One of the well-known customs of the Shavuot holiday is eating dairy foods – especially cheesecakes. But what is the proper blessing to recite over cheesecake? Is it just one blessing, or are there cases in which two different blessings are required?Rabbi Shay Tahan, head of the Shaarei Ezra Kollel in Brooklyn, New York, and head of the Erez HaLevanon Halachic Court, addressed the issue in a detailed halachic explanation.
According to him, one must distinguish between types of cheesecakes. There are cakes in which the cheese is mixed with flour or grain-based flours, and there are cakes in which there are two separate layers – a thick cheese layer on top, and a thin flour-based crust on the bottom.
Rabbi Tahan explained: There are cakes in which the cheese itself is mixed together with various flours to give them a good taste. Therefore, the blessing for such a thing is “Borei Minei Mezonot” (Who creates various kinds of nourishment), because anything that contains one of the five species of grain – its blessing is Mezonot. And even though the majority is cheese, we do not follow the majority when it comes to the five species of grain that are part of a mixture.
On the other hand, he added, in cases where the cheese is a thick layer by itself, placed on a thin layer of dough – the ruling is different.
According to him, if it is just a thick layer of cheese without flour, and only a thin layer of flour at the bottom that holds the cheese, since that layer also has a good taste and is placed there also to enhance the flavor – two blessings are recited.
The first blessing – “Borei Minei Mezonot” – is recited over the crust, and a small piece of it should be taken first. After that, the blessing “Shehakol Nihyah Bidvaro” (That all came into being by His word) is recited over the cheese layer. The reason for this order is the halachic precedence of blessings, according to which Mezonot takes precedence over Shehakol.
In addition, even regarding the concluding blessing, they should be treated separately: Since we have determined that they are two distinct items – two different concluding blessings must be recited. If one ate from the Mezonot portion an amount of a kezayit (about 27 grams) within approximately seven minutes – one recites “Al HaMichya.” And if one ate from the cheese a kezayit within that same time – one recites “Borei Nefashot,” Rabbi Tahan explained.
This ruling also appears in the book Birkat Hashem by Rabbi Moshe Levi, and Rabbi Tahan concluded his remarks as follows: “One must be careful about this, especially during these days when it is customary to eat cheesecakes for Shavuot – so as not to stumble in an improper blessing,” he said in conclusion.
By David Berger, in collaboration with Shuva Yisrael
