**All citations come from the Orach Chaim section of the particular source, if applicable.**<\/em> \tYou sit down to eat, and in front of you lays a greasy, steamy, delicious slice of pizza. You eagerly pick it up, bring in to your mouth \u2014 and look at it, perplexed. What bracha should be recited before eating it: hamotzi<\/em> because the crust is kind of like bread, or mezonot <\/em>since pizza is a grain product that isn\u2019t bread?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tThe easy option is to say mezonot<\/em>, since hamotzi <\/em>requires you to find a washing station \u2014 taking time away from your pizza. But the easy option isn\u2019t always the right option in Halacha, and even if it is, you should know why. So what bracha should one recite on pizza? Like everything in Halacha: it depends. \tThe source for brachot<\/em> before eating comes from a mishnah in Masechet Brachot (35a). The Mishnah records that one recites hamotzi<\/em> on bread; on 35b, the Gemara concludes that the bracha mezonot<\/em> applies to products from the five grains (wheat, barley, spelt, oats, and rye), excluding bread itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tThis seems simple, but not all grain products clearly fall into the categories of \u201cbread\u201d or \u201cnot bread.\u201d Brachot 42a tells a story of Rav Huna eating thirteen sweetened loaves; the Gemara notes that he didn\u2019t say birkat hamazon<\/em> afterwards, since he didn\u2019t consider it to be bread. Rav Nachman admonishes him, saying that eating that much food shows he ate as a full-fledged meal, and any amount generally considered a meal necessitates birkat hamazon <\/em>(and by extension, hamotzi<\/em>). The Gemara concludes that this category of foods, labeled pat haba b\u2019kisnin <\/em>(literally: bread that comes as dessert), requires hamotzi<\/em> if one establishes a meal on it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \tFrom a plain reading of the Gemara, two questions jump out: What is pat haba b’kisnin<\/em>, and what constitutes establishing a meal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three main definitions of pat haba b’kisnin <\/em>exist. The Rambam (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Brachot 3:9) writes that when one mixes honey, oil, milk, spices, or other ingredients similar to those into dough, and then bakes it (such as a cake), he creates pat haba b’kisnin<\/em>. The Tur (168), among others, describes this category as bread baked with pockets of sugar, almonds, nuts, or the like (similar to a pie). Rabbi Hai Gaon (as recorded by the Beit Yosef (168:9)) holds that pat haba b’kisnin <\/em>is a mildly spicy cracker.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Beit Yosef then introduces the idea that due to the principle of safek brachot l\u2019hakel <\/em>(we act leniently in doubts regarding brachot<\/em>) all three of these categories earn the status of a pat haba b’kisnin<\/em>, and warrant mezonot <\/em>(if eaten in a small portion). The same author, Rabbi Yosef Karo, similarly writes in the Shulchan Aruch (168:7) that all three opinions are accepted, a decision unchallenged, and even recodified, by later authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tThe Aruch Hashulchan (168:15, based on the Beit Yosef 168:9) clarifies that pat haba b\u2019kisnin<\/em> is, in fact, bread, but the rabbis conditionally excluded it from the laws of bread regarding hamotzi<\/em> and birkat hamazon<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \tNow that we know what pat haba b’kisnin <\/em>is, the question now becomes what bracha should be made on those foods. Brachot (42a) clearly distinguishes between using pat haba b’kisnin<\/em> to establish a meal and eating it outside the context of a meal, a differentiation accepted by all halachic authorities. If one establishes a meal on pat haba b’kisnin<\/em>, he makes hamotzi <\/em>before and birkat hamazon <\/em>afterwards; otherwise, one says mezonot <\/em>and al hamichya<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \tThe Gemara (Brachot 42a) requires hamotzi<\/em> on an amount of pat haba b’kisnin<\/em> \u201con which others would establish a meal.\u201d Nearly all commentators understand that the standard for saying hamotzi <\/em>(and birkat hamazon<\/em>) is the amount of food that most people would make a meal on, not necessarily what the individual intends to be his<\/em> established meal. This concept of nullifying the eater\u2019s own intentions relative to the majority of people first appears in the Tur. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Tur\u2019s understanding would imply that one\u2019s personal level of satiation is secondary to the general public\u2019s satiation from a particular amount of food. (Rosh (Berachot 6:30) , Beit Yosef (168:8), Shulchan Aruch (168:6)).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Rosh seems to disagree, instead basing the bracha one recites on the context in which one eats \u2014 meal or dessert\/snack \u2014 regardless of the amount he eats. However, this is not the mainstream, accepted halacha. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although nearly all authorities agree that the standard for saying hamotzi<\/em> comes from what others would establish as a meal, the poskim debate the volume of that amount. The Mishnah Berurah (168:24) understands the Beit Yosef as writing that this amount is the regular amount for a morning or evening meal, the two main mealtimes in his day. (According to the Mishnah Berurah, the Vilna Gaon holds this way.) Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (Igrot Moshe 3:32) notes that according to this view, the amount needed to establish a meal would fluctuate based on cultural norms in each time and place. He extends this ruling even to different age groups \u2014 meaning that the amount for establishing a meal would likely be higher for a teenager than for an eldery person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Mishnah Berurah also presents an opinion for the amount of a meal based on the laws of establishing a residence for Shabbat (eruvei techumin<\/em>), which would equate a meal to four beitzim <\/em>(volume of an egg), which equals roughly \u00be cups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Mishnah Berurah concludes that if possible, one should try to adhere to the more strict view of four beitzim<\/em>, even though he thinks the Beit Yosef\u2019s opinion fits better with the language of the Shulchan Aruch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Aruch Hashulchan (168:16) contributes that the volume for establishing a meal could equal half of an omer <\/em>(21.6 beitzim<\/em>), based on the volume of the man<\/em> that fell in the desert. (Rabbi Feinstein doesn\u2019t cite this as a primary opinion, only addressing the other two.