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When oil is mixed with vegetables, which gets the bracha? The Gemara (גמרא) presents multiple frameworks for ikar v'tafal: quantity (more oil makes it ikar), function (medical use), or combination principles. The shiur shows how Rashi (רש"י), Rambam (רמב"ם), and Bahag's competing readings create entirely different practical outcomes for everyday brachos.
This complex Gemara (גמרא) shiur analyzes Brachos 35b, focusing on the fundamental principles of ikar v'tafal (primary and secondary foods) in hilchos brachos. Rabbi Zweig begins by examining a fundamental dispute between Rashi (רש"י) and the Rambam (רמב"ם) regarding making brachos on oil (shemen zayis). Rashi holds that when oil is consumed alone, no bracha is made at all, while the Rambam requires a bracha. The Gemara's statement that oil 'brings worms' creates a tension that needs reconciliation with these positions. The discussion centers on two distinct applications of ikar v'tafal. The first case involves oil eaten with bread (pas), where Rashi innovatively explains that the bread becomes ikar not because it makes the oil edible, but because the oil functions as a mere spread (litfan) on the bread. This creates a subordinate relationship based on the manner of eating rather than on necessity for edibility.
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Brachos 35b
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