to be eaten. Near the
leaves grows a fruit that resembles the berries of a willow tree. It also
produces caper-berries, which are the essential element of the fruit, and
shells resembling nut shells, which are also fit to be eaten. Thus, for the
caper-berries, the tree's essential fruit, the blessing borey pri ho'eitz
is recited. For the leaves, for the fruit that grows near the leaves, and
for the shells, the blessing borey pri hadomoh is recited.
Similarly, rose petals which are preserved in sugar or in honey require the
blessing borey pri hadomoh. Even though the rose bush is considered a tree,
[use of the petals for food] is not considered its essential purpose.
In the same light, the blessing borey pri hadomoh is recited for orange
peels which are preserved in honey or sugar, and the blessing shehakol over
zucchini peels that are fried in honey and sugar. Bean pods which grows in
the fields, even though they are sweet, if they are eaten without the
beans, require the blessing shehakol. However, this does not apply to those
bean which are grown in gardens with the intention of eating them together
with their pods. In this instance, even when one eats the pods alone, the
blessing borey pri hadomoh is recited.
