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Siman 174 – Drinks during the meal

  1. You need to say Hagoffen on wine even in the middle of a bread meal. Specific intent to cover the wine with Hamotzi does not help. (ShA 1 – MB 1)
  2. Wine, being the chief of all drinks, exempts all drinks from all berachos (i.e. before and after). As long as the other drinks were in front of you when you blessed on the wine or you knew about them, you do not say a separate beracha on the other drinks.                     (ShA 2 – MB 2,3)
  3. L’chatchila, if you want to exempt the other drinks, be sure to drink a cheekfull of wine. Less than that, enters you into an argument of the poskim. So, if you drank less than a cheekfull of wine and you want other drinks, either say a beracha Shehakol on a piece of sugar or get someone to be motzi you for Shehakol on the other drinks.            (BeH “yayin”)
  4. When you are motzi others in Kiddush, those who do not drink any wine must say Shehakol on the drinks. (MB 3)
  5. Even though reciting Birkas Hamazon over a cup of wine is not required, it does enhance the mitzva. Therefore if you only have one cup of wine at the meal, save it for bentching. (ShA 3 – MB 5)
  6. Some poskim hold that if you are thirsty after a meal, bentching is only required mid’rabbonon. To make bentching min haTorah, quench your thirst beforehand. (MB 5)
  7. The Hagoffen that you say at Kiddush will exempt any wine during the imminent meal if you normally have wine at such a meal. If you don’t normally have wine but you had specific intent this time for wine during the meal – the Hagoffen before the meal will exempt it. (ShA 4 – MB 8)
  8. The poskim argue whether or not the Hagoffen of Havdalah will exempt wine that will be served at an imminent seuda. Therefore, it is advisable at Havdalah to specifically think to exclude the wine at the meal. Say an after-beracha. Then, when they serve wine at the meal, say another Hagoffen. (ShA 4 – MB 15)
  9. If you intended for only one glass of wine at birkas Hagoffen, then you changed your mind to drink more, say another Hagoffen. (ShA 5)
  10. When the kos of Sheva Berachos is being passed around for people to share, each person must say his own Hagoffen. The beracha recited by the mevarech doesn’t exempt them, since they aren’t certain that there will be any wine left. (Rama 5 – MB 22)
  11. If you buy a meal, the beracha will cover only that food. If after the beracha you change your mind and buy more food, you will need to say another beracha on it. However, if you cut off from a loaf of bread that you have at home, the beracha you say on it will extend to cover any more bread you cut off when you decide you’re still hungry. That isn’t considered a “change of mind”. (MB 18)
  12. Birkas Hamazon covers wine that you drank during the seuda.       (ShA 6)
  13. Does it cover the Kiddush wine? Yes. However, there are poskim who hold that the wine before any meal requires its own beracha achrona. Therefore, it is best to drink just a cheek full (which is less than the shiur for a beracha achrona). But since there are poskim who hold to say a beracha achrona even on a kezayis, it’s best to always have specific intention to exempt the wine during Birkas Hamazon.      (BeH “v’chayn”) 
                          1. In a case that you drink a r’viis of non-alcoholic beverages before a seuda and not during the seuda, you need to say a beracha achrona – Birkas Hamazon will not exempt them. (MB 25)
                          2. It is bad for your health to drink on an empty stomach.                    (ShA 7 – MB 31)
                          3. The minhag is not to say a beracha rishona on other drinks during a meal. Drinks are part of the bread condiments. However one who wishes to be removed from doubt has three options:
                            1. Say a beracha on a drink (less than the shiur) before netillas yodayim.
                            2. Say a beracha on wine during the meal which will exempt all of the drinks.
                            3. Ask someone who isn’t eating to be motzi you with a Shehakol. 

                              None of this applies on Shabbos and Yom Tov seudos which have Kiddush before the meal. The beracha on the Kiddush wine (or whiskey) exempts any drinks during the meal. (ShA 7 – MB 33,37,38,39 – BeH “v’haminhag”)

                              1. An exception to the above: Drinking whiskey or coffee after a meal just to aid digestion will require a beracha rishona. But it is proper to say the beracha on a piece of sugar and exempt the coffee. (MB 39)
                              2. If you hear someone finish a beracha while you are eating, beware to stop eating before answering omayn. It’s a choking hazard otherwise. (MB 42)
                              3. When you want to be motzi others during Kiddush and Havdalla it is customary to say “Savri rabbosai…” instead of “Birshus rabbosai…” (Rama 8 – MB 46)
                              4. When being motzi others on wine at a wedding or a bris mila, it isn’t necessary to say even “Savri…” preceding the Hagoffen – you have already recieved permission. The same applies to the kos after Birkas Hamazon. (MB 46 – ShaH 53)
                              5. Wait for everyone to finish “Y’ru ess Hashem…” at the end of Birkas Hamazon before saying the Hagoffen, but do not announce ”Savri…”. (ShaH 53)