The Brachot — Blessings Before Eating

Transliteration & Translation of Some of the Brachot
General Rules for the First Bracha
General Rules for the Order of the Brachot
General Rules for the After Bracha
The Brachot Guide

Transliteration & Translation of Some of the Brachot

Generally, all the Brachot have the same beginning.

"Baruch ata ad-onay, elo-heinu melech haolam..."

"Blessed are you G-D, our Lord king of the world..."

For Bread:
"...Hamotzie lechem myn ha'aretz".
"...Who brings forth bread from the ground."

For Wine & Grape juice:
"...Boreiy pree hagafen".
"...Who creates the fruit of the wine."

For Cakes & cookies etc.:
"...Boreiy minei mezonot".
"...Who creates various types of foods."

For Fruits from trees:
"...Boreiy pree ha'etz"
"...Who creates the fruit of the trees."

For Vegetables:
"...Boreiy pree ha'adamah".
"...Who creates the fruits of the ground."

For Drinks, Meat, Fish, Cheese:
"...Shehakol Nihyah bidvaro".
"...Everything was created through his (G-D's) words."

General Rules for the First Bracha

Of course this is NOT instead of the Shulchan Aruch, if possible you should learn these Halachot in detail. We are just covering some basic rules in this area, and we ask from Hashem that we wont make any mistakes.

1. One must say a Bracha on ANY amount of food.
   
   

2. You should see the food before reciting the Bracha, e.g. if one wants to eat a cashew, you first open up the shell and see if its fit for a Bracha (no worms etc.).
   
   

3. You should hold the food/drink in your right hand, or left hand if your a lefty.
   
   

4. One must be very careful not to mention G-D's name in vain. Therefore, before you start saying the Bracha, you should know which Bracha is the appropriate one.
   
   

5. No food or drink should be in your mouth while reciting a Bracha.
   
   

6. Between the Bracha and eating you must not talk or even wait any amount of time, but eat or drink the food right away.
   
   

7. If you forgot to say a Bracha before eating, as long as you still have some food left you still have to say the Bracha.
   

General Rules for the Order of the Brachot

1. Hamotzie - on bread.
   
2. Mezonot - on cakes.
   
3. Hagefen - on wine.
   
4. Haetz - on fruits.
   
5. Haadama - on vegetables.
   
6. Shehakol - on drinks etc.

Shalem - whole:

1. If one has in front of him e.g. 2 apples, one is a whole one and the other one is cut up, you should make the Bracha over the whole one.
   

2. If both are cut (not whole) you should say the Bracha over the larger one.

Chaviv:
When one has in front of him different types of foods but all are the same bracha, e.g. candy, soda etc. you should say the bracha on the one you desire (now) most, that is meaning of 'Chaviv'.

Fruits of Israel:
Hashem has blessed Israel with 7 fruits as it says (Ekev 8,8); "A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey (dates)".

1. Therefore when one has different types of fruits that he wants to eat (e.g. apples and figs), the fruit of the 7 species are first.

2. If however the fruit which is not of the 7 species, is Chaviv [meaning - he likes it more] then he may say a Bracha on any one he wants.

General Rules for the After Bracha

In order to be obligated to recite the 'Bracha Achrona', (the After Bracha) you must take 2 things in consideration.
1) Amount
2) Time

Amount:
For Food:
For bread, cakes (Hamotzi & Mezonot) you must eat a 'Kazayit' (an Olive) in weight which comes to be 17.3 grams (0.61 ounces).

For Drinks:
For drinks, you must drink a "Revee'it", 86 grams (2.9 fluid ounces)

Time:
The time is the same wether its food or drink. In order to be required to say the After Bracha you must drink/eat the required amount within 'Kedei Achilat Pras', which is 4 minutes.

So for example drinking a hot cup of cocoa, since usually you would sip it you wouldn't drink the required amount (Revee'it) within the required amount of time (4 minutes). The best way to get out of any questions would be to drink something else like milk, or to save some of the cocoa/coffee till it gets cool enough to drink the required amount in the required time.

The above measurements are according to Rav Chaim Noah.

The Brachot Guide

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Source: Torah.Net