The Daily Halacha Moment - Women in Doubt of Birkat HaMazon 🗣️
״כל השונה הלכות בכל יום - מובטח לו שהוא בן העולם הבא״ (נידה עג ע״א, מגילה כח:)
“Anyone who studies Halachot every day is guaranteed that he is destined for the world-to-come” (Megilla 28b, Niddah 73a)
Question:
Do women repeat Birkat HaMazon if she's in doubt if she recited it or not?
Answer:
The question of whether a woman is obligated to recite Birkat HaMazon on a biblical level is the subject of debate and depends on how we interpret the Gemara in Berachot (20b). The discussion centers around whether a woman’s obligation is d’oraita (biblical) or d’rabbanan (rabbinic), and this distinction has practical ramifications in cases of doubt.
In a situation where a woman has eaten bread but is uncertain whether she recited Birkat HaMazon, the preferred course of action is to hear the blessing from someone else who is obligated and has not yet recited it. Alternatively, if that is not possible, she can wash her hands again, recite HaMotzei, eat another piece of bread, and then say Birkat HaMazon with certainty. This approach ensures that she fulfills the potential obligation without entering into a halachic doubt.
However, if neither of these options is feasible, the halachic ruling differs based on tradition. According to Ashkenazic authorities, since there is a strong possibility that women are indeed biblically obligated in Birkat HaMazon, she may recite it even in a case of doubt.[1] In contrast, Sephardic poskim rule more stringently, maintaining that due to the uncertainty regarding a woman’s biblical obligation, she should not say Birkat HaMazon in a case of doubt.[2]
Sources:
[1]. The Mishnah Berurah 186:3 holds that there's enough to rely on for a woman to go back and make Birkat HaMazon if she wants. This is also the opinion of Rabbi Binyamin Zilber quoted in VeZot HaBeracha p. 351.
[2]. Ben Ish Chai, Chukat 1:9; Kaf HaChaim 184:25; Ohr Letzion 2:13:4; Yachaveh Daat 6:10, and Halacha Berurah 184:10 (explained in Sh"t Otzerot Yosef 7:7) hold that a woman is possibly obligated Deoraita (Berachot 20b) and so in a case of doubt we revert to the rule of Safek Berachot and so a woman wouldn't return and make the beracha.
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