Q) If I have several items of food in front of me – on which do I make a Bracha first?
A) To answer this question we must discuss two different situations
Firstly, if the items of food each have a different Bracha, preference is given to the more important Bracha.
In general, the order of the different Brachot can be membered by the Hebrew acronym מ’ג’ע א’ש:
מ Hamotzi and then M’zonot.
ג Gefen.
ע Eitz.
א Adamah.
ש Shehakol.
However, there is one exception to the above rule; the Bracha M’zonot only precedes Hagefen if the item is produced from one of the five grains (i.e. wheat, barley, oats, spelt and rye). If the item is produced from other grains (for example, rice) one should first recite Hagafen on the wine.
When the items have the same Bracha:
• Foods from the Shivat haminim precede other foods (for example, cooked wheat precedes tomatoes and dates precede apples).
• Within the Shivat haminim themselves one should follow the following order; olives, dates, grapes/raisins, dates and pomegranates.
• Items produced from wheat precede those produced from barley.
• A food whose Bracha is Shehakol precedes drinks of the same Bracha.
• An item which is whole has preference over one that is not (for example, a whole apple precedes half a date).
• If all the aforementioned parameters are equal (for example, a whole apple and a whole orange) one should give preference to the item which he enjoys more.
The correct order to make Brachot on food items
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