Parshas Devarim (Chazon) 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- Aug 1
- 2 min read
Monetary, Interpersonal Laws and Din Torah (41)
Traveling: Shinui Makom. Last week we began the laws of changing locations during eating regarding berachos, to apply them to car trips. The basic rule is that bread and mezonos require one to say the after-beracha in the place of eating. This connection to the first location, after eating a kezayis, makes it like he never left and no new beracha rishona is required, whether he continues eating in the new place or returns to the old place to continue eating. [If he does eat further in the new place he can now say the after-beracha there.] However, if he eats a food which has only a Borei Nefoshos after-beracha, if he changed locations he can say the after-beracha in the new place. If he continues eating he will need a new beracha to eat since he left the first house. [One after-beracha at the end covers both acts of eating.]
Holchei Derachim: Travelers. The halacha of needing a new beracha when changing places is only if one starts his eating to be in that specific place for a while, so his change of place is called a change. However, if he is ready to go and just has a bite or quick drink to start and then he leaves and continues, it is like he was never based in the first place at all and no change of place occurred to necessitate a new beracha (1).
Beracha Said in a Car. If a person said a beracha while he was in a car, whether the car is moving or stationary, even if the car was driven many miles away, it is not called a change of place, because his place is not the ground under him, but rather the car he is sitting in. If one left the car at a rest stop, we need to analyze if this is like eating in a house and then making a change of location which requires a new beracha before continuing to eat, by Borei Nefashos items. However, one could argue that a car is not made for eating and one is just “making do” and eating there, but is not considered based there. If this second way is true then no new beracha is required during the whole trip, because he was never based anywhere to consider it a change of place. This is the psak of R’ S. Z. Auerbach zt”l (2) and many other contemporary Poskim.
Beracha in the House to Continue Eating in the Car. If the person just started eating in the house and will go right after to the car, he will also not require a new beracha for the whole trip as in the previous paragraph. In all the above, drinking is like eating.
(1) או"ח קעח:ד, אגרות משה או"ח ב:נז (2) הליכות שלמה, פסח ט:קעט