Feel free to take this guide with you to help you out on your sukkah crawl! (If it is Shabbat and there is no eruv in your area then please don’t carry this – you could leave a copy in each sukkah you plan to visit before Shabbat.)
Hamotzi is said before eating bread made from the five grains (wheat, barley, oats, rye and spelt). Before making Hamotzi, we wash hands and say “Al Netilat Yadaim”. ארֶץ ָּ ָּמל ֶך ְהָּעול ָּם הַמּ וצִיא לֶחֶם מִן ה ֶ ּ בָּּרו ּך ְאַתּ ה ה' אֱלקינו Baruch ata Hashem, Elokeinu Melech Ha’Olam Hamotzi lechem min ha’aretz. Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth. •
•
Mezonot is said before eating snack foods made from the five grains. This includes biscuits and cakes made with flour. מל ֶך ְהָּעול ָּם בּורֵא מִינ ֵי מְזונות ֶ ּ בָּּרו ּך ְאַתּ ה ה' אֱלקינו Baruch ata Hashem, Elokeinu Melech Ha’Olam borei minei mezonot. Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who creates various kinds of sustenance.
•
Hagefen is said before drinking wine or grape juice.
פרִי הַגָּּפֶן ְ ּ מל ֶך ְהָּעול ָּם בּורֵא ֶ ּ בָּּרו ּך ְאַתּ ה ה' אֱלקינו
Baruch ata Hashem, Elokeinu Melech Ha’Olam borei pri hagefen. Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine. •
Ha’etz is said over tree fruits. Included in this are the five fruits from the Shivat Haminim (grapes, figs, pomegranate, olives, dates). Other fruit with this bracha include blueberries, apples, peaches and kiwis. פרִי הָּעֵץ ְ ּ מל ֶך ְהָּעול ָּם בּורֵא ֶ ּ בָּּרו ּך ְאַתּ ה ה' אֱלקינו Baruch ata Hashem, Elokeinu Melech Ha’Olam borei pri ha-etz. Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the tree.
Ha’adama is said over fruit which is not covered by the bracha of Ha’etz. Examples include bananas, strawberries, melon and vegetables. דמָּה ָּ א ֲ ָּפרִי ה ְ ּ מל ֶך ְהָּעול ָּם בּורֵא ֶ ּ בָּּרו ּך ְאַתּ ה ה' אֱלקינו Baruch ata Hashem, Elokeinu Melech Ha’Olam borei pri ha’adama. Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe who creates the fruit of the earth. •
•
Shehakol is said over all food that doesn’t fit into one of the above categories. This includes meat, eggs, cheese, sweets, and drinks (apart from wine or grape juice). דבָּרו ְ ִּשהַכּל נִהְי ָּה ב ֶ מל ֶך ְהָּעול ָּם ֶ ּ בָּּרו ּך ְאַתּ ה ה' אֱלקינו ּ אֱלהֵינו Baruch ata Hashem, Elokeinu Melech Ha’Olam shehakol nihiyah bidvaro. Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, by Whose word all things came to be.
Leishev Basukkah should be said sitting down in every sukkah over foods with a bracha of Hamotzi, Mezonot, or Hagefen. Say the bracha on the food, then say leishev, then eat the food. וְצִו ָּּנו ּ לישב בסוכה,מצְותָּיו ִ ְְּשנו ּ ב ָּ ֲּשר קִ ד ֶ א,מל ֶך ְהָּעול ָּם ֶ ּ בָּּרו ּך ְאַתּ ָּה י ְהו ָּה אֱלהֵינו Baruch Ata Hashem Elokeinu Melech Haolam Asher Kideshanu Bemitzvotav Vetzivanu Leishev Basukkah. Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to sit in the Sukkah.
•
Birkat Hamazon is said after eating Hamotzi bread. If you need to say this, please ask your hosts for benchers.
