Fruits and Vegetables: Difference between revisions

# Bananas are haadama.<Ref>The Gemara Brachot 40a establishes that a tree is a plant that lasts from year to year. Rosh Brachot 6:23 cites a dispute between the Tosfot and Geonim whether a tree whose branches die from year to year and regenerate from the roots is considered a tree. Tosfot hold that it is a tree since the roots regenerate the rest of the tree. That was the opinion of the Maharam. The Tur 203:2 writes that the Rosh held like the Tosfot. However, the Geonim held it isn’t a tree since the branches themselves don’t last from year to year. Shulchan Aruch 203:3 writes that bananas are haadama because of the opinion of the geonim. Vezot Habracha p. 389 and Veten Bracha (Halachos of Brochos by Rabbi Bodner pg 393, chapter 22) agree. Vezot Habracha (Birur Halacha ch. 31-2) quotes Rav Elyashiv as saying that one can recite haetz on an apple before a haadama on a banana and there's no concern since a banana is certainly haadama. Or Letzion 2:46:39 writes that haetz doesn't work for bananas at all even after the fact since is like the geonim to treat it as haadama completely.</ref>

# If someone has in front of them a banana and apple one should recite a haetz on the apple first and haadama on the banana.<ref>Vezot Habracha (Birur Halacha 31:2 p. 302) writes that since the minhag is to treat bananas as haadama they're not a doubt and one can have the apple first. Or Letzion 2:46:39 seems to agree.</ref> Some say that one should have explicit intent not to exempt the banana with the haetz.<ref>Yabia Omer 8:26:2, Vezot Habracha (Birur Halacha 31:2 p. 302) who is concerned for this opinion. Yalkut Yosef OC 203:3 wrote that some say that one should recite the haadama on the banana and have intent not to exempt the apple, then recite haetz on the apple. </ref>