A few days ago, I was invited to a friend’s wedding near Petach Tikva. The affair took place in a fairly nice building with a magnificent garden. Before the ceremony, the guests wandered in and out, finding tables of delicacies at strategic points both indoors and outdoors.
I realized right away that this posed a problem. So, if I would sample some kibbeh in the building and then get some yebra outside, would I need to recite the blessing of bore mine mezonot a second time? When I first recited it, I didn’t even know that there was yebra available.
In my own home, this could also be a problem. Suppose I ate some macaroni and then decided to have a piece of cake for dessert. Since I didn’t think about the cake when I first recited the blessing, must I now repeat it?
At the wedding, however, I was a guest. The Shulhan Arukh states that when a guest recites a blessing, he automatically means for it to cover anything he will be served by his host. For example, if he is served a glass of water and he recites the blessing of shehakol, that blessing automatically covers any meat, candy or ice cream that he might be served afterward even though he did not expect those things.
There was another problem. The Shulhan Arukh states that if someone is eating in a building and goes outside, he needs to recite another blessing if he wishes to resume eating, whether he remains outside or if he returns to his original location. This is called the rule of shinui makom, changing one’s location.
According to Maran in the Shulhan Arukh, this is an issue even if someone recites hamotzi and eats bread. According to Rama, however, once someone eats bread his meal does not end until he recites Birkat Hamazon, and he must recite it at the location he ate. Therefore, even if he changes locations, he is rooted to the place where he must recite Birkat Hamazon. Thus, even if he goes outside or to another building, he can return to his first place and resume eating without reciting hamotzi a second time.
In practice, we follow this lenient opinion. In fact, even if someone recited the blessing of bore mine mezonot for any food made of grain (not rice) and changed locations, he may return and resume eating without repeating the blessing.
All this is fine for someone who asked no questions and went outside during his meal. The problem is that he really should not have gone outside without first reciting a berakha aharona for the food he ate. Then, of course, he will need to recite more blessings if he chooses to eat some more, no matter where he is. Is that what all the wedding guests must do if they wish to wander around the grounds of the wedding hall?
Naturally, the grounds are all fenced in. According to Harav Shemuel Wosner, a fenced-in yard is considered another room of the same house. The Shulhan Arukh states that if someone plans in advance to move from room to room in the house and he is aware of this when he recites the blessing, it is permissible to change rooms, whether to continue eating in the second room or to come back and resume eating without reciting an additional blessing.
Harav Shelomo Zalman Auerbach, however, disagreed and ruled that a yard is not considered another room of the house. Even so, he would not rule that the wedding guests must repeat the blessings when they change locations. This is because even if several people move inside or outside, there are always people who remain where they are. The Talmud (Pesahim 101b) teaches that as long as one person remains in the original location, the people who go outside are not subject to the rules of shinui makom.
Furthermore, it could be that when attending such an affair, there is no fixed location for any person’s eating. Since his intention from the beginning is to wander inside and outside as he pleases, he is like someone who begins eating while walking along the road. In such a case, all the rules of shinui makom are suspended and the original blessing covers the food the person eats wherever he goes.
In short, there is a lot to think about before deciding how to act at such a wedding. To make sure that we act correctly, it would be a good idea to study the new Yalkut Yosef Berakhot English Edition (Vol. V) in Siman 178.