•
Birkat Main Shalosh is a bracha that is adapted depending on what you ate, divided according to the following three sections: - "Al hamichya" is said after non-bread foods made of any of the five grains - wheat, barley, rye, oat, spelt. - "Al hagafen" is said after wine and grape juice; - "Al ha’etz" is said after one or more of the five fruits of Israel - grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives or dates. מל ֶך ְהָּעול ָּם ֶ ּ בָּּרו ּך ְאַתּ ה ה' אֱלקינו
(on grapes, figs, pomegranate, olives, dates) פרִי הָּעֵץ ְ ּ עַל הָּעֵץ וְעַל
(on wine/grape juice) עַל הַגֶּפֶן וְעַל פרִי הַגֶּפֶן ְּ
(on grains) מחְי ָּה וְעַל הַכַּלְכָּּל ָּה ִ ַעַל ה
' ַרחֵם נא ה, ִּשבּועַ מִטּ וּבָּה ְ ִפ ְרי ָּהּ וְל ִ ּ ש ָּרצִיתָּ וְהִנְחַל ְתּ ָּ לַאֲבותֵינו ּ לֶאֱכל מ ֶ מדָּּה טובָּה ו ּ ְרחָּבָּה ְ ֶארֶץ ח ֶ ַשדֶה וְעַל ָּ ּ וְעַל תּ ְנוּבַת ה ָּ ָּ ָּ ָּ ָּ ּ ּשלַי ִם עִיר הַקּ דֶש ָּ ו ּבְנ ֵה י ְרו,מזְבְּחֶך וְעַל הֵיכָּל ֶך ִ כְבודֶך וְעַל ּ כַן ּ ִש ְ ּשלַי ִם עִירֶך וְעַל צִיון מ ָּ ִש ָּראֵל עַמּ ֶך וְעַל י ְרו ְ אֱלקינו ּ עַל י טהֳרָּה ָּ ְֻשה וּב ָּ ּ ִשבַּע מִטּ וּבָּהּ ו ּנְבָּ ֶרכ ְך ָּעָּל ֶיהָּ בִּקְ ד ְ ִפרְי ָּּהּ ו ְנ ִ ּ ְשמּ ְ חֵנו ּ בְּבִנְי ָּנ ָּהּ ו ְנאכ ַל מ ַ מהֵרָּה בְּיָּמֵינו ּ וְהַעֲל ֵנו ּ ל ְתוכ ָּהּ ו ְ ִּב (on Shabbat) בָּת הַזּ ֶּה ּ ַש ַ ּ בְיוֹם ה ּ ּ חל ִיצֵנו ֲ ַו ּ ְרצֵה וְה מחֵנו ּ בְּיום חַג הסוכות הַזּ ֶה ְ ְש ַ ו ארֶץ וְעַל ָּ ָּמטִיב לַכּל ו ְנודֶה ל ְך ָּעַל ה ֵ ּ כּ ִי אַתּ ָּה ה' טוב ו (on grapes, figs, pomegranate, olives, ּ ה dates): בָּּרו ּך ְאַתּ ָּה ה' עַל:ַפֵרות ּ ארֶץ וְעַל ה ַפֵרות ָּ ָּה
(on wine/grape juice) פרִי ְּ ארֶץ ָּ ָּ בָּּרו ּך ְאַתּ ָּה ה' עַל ה:הַגָּּפֶן פרִי הַגָּּפֶן ְ ּ וְעַל
(on grains) בָּּרו ּך ְאַתּ ָּה ה' עַל מחְי ָּה וְעַל הַכַּלְכָּּל ָּה ִ ַארֶץ וְעַל ה ָּ ָּה: מחְי ָּה ִ ַה
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, for On grains: the sustenance and for the nourishment,
On wine: the vine and for the fruit of the vine,
On fruit: the tree and the fruit of the tree,
for the produce of the field, and for the precious, good, and spacious land which You have graciously given as a heritage to our ancestors, to eat of its fruit and to be satiated with its goodness. Have mercy, Lord our God, on Israel Your people, on Jerusalem Your city, on Zion the abode of Your glory, on Your altar, and on Your Temple. Rebuild Jerusalem, the holy city, speedily in our days, and bring us up to it and make us rejoice in it, and we will bless You in holiness and purity. On Shabbat: May it please You to strengthen us on this Shabbat day. Remember us for good on this day of the festival of Sukkot. For You, Lord, are good and do good to all, and we offer thanks to You for the land and for On grains: the sustenance. Blessed are You Lord, for the land and for the sustenance.
On wine: On fruit: the fruit of the vine. Blessed are You the fruits. Blessed are You Lord, Lord, for the land and for the fruit of the for the land and for the fruits. vine.
•
Borei Nefashot is said after eating food with the bracha of ha’etz (apart from the five fruits mentioned above), ha’adamah and shehakol. שבָּּרָּאתּ ָּ לְהַחֲיות בָּּהֶם נֶפֶש כּ ָּל חָּי בָּּרו ּך ְ חֵי הָּעולָּמִים ֶ מל ֶך ְהָּעול ָּם בּורֵא נְפָּשות ַרבּות וְחֶסְרונ ָּן עַל כּ ָּל מַה ֶ ּ בָּּרו ּך ְאַתּ ה ה' אֱלקינו
Baruch ata Hashem elokeinu melech ha’olam borei nefashot rabot v’chesronan al kol ma she’barata l’hachayot bahem nefesh kol chai baruch chei ha’olamim. “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Creator of numerous living beings and their needs, for all the things You have created with which to sustain the soul of every living being. Blessed is He who is the Life of the worlds.”
•
A bracha is required whenever eating even a small amount of food.
•
Know what bracha you must make before you begin.
•
Do not talk until you swallow the first bite.
•
As the name of God is mentioned in each bracha, and we do not say God's name in vain, we don't say a bracha unnecessarily. An exception is when teaching brachot to a child, as for purposes of education it is not considered, "in vain."
•
Answer Amen immediately after hearing a bracha being concluded by another person. (Do not say Amen after your own bracha.)
•
After eating at least a k'zayit of food (approximately one ounce) or a revi'it of liquid (approximately four ounces), a bracha acharona (after-blessing) is said. After-blessings should be said as soon as possible after one has finished eating.
•
If a person did not originally make a bracha on their food they are still required to say a bracha acharona.
•
In order to say the bracha acharona, the above-mentioned minimum amount of food should be eaten within approximately six minutes. If it takes longer, such as when slowly sipping a hot drink, it is questionable whether one is allowed to recite the bracha acharona.
•
Bracha acharona should be said in the same place that you ate, therefore you are required to make it before leaving the sukkah and to make a new set of brachot in the next sukkah.