“Question: Do olives require a brocho when eaten during a meal?
Discussion: By way of introduction, foods eaten during the course of a bread meal do not require a brocho if they are “”bo machmas se’udo””. This is typically defined as foods eaten together with bread (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim SIman 177 se’if 1). The Mishna Berura (s.k. 1) proves from “dayso” (porridge) that foods eaten for satiation are also included in the exemption of bo machmas se’udo. (This is because dayso is a food that is eaten by itself and is not eaten together with bread in the literal sense, and still it is listed as a food that does not require a brocho in the course of a bread meal. We see therefore that bo machmas se’udo includes foods such as these. In the Bi’ur Halocho the Mishna Berura defines this further and quotes Tosfos and the Rosh who maintain that a food that is eaten for satiation is included in the definition of bo machmas se’udo).
Foods that are eaten during the course of a bread meal but are not eaten together with bread and are also not eaten for satiation (e.g. fruits) will require a brocho rishona during a bread meal, since they are not “”bo machmas se’udo”” (Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim SIman 177 se’if 1).
Olives and pickles eaten at the beginning of a meal are typically not eaten together with bread, nor are they eaten for satiation. Therefore, the default position regarding olives and pickles should be to require a brocho rishona during a meal.
However, the Magen Avraham (SIman 174 s.k. 11) quotes several Rishonim (Rashi, Tosfos, and the Mordechai) who maintain that foods eaten in order to whet the appetite are considered “”bo machmas se’udoh”” because they stimulate one’s appetite for the meal (the Tur and Bach rule in line with these Rishonim).
Although other opinions (the Re’ah in Sefer Hachinuch mitzvah 430) disagree with this view, the conclusion of the Magen Avraham is that foods eaten during the course of a meal in order to whet the appetite are considered “”bo machmas se’udoh”” and therefore do not require their own brocho (rishono or acharono).
The conclusion of the Mishna Berura (Siman 174 s.k. 39) regarding olives and similar foods eaten during a bread meal is that although it is ideal to avoid the machlokes by making a brocho on a small amount of the food before the meal; the minhag is to be lenient [and not recite a brocho during a bread meal on foods being eaten in order to whet the appetite].
The reason the Mishna Berura advises eating a small amount specifically is because were one to eat an amount the size of a k’zayis he may be required to recite a brocho acharona on the food before he begins his bread meal. Obviously, reciting a brocho acharona would defeat the purpose of eating the food, because the food item may still require a new brocho during the meal.
The opinion of the Kaf Hachayim (Siman 177 s.k. 10) is that although the main Halacha follows the Rishonim who do not require a brocho on foods eaten in order to whet the appetite during the course of a bread meal, it would be prudent to avoid the machlokes by eating some of this food together with bread [and thus all would agree that no brocho needs to be recited].
Conclusion: Olives, pickles and similar foods that are eaten at the beginning of a bread meal do not require a brocho. It would be prudent wherever feasible to either eat a small amount of the food before the meal in order to be able to recite a brocho on it, or to eat some of the food during the bread meal together with bread, and thus satisfy all opinions.
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