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    07 Jan KASHRUS QUESTIONS & ANSWERS WITH RABBI MOSHE ELEFANT

    Posted at 19:49h in by
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    If one made a bracha
    on food and then
    remembered that it
    is a fast day, what
    should he do?
    This situation presents a dilemma. On
    the one hand, it is prohibited to eat even
    a small bite of food on a fast day. On the
    other hand, if one will not take a bite of the
    food after reciting the bracha, the bracha
    will be a bracha livatala (blessing recited in
    vain). No matter what the person does, a
    prohibition will be violated. The question
    is, which prohibition is more severe and
    should be avoided?
    There is a disagreement between the
    Rambam (Hilchos Brachos 1:15) and
    Tosofos (Rosh Hashana 33a) regarding
    the severity of reciting a bracha livatala.
    According to the Rambam, reciting a
    bracha for no reason is a Torah prohibition,
    while according to Tosofos, it is a Rabbinic
    prohibition. Ashkenazim generally follow
    the position of Tosofos. Accordingly, for
    Ashkenzim, both a bracha livatala and
    eating on a ta’anis are Rabbinic prohibitions

    on the same level of stringency. What then
    should be done? When faced with two
    equally bad outcomes, one should follow
    the dictum, “shev ve’al ta’aseh adif ” (it is
    best to be inactive and violate passively).
    In our case, the person should not eat,
    and transgress saying a bracha livatala in
    a passive manner. The individual should
    say “baruch shem kivod malchuso l’olam
    va’ed,” which is the formula recited if one
    said a bracha livatala.
    Sefardim generally follow the rulings of
    the Rambam. As such, Rav Ovadya Yosef
    (Yabia Omer YD 2:5) rules that a Sefardi
    should take a small bite and violate the
    rabbinic injunction of fasting rather than
    reciting a bracha livatala, which is a Torah
    prohibition according to the Rambam.
    However, the Kaf HaChaim (567:15) and
    Zechor L’Avraham cite many Sefardic
    poskim who disagree. They argue that it
    is better to not eat and violate a bracha
    livatala without willful intent (even
    though it is a Torah prohibition), rather
    than actively violate eating on a fast day
    (a Rabbinic restriction) with deliberate
    intention.