Fruit Order of Preference

Fruit Order of Preference

The Torah describes the Land of Israel as, “A land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey [from dates] (Deut. 8:8).” When a person has a variety of fruit set out before him, and all are from the Shivas Haminim, the Seven Species which Eretz Yisroel is praised for, there is a din kedimah, an order of priority, regarding which fruit should have the brachah recited on it. The order is based on the sequence in which the Shivas Haminim are listed in the above verse: 1. olives, 2. dates, 3. grapes, 4. figs, and 5. pomegranates. In a case where a particular fruit is chaviv, cherished, for example if a person prefers a pomegranate, they may make the brachah on the pomegranate and eat it first, even before the other fruits that normally have priority. A person may even make the brachah of ha’eitz on a fruit which is not one of the Shivas Haminim if that is chaviv to them. Wine is considered to be one of the Seven Species of Eretz Yisroel, since it is produced from grapes, and requires the brachah borei pri hagafen. If a person is having both wine and olives they should make hagafen on the wine first, since wine is more chashuv, as “Wine gladdens the heart of man”; besides, the brachah of hagafen is a more specific brachah than ha’eitz. Likewise, hamotzie or mezonos on wheat receive priority over the brachah of ha’eitz on any fruit. 

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Practical Halacha: One minute a day. By Horav Yosef Yeshaya Braun, shlita, Mara D'asra and member of the Badatz of Crown Heights.