We have finished siman 5, and there are a few points we need to clarify.
We learned the halacha of a guest, and the ability for one to outsource their daas to someone else. Rav Elyashiv zt”l applied this halacha to a husband and wife, if one of them is not involved in the decisions of what will be served. Similarly, it will apply to a child not involved in these decisions.
We have learned (shiur 1159) that one can have explicit daas to cover all foods from a specific bracha category. Preferably, they should have this daas it in mind before they recite the bracha. If they did not have this daas before beginning the bracha, as long as they had it in mind by the time they recited the name of Hashem, it is sufficient. Rav Elyashiv zt”l added that as long as one had this intent within a toch k’dei dibbur of reciting Hashem’s name, it is also sufficient. The time of toch k’dei dibbur is approximately 1.1 seconds.
A common situation that occurs is when one does not have a plan as to what they wish to eat when they make a bracha. For example, they make a shehakol before deciding whether they wish to eat food or drink a liquid. We have learned that a food cannot cover a drink, or vice versa, unless some of the original item is remaining on the table (shiur 1164). However, if a person generally takes a drink during their meal, the Mishnah Berurah discusses in a different context that the drink can be covered from the beginning of the meal, even if it is not yet on the table. The Mishnah Berurah writes that if one makes a borei pri hagafen before their meal, it will cover wine within the meal, but only if the person has explicit daas or is accustomed to drinking wine during the meal. Similarly, over here, since one is accustomed to drinking within their meal, their shehakol will cover drinks.
However, since the person did not have explicit daas, it will only cover drinks which are less choshuv than the food upon which he made the bracha. This is a type of daas which is in between explicit daas (where even more choshuv items would be included) and stam daas (where we would employ other considerations to determine what would be included in the bracha). (So it comes out that there are 6 types of daas)
Two examples of items which are more or less choshuv include shivas haminim versus non-shivas haminim, and an item which is chaviv to a person versus one which is not.
Summary
- The halacha of a guest outsourcing daas applies between family members who are not involved in meal planning as well.
- Explicit daas that a bracha should cover more than its default must be had not later than toch k’dei dibbur of reciting Hashem’s name.
- If one recites shehakol without explicit daas whether it is to cover a food or a drink, it can extend to cover a less choshuv item if the person is generally accustomed to consuming those types of items during their meals.