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Magen Avraham (168:13) adds a wrinkle, recorded in Igrot Moshe as a potential concern, that if a pat haba b’kisnin<\/em> dish is usually eaten with side dishes or toppings, one could count those side dishes towards the amount for establishing a meal, which would lower the amount of the bread product needed. The Magen Avraham further contends that even if one only ate the pat haba b’kisnin<\/em> product and not its accompanying sides, he would still say hamotzi <\/em>on it if he is filled by that smaller amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t<\/strong>As you might have guessed, many authorities consider pizza to be pat haba b’kisnin<\/em>. At first glance, it seems to make a lot of sense: Pizza is a baked grain product that isn\u2019t bread because of the tomato sauce and cheese baked on it, similar to pie. (All authorities would agree that pizza made by baking the crust and only afterwards adding toppings would certainly be considered bread since bread status can\u2019t be retroactively removed.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even here, however, machloket<\/em> strikes. The Shulchan Aruch (168:17) codifies that the bracha on a dish called \u201cpashtida<\/em>\u201d (a bread product baked together with meat, fish or cheese) is always hamotzi<\/em>. The Magen Avraham (168:44) explains that since meat, fish, and cheese are considered \u201csubstantial\u201d foods by themselves, one would make hamotzi <\/em>even if one doesn\u2019t establish a meal on it \u2014 despite its appearance as pat haba b’kisnin<\/em>. The Mishnah Berurah (168:94) elaborates that the halachic status of pashtida<\/em> is such since people eat the dish in order to fill them up, like regular bread, so it, in essence, adopts bread\u2019s status as an \u201calways hamotzi\/<\/em>meal food,\u201d regardless of quantity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The takeaway from pashtida<\/em> is that food made in the manner of pat haba b’kisnin<\/em> can retain the status of \u201cmeal food\u201d (on which one would recite hamotzi<\/em>) if it is always eaten as a meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On this last point, Rabbi Chaim Jachter (in an article published YUTorah titled \u201cThe Bracha on One Slice of Pizza\u201d) breaks down the opinions of various gedolim<\/em> on pizza\u2019s status as either regular pat haba b’kisnin<\/em> or a pashtida<\/em>-type food. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Rabbi Jachter explains that Rabbi Feinstein was reported to have included pizza as pat haba b’kisnin<\/em>, meaning that one slice (less than the amount for establishing a meal) would be mezonot<\/em>, but two slices (Rabbi Feinstein\u2019s estimate of the amount for establishing a meal) require hamotzi<\/em>. Rabbi Jachter includes the opinion of Rabbi Mordechai Willig, who says (Am Mordechai<\/em>, p.99) that pizza is normally eaten nowadays in the context of a meal, not a snack, meaning it has the status of meal food, not pat haba b’kisnin <\/em>\u201csnack\/dessert food.\u201d Rabbi Jachter also records that Rabbis Ovadia Yosef, Yisroel Belsky, Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, and Hershel Schachter all consider pizza to be meal food, requiring hamotzi<\/em> on any amount of pizza. If you have two slices of pizza (or more), almost all halachic authorities agree one would need to say hamotzi <\/em>and birkat hamazon<\/em>, since that amount is almost certainly more than four beitzim<\/em> and also seems to qualify in contemporary American society as a filling meal. (A teenager perhaps could argue along the lines of Igrot Moshe (3:32) that the average meal for a teenager is three slices of pizza.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the justapinch.com \u201cPerfect Pizzeria Pizza Dough\u201d recipe, baking an average 16\u201d pizza requires three pounds of flour, meaning that each slice would require less than four beitzim <\/em>of flour (needed for kevi\u2019at seudah<\/em> per the Mishnah Berurah (186:24)). Regarding the opinion of Rabbi Feinstein, one slice wouldn\u2019t seem to satisfy an average person as a meal, also indicating that one would recite mezonot <\/em>on one slice. Therefore, unless one follows the Magen Avraham (168:13) method of including toppings, it doesn\u2019t seem one slice satisfies the amount for kevi\u2019at seudah<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, if one holds that pizza is meal food in the vein of pashtida<\/em>, then even a single bite of pizza would require hamotzi<\/em>, as it does with a slice of bread. <\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter what bracha you decide to recite on pizza, know why you do so, and enjoy your pizza! Pat Haba B\u2019kisnin, Establishing a Meal, and We Don\u2019t Care About Your Intentions – Matthew Minsk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-torah","entry","rows"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/384-3843443_photo-cheese-pizza-vertical-double-cheese-margherita-pizza.jpg?fit=820%2C606&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=623"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":626,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623\/revisions\/626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nPat Haba B\u2019Kisnin<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Establishing a Meal<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This is all great\u2026 but how does it relate to pizza?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSo where does that leave you, holding up your slice of pizza?<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"