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There is a Halacha that one should say 100 Brachos per day. To what extend may and must one go to reach that number?

For example, if it is Tisha B'av and one is not near a minyan, may and must they find several opportunities to make a blessing over smelling spices if that is the only way to reach 100? Or in a similar situation but if it is Shabbos must one and may one have many small snacks for the sole purpose of getting to 100 Brachos?

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A L
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  • Regarding the nature of this "obligation" see: http://seforim.blogspot.com/2016/11/regarding-haftarah-on-simchat-torah-and.html. – mevaqesh Nov 09 '16 at 23:06

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The Mishnah Brurah (can't get exact place at the moment) discusses exactly that. On Shabbos, a person should each many snacks for the purpose of reaching 100 Brachos. On days like Yom Kippur, you should make the Bracha Borei Minei Besamin many times to reach 100 Brachos. I'm not sure how to do it on Tisha B'av though, because you can't smell spices in it.

M. Broder
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    Can you please elaborate about Tisha b'av? Are you not allowed to smell spices? Also I am prepared to accept this answer but would like to see some polishing, citation. – A L Aug 15 '16 at 03:08
  • Thanks for the comment. I'll edit that it. On Tisha B'av, you are not allowed to smell spices as the sole purpose of doing that during Havdalah is to give us some joy because we are sad that Shabbos is over. – M. Broder Aug 15 '16 at 03:10
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    Thank you. Please also add the citation when you get the chance. I am also curious to find out the priority between 100 blessings or no spices. – A L Aug 15 '16 at 03:13
  • On the spices on Tisha B'av part, could you also cite that? Like is it biblically or rabbinically prohibited or just nice to avoid? Compared to the various opinions on how important the 100 blessings are? – A L Aug 15 '16 at 03:30
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    Why is Yom Kippur different from Tisha Bav? Both are days of affliction with parallel prohibitions (if anything Tisha Bav is more lenient as it's Derabanan) – Double AA Aug 15 '16 at 04:16
  • @DoubleAA maybe that should be a separate question. From casual observation it appears a common practice to smell nice things on Yom Kippur. Maybe the difference is mourning versus not mourning. – A L Aug 15 '16 at 05:03
  • @AL He made the claim in this answer. If he wants to make the claim he should back it up. – Double AA Aug 15 '16 at 05:04
  • @DoubleAA I do agree that he should cite a prohibition of smelling spices on Tisha b'Av. – A L Aug 15 '16 at 05:05
  • A.L. - Perhaps, rather than sidetrack on a particular, here, the title of your question seems general, but the content focuses on Tish'a B'av. If you only want to know the general ruling, perhaps, you may want to delete the part about Tish'a B'Av? – DanF Aug 15 '16 at 15:49
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    @AL Sha'arei T'shuva 556:1 cites a dispute about whether one may smell spices on Tish'a B'Av. R' Chaim Benveniste says it's permitted, and the Sha'arei T'shuva interprets the Magen Avraham (556) as permitting during the day. However, the Gan HaMelech (§145) supposes this is prohibited like the other enjoyment-related activities that are inappropriate for Tish'a B'Av, such as pleasure strolls ("יש לאסרו בט"ב משום תענוג דלא גרע מכמה דברים שאסרו בט"ב אפי' לטייל אסור מפני שמסיח דעתו מן האבל והריח הוי עונג גדול שהנשמה נהנית ממנו"). – Fred Aug 17 '16 at 07:07
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    @AL ...The Chafetz Chayim also discusses this in Sha'ar HaTziyon 556:1 (see this comment). He says that the Magen Avraham seems to permit during the day, but that the Taz and the Vilna Gaon (s.v. "ואין") seem to prohibit smelling spices on Tish'a B'Av altogether. (IMHO, however, the Taz's position is unclear, as he just follows the indeterminate language of the Mord'chai). The Abudraham (סדר תפלת התעניות) also appears to permit during the day. – Fred Aug 17 '16 at 07:46
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    One more data point: The Hagahos Maimoniyos (Minhagei Tish'a B'Av) indicates that there's an opinion that one should recite a blessing on b'samim during the pseudo-havdala when Tish'a B'Av (or the 10th of Av) is after Shabbos, but that it isn't their custom or the custom of their rabbis. He doesn't comment further on this. | In sum, there are various opinions, and the only rishon (Abudraham) to clearly address this while also rejecting b'samim at night (per our custom) seems to permit spices during the daytime. cc @DoubleAA – Fred Aug 17 '16 at 08:05
  • @Fred why not make this an answer? – A L Aug 17 '16 at 19:54
  • @AL Because whether you may smell spices on Tish'a B'Av is tangential to your question (To what extent may and must one go to reach 100 Brachos per day?). But it is relevant to this answer that assumes smelling spices on Tish'a B'Av is prohibited. If you want to ask a different question about whether one may smell spices on Tish'a B'Av, my comments could form a partial basis of an answer (though more research into contemporary opinions on this would be desirable)... – Fred Aug 17 '16 at 20:09
  • @AL ...Once you establish a baseline for the practical halacha about spices on Tish'a B'av in general, that could then work into addressing your spice-smelling example in this question. E.g. "It is a dispute among classic poskim whether or not one may smell spices on Tish'a B'Av during the daytime. Some contemporary poskim say it is best to be strict out of doubt. See linked answer here. However, due to the priority of 100 b'rachos per day, one could extrapolate from the reasoning of poskim A and B that this priority would incline the consensus in this case towards leniency." – Fred Aug 17 '16 at 20:23