Halachos of Daily Living

Weekly Question: Laws related to Berachos

The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis This Column is dedicated in memory of: Rav Chaim Yisroel ben Reb Dov HaLevi Belsky, zt’l Senior OU Kosher Halachic Consultant from 1987-2016

According
to some opinions, the bracha for sugar is Ha’eitz or Ha’adama.
What is the explanation for these views?

The Tur writes that
the bracha for
sugar from sugarcane is Ha’eitz. The sugarcane is a woody perennial stalk
which has the status of a tree. Ordinarily, when juices are extracted from a
fruit the bracha changes
to Shehakol.
Nonetheless, in this case it remains Ha’eitz, since the main intent of growing the cane
is for these juices. The Tur holds the bracha is Ha’eitz, not only if one sucks on the sugarcane, but
even if one eats granulated sugar.

The Beiur Halacha
explains the rationale of the Baal Halachos Gedolos that the bracha on
sugar is Ha’adama.
Although sugarcane is a tree, it does not produce any actual fruit. Rather, the
juices that are extracted are taken from the cane itself. Since there is no
actual fruit, the bracha is downgraded to Ha’adama.

As noted the
accepted halacha is
to follow the opinion of the Rambam and recite Shehakol on sugar.

What bracha does
one recite on granulated cane sugar?

The Shulchan Aruch
(OC 202:15) follows the opinion of the Rambam that the bracha for
sugar is Shehakol.
However, the Mishna Berura writes that since there are varying opinions in
the Rishonim as
to the bracha for
cane sugar, bidieved (after
the fact), if one recited Ha’eitz (opinion of the Tur) or Ha’odama (opinion
of the Baal Halachos Gedolos), one does not repeat the bracha.

The accepted ruling
is that on all forms of sugar, whether extracted from a cane or a sugar beet,
we recite Shehakol.
The Beiur Halacha writes that even if one were to suck on the sugarcane itself,
one should recite Shehakol.