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Directing One’s Stam Daas

If one says a borei pri adama on fruit and has intention that the bracha should go on all the fruit in front of himself and in the entire house, does this work? Can one so to speak set his stam daas as this kavana. Meaning at the begining of the year say whenever I make a bracha on fruit I want it to cover all fruit in the home even if at a later date one just makes the bracha without the direct intention of all the other fruits? Does this work?

Answer:

One cannot set one’s “stam daas” in this way, just by making a once-yearly (or weekly, daily, or some other) declaration.

“Stam daas” means that the situation implies that a person’s intention is to cover all of the fruit, or items to eat.

For example, if one makes a berachah on something, and there are other things of the same type in front of him, the situation defines that his daas includes the other items (unless the other items are more important than the one he made the berachah on, in which case the situation does not imply that they are included). The same applies to more of the same item, even if it is not in front of him: It if the normal way of people to continue eating more of the same, and therefore the “stam daas” applies to more of the same food, even if it is not in front of him. However, for a different food, which is not in front of him, explicit intention is required, because no intention is implied by the situation.

Therefore: Explicit intention always works, but stam daas depends on the situation, and one cannot set one’s stam daas in advance.

Sources: See Mishnah Berurah 206:21; Mishnah Berurah 211:32 (among other sources)

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