Snuff Bracha or lack thereof

Question

Is there or what is the Bracha on Tobacco Snuff especially now that they come with mint and buble gum flavor (at least in Israel)?

@simchashatorah Some poskim think smoking cigarettes is assur too. I assume that would apply here as well. — Double AA, Jan 22 '12 at 06:13
No bracha is made on smoking anything, or inhaling any substance through the nose. Only when enjoying a naturally-occurring scent of a plant does one make the appropriate bracha (isvei, atzvei, minei) according to different customs. — , Jan 22 '12 at 09:57
@Will See this question regarding if it has to be naturally occurring. But it certainly does not have to be a plant as the Shulchan Aruch OC 216:2 explicitly mentions musk which is not a plant. — Double AA, Jan 22 '12 at 15:44
@doubleAA you're right; I should have written "naturally occurring" and then started a new sentence "If it's on a plant, the appropriate brachos are..." — , Jan 22 '12 at 16:29
@DoubleAA The carcinogens of smoking cigarettes don't appear to be an issue by inhaling snuff. See, e.g., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14561353 — Loewian, Oct 03 '19 at 12:55

score 4 · Answer 1 · edited Oct 10 '19 at 14:48

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HaRav Moshe Levi ZSWQ"L (Birkat Hashem vol. 3 12:3) and Maran HaRav Ovadia Yosef Zswq"l (Hazon Ovadia - Tu Beshvat/Berachot pg. 331) write not to make a blessing on snuff.

edited Oct 10 '19 at 14:48

Oliver

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answered Feb 15 '12 at 21:04

Hacham Gabriel

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score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 10 '19 at 13:58

באר היטב (216:32) writes not to make a bracha on regular, unflavored snuff (טואבק) inhaled by nose, because it is subject to a disagreement cited in Shulchan Aruch (ad loc., 6) regarding smells "שאין לו עיקר," ≈ a smell without a visible source.

The Dirshu edition of Mishna Berura (the first, not expanded edition) (note 24) cites Rav Elyashiv z"l (שיעורי מס' ברכות עמ' תע, וזאת הברכה בירור הלכה סי' מג אות ב) as ruling that scented snuff is the same as regular snuff; one should avoid smelling it. The author of the Dirshu writes parenthetically that if one did smell it, they should make a bracha according to some opinions, although Rav Elyashiv notes that this practice is not generally followed.¹

The Dirshu note also cites ערוך השלחן (סעיף ד) who provides an alternate reason to not make a blessing on snuff tobacco.

At the end of the note, they also cite מור וקציעה (סוף סי' רי) who does require a blessing on snuff (I did not see the מור וקציעה; however, I assume this includes snuff without added scent), but concludes that, as noted above (see footnote 1), this practice is not normative.

¹ הטבק שנותנים בו טיפות של ריח תלוי במחלוקת המובאת בשו"ע כאן, ומספק נכון שלא להריח אותו [...] (ואם למעשה מריח אותו, מבואר במשנ"ב להלן (ס"ק לב) שנקט במחלוקת זו שמברך. וראה בשיעורים שם בשם הגרי"ש אלישיב שלמעשה העולם נוהגים שלא לברך.) ‏

avi · Answer 3 · 2012-01-22T09:36:25.877

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The bracha for snuff, is borei minei/Isvei Bsamim. Same bracha you make on anything that you sniff or smell.

Some even use the snuff to help them reach 100 brachot a day.

edited Jan 22 '12 at 09:36

answered Jan 22 '12 at 09:05

avi

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I would've thought that snuff is Borei Isvei Vesamim as it is ground up leaves (to the best of my knowledge). Also, I thought the question was more about the added scents. – Double AA Jan 22 '12 at 09:13
@DoubleAA Not sure, I think it depends if they are sefardi or Ashkenazi. – avi Jan 22 '12 at 09:17
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The pleasant scent of snuff is artificial, not from the tobacco leaf itself. There is no bracha made on it. Those who smell leaves to help reach 100 brachos (like on a fast day where Birchas Hamazon won't be said) use fresh leaves or flowers of various varieties. – Jan 22 '12 at 09:56
@Will I'll be sure to tell the people at a shul in Harnof that they are all doing it wrong then. – avi Jan 22 '12 at 10:14
@avi there's no mitzvah to give rebuke if they're not going to listen. – Jan 22 '12 at 10:38
@Will LOL, clearly, and even if they don't notice it... – avi Jan 22 '12 at 10:45
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how about a source for your claim I have seen many elderly men in Yerushlayim and I never saw someone make a Bracha? – simchastorah Jan 22 '12 at 13:05
@simchastorah I obviously agree with you - but you've seen one practice in one part of Jerusalem, and avi has seen another practice in another part of Jerusalem; when it comes to halachic practice, even seeing isn't always believing (that it's correct). – Jan 22 '12 at 16:31

Snuff Bracha or lack thereof

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