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    Questions on this page:
     
  1. Should I make a bracha on gasoline if I like the smell? 

    2.  
  2. Why can't I look at a rainbow for longer then it takes to say the bracha? 

    3.  
  3. Which fruit should I make the bracha on? 

    4.  
  4. What do I do if I said the bracha on thunder by mistake? 



  1. Question: We learned about making a bracha on pleasant odors. I enjoy the smell of gasoline, should I say a bracha before smelling it? 


    2. Answer: The first thing that I did when I received this question, is send it to a doctor. I'd like to share his statement regarding inhaling the fumes of gasoline with you. It was given by Dr. Doron Spierer, formerly of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania who now resides in Jerusalem:

    "Gasoline is dangerous to smell for a bunch of reasons: It is volatile and flammable, meaning that the fumes insidiously seep into your skin, hair and clothes and can easily catch fire from something as simple as a nearby cigarette. The resultant fire would cause horrible, painful burns before it kills the victim.

    These fumes are carcinogenic and cause cancers of the mouth, neck and associated structures, leading to some of the most disfiguring surgeries I've seen.

    Although American gasoline no longer contains lead, the stuff is still full of other chemicals that are toxic to your brain. This causes lifetime diminished intelligence in an otherwise normally growing and developing child or adolescent."

    Based upon this response, it is clear that according to halacha one is not permitted to purposely inhale gasoline. (Smelling it in passing while filling up a gas tank etc of course can't be avoided, yet should obviously be kept to a minimum).

    (a) A bracha should not be made on items which pose a clear danger to a persons' health, because the item becomes an *issur* (as far as inhaling it goes).

    (b) In addition, the gasoline in a gas station is not placed there to provide an odor.

    Sources:This halacha (not to make a bracha on the smell of gasoline) is brought down in the book: "Vzot Habracha" page 178 (fifth edition), although for different reasons then mentioned.


     

     
  1. Question: Why can't you loook at a rainbow longer than it takes to say the bracha?


    2. Background: We learned that there is a special bracha one says when he sees a rainbow. The Shulchan Aruch, immediately after mentioning the bracha says that it is not permissible to look at the rainbow for a prolonged period of time.

    Answer: The Gemara (Chagiga 16a) mentions this amongst other things that a person shouldn't look at (for a prolonged period). Two other things are the Cohanim (while they are blessing Yisrael) and the Nasi. The Gemara explains that these things are representative of the Shechina, and therefore one shouldn't look at them. Maharsha explains that one who looks at the Shechina dies, and being representative of the Shechina one shouldn't look at these three things.

    Sources: Gemara Chagiga (16a) and Maharsh"a. Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 229:1.

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  2. Question: I have a whole apple, and a half of one of the fruit of the "shivat haminim". Which one should I make the bracha on?


    3. Background: We learned that when I am planning on eating a number of different fruits (all "boreh pri haetz"), I should choose one of the fruit to make the bracha on, and then another bracha is not required for the others. We choose which one to make the bracha on based on the following criteria:
    The first choice should be one of the "shivat haminim" (olives, dates, grapes, figs and pomegranate- in that order). If none of these fruits are available, second choice is a complete fruit (as opposed to a piece of a fruit). If all the fruits are whole, or all are cut, one should then choose his personal favorite fruit (out of the remaining fruit) to make the bracha on.

    Answer: Good question! The fruit of the shivat haminim, always precede (come before) the other types of fruit, even if they are not whole. The reason for this is that even though they are not whole, they are still considered the most "important" of the fruit.

    Sources: Mishna Brura Orach Chaim 211:4.

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  3. Question: The other night, I thought I heard thunder, and said the bracha ("shekocho u'gevurato maleh olam") that we learned about. I later discovered that the sound I heard wasn't thunder, but something else. Later that night I heard real thunder, did I have to make the bracha again? (We learned that the bracha is made once a day, unless the sky totally clears and another storm develops)


    4. Answer: You do have to say the bracha again, because the first time you said it by mistake, so it didn't count as a bracha.

    It's important to remember that if you say a bracha by mistake, it is considered a "bracha le'vatala" and you should immediately say "Baruch shem k'vod malchuto l'olam vaed."

    If you realize this in the middle of the bracha, after saying "Hashem", then you can complete the bracha by saying "lamdeni chukecha." (This information will be in the material for the 5760 (1999-2000) school year).

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