Question:
The Shulchan Aruch in Orach Chaim siman 206 sif 1 says if you are mesupak if something is a pri of an eitz or adama then make adama. How could this qualify as a safek, its chisaron yediah, just ask someone who knows what type of plant this pri grows on?
Answer:
Hello,
Very correct. If the person can find out what type of plant it is, then this is what he has to do, for example, a person who doesn’t know if tomatoes grow on a tree of from the ground, he has to ask, to find out what the facts are. What the Shulchan Aruch if referring to here is after the person has learnt the halachos and gotten the facts, there are still many questions and things that are not clear, such as issues that there is controversy among the poskim regarding which bracha it is. Just to explain this a little there are a number of conditions, needed in order for a person to make Hoadomo on a particular fruit. To name a few, the plant has to have branches growing from its stem and the fruit grows from the branches not the stem, and the branches have to last from year to year. According to some poskim the plant has to have a certain height to it. According to some poskim the plant has to last for a number of years. The fruit has to be the main fruit of the tree (not the peel or pit). It has to be eaten in the normal way it is eaten, (not raw if it is the norm to eat it cooked or vise versa). The fruit is ripe.
I don’t mean to confuse you; all I mean to say is that there is still room for a person to have doubt as to which bracha to make. Understandably, if one can verify whatever question they have with a Rov that should be done, before eating.
Best wishes
Sources:
משנה ברורה סימן רב ס”ק פד ואם הוא מסופק – היינו אחר שלמד ואינו יכול לברר אבל מי שלא למד לא יאכל עד שילך אצל חכם ללמדו ברכות [גמרא]:
