Blessing on pure orange juice

I always start my day with a glass of orange juice, I'm curious about the correct blessing to recite. Since oranges are tree-grown fruits, I would normally say 'Borei Pri Ha'etz,' but I'm wondering if the same applies when the fruit is in juice form. Could you advise me on this?

Thank you for your question.

This question is especially relevant today since drinking pure orange juice has become so popular that many oranges are specifically grown to be squeezed into juice. This wasn’t always the case, as fruit juice was originally developed to use up leftover fruits that couldn't be sold. This change of concept is very important and is relevant since it impacts the Halacha of which Bracha to recite for orange juice.

I will first present the Halacha and then an explanation.

The halacha is that when drinking pure orange juice, one should recite the Bracha 'She’hakol.' However, if by mistake a person recited 'Ha'etz,' it is also valid B'dieved.

An in-depth explanation:

There seems to be a contradiction in the halacha regarding the juice of food.

1. The Shulchan Aruch, (Siman 205:2), writes that the Bracha for the soup of cooked vegetables is 'Ha'adamah.' (it is important to note, that not all soups one recites Ha’domoh).

2. In (Siman 202,8 and 205,3), it is written that the juice squeezed from fruits other than grapes and olives should be 'She’hakol'.

So the question is, what is the difference between the juice extracted from vegetables during cooking, for which one recites 'Ha'adamah,' and the juice that was squeezed from fruits, the Shulchan Aruch writes is ‘She’hakol’?

There are at least five explanations provided by the Rishonim, and I would like to share two of them that are relevant to halacha:

1. The Rosh (Tractate Berachot, Perek 6, Siman 18), writes that the quality and taste of the fruit differ significantly in juice form whether it was cooked or squeezed. When a vegetable is cooked, the taste of the vegetable in the juice is much stronger, than when it is squeezed out of the fruit. This opinion is mentioned in the Mishnah Berurah, (Siman 205, Se'if Katan 14).
2. The Rashboh, (Tractate Berachos, page 38), writes that the difference does not depend on whether the vegetable was cooked or squeezed, but rather on the type of vegetable or fruit. In Siman 205, it discusses a vegetable that is typically grown to be cooked, and therefore, the usual way to consume this vegetable is by cooking, therefore, one recites 'Ha'adamah' on the juice. However, in Siman 202, it refers to a fruit that is not specifically grown to be consumed for its juice, therefore, one recites 'She’hakol' on the squeezed juice.

When analysing what blessing to recite on pure fruit juice, it would depend on these two opinions of the Rishonim. According to the Rosh, the taste of juice that is squeezed is not strong enough to recite 'Ha'etz', therefore, one would have to recite 'She’hakol.'

However, according to the Rashboh, who writes that it depends on the type of fruit, one could argue that many oranges grown today are specifically cultivated for the purpose of being squeezed for juice (although this would need verification to confirm that this is indeed the case). Therefore, according to the Rashboh, one would recite 'Ha'etz' on squeezed orange juice.

Le’halacha, the Shulchan Aruch in Siman 202, Seif 10, brings both opinions and does not determine which one should be followed.

However, we do find in (Siman 205, Seif 3, and in 202, Seif 8,) that the Shulchan Aruch writes le’halacha, that one should recite 'She’hakol' on squeezed fruit juice. The Shulchan Aruch does not mention that it would depend on whether they are mostly grown for the juice or not, which would make a difference according to the Rashboh.

The Sha’ar HaTziyun,(in Siman 205, Seif Katan 21. Siman 202, Seif Katan 54,) explains that since it was not decided how the Halacha should be followed, and since according to all opinions one is exempt with the bracha of 'she’hakol', the Shulchan Aruch, therefore, writes that one should recite 'She’hakol'.

In conclusion, the Sha’ar HaTziyun writes that le’chatchila, one should recite 'She’hakol'. However, if one by mistake recites the blessing of 'Ha’etz', it is also valid B'dieved, since we rely on the opinion of the Rashboh quoted above.

There is an interesting addition to this from the Chazon Ish, (Orach Chaim Siman 33), who writes that when one squeezes orange juice, not only does the juice get extracted, but a lot of the fruit’s pulp is also squeezed into the drink. Therefore, there is even more reason that one can say 'Ha’etz' on squeezed orange juice. Nevertheless, it is brought that the Chazon Ish himself would recite 'She’hakol' on squeezed orange juice, and as we wrote, B'dieved 'Ha’etz' is also valid.

Wishing you well.

Shulchan Aruch : Siman 205:2. Siman 202:8. Siman 205:3. Siman 202:10.

Rosh - Tractate Berachot, Perek 6, Siman 18.

Rashboh - Tractate Berachos, Page 38.

Mishnah Berurah: Siman 205, Se'if Katan 14.

Sha’ar HaTziyun: Siman 205, Se'if Katan 21 Siman 202, Se'if Katan 54.

Chazon Ish Orach Chaim Siman 33.