Chapter 58: 10 & 11
The Blessing Recited over Fragrances
10. When inhaling incense - i.e., spices burned over coals that produce a
pleasant fragrance - one should recite the blessing after the cloud of
smoke is produced, before one actually smells it. As all other blessings
recited for pleasure which one receives, it should be recited before one
benefits. However, the blessing should not be recited until the smoke
begins to rise, for the blessing should be an immediate proximity to the
pleasure one receives.
If the incense is a product of trees, one should recite the blessing borey
atzei besomim; if it is of herbs, the blessing borey isvei besomim; and if
of other substances, the blessing borey minei besomim.
The blessing is recited only when the incense is burned for its fragrance.
However, if it is being burned to overcome a foul odor - for example,
spices placed near a corpse - no blessing is recited.
11. Similarly, any substance which was not put in its present place for the
purpose of producing a pleasant fragrance - e.g., spices which are stored
in a room as merchandise, or incense which is used to perfume clothes -
since the intention was not to smell its fragrance, but rather to impart it
to the clothes - no blessing is recited , even when one also intends to
enjoy the fragrance.*
* {This law describes a room in which spices or perfumes are stored, in
contrast to the following law, which describes a store in which they are sold.
Even in the former instance, if one performs a particular activity to
benefit from the spices (e.g., one lifts them to one's nose), one must
recite a blessing even in a storeroom (Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Piskei
Siddur). Similarly, a blessing must be recited if one burns incense with a
twofold intention: to perfume one's clothes, and also to produce a pleasant
fragrance (Mishnoh B'rurah 217:14).}
