How do we know when a meal has ended? This question, for the Rabbis of the Talmud, raised religiously significant issues. We learned previously that there was an order to which food was blessed first. We also learned that blessing bread sufficed to bless a whole meal because bread was the staple of a meal. To know what foods are covered by blessing bread, however, we need to know when the meal ends and when we are required to say a new blessing on food we eat at a later time. Of course, when and how a meal ends differs across geographies and across time. We learn a lot about ancient dining customs by following the debate in today’s Daf.

Before we get to that question, we detour to discuss why blessing bread suffices for all other foods, but does not suffice to bless wine. If I have a meal with bread, wine and lots of other foods, I have to bless the bread (which covers all the other foods), but I still have to bless the wine. Wine holds a special ritual significance for Jews. Certain rituals cannot be accomplished without wine (Havdalah, Passover Seder, wedding blessings, etc.). We must have wine at these times whether we want to drink wine or not. Therefore, wine needs to be blessed as a food, but also just as wine, which is a special ritual object. Therefore, even if we bless bread at the meal and that blessing covers all the other food and drinks, we still need to bless wine, not as a source of nourishment, but as wine.

Of course, we cannot let an important concept like “bread” pass without debating what is and what is not bread. If I have a delicious almond croissant, is that bread? Does it matter if I eat it as a roll with the meal or as a desert? Of course it matters and we demonstrate our desire to follow God’s commandments by knowing precisely what circumstances require which blessing when eating an almond croissant.

We then get a cycle of stories about Rabbis visiting other sages homes for dinner and how to determine when the meal is over. If we have had bread, after the meal we must recite the Birchas Ha’Mazon blessing. After reciting that blessing, normally we would need to bless any food before we ate it since we already concluded the meal that had bread previously. We learn several different ancient customs around eating that create confusion as to when the meal is ended. In some cases, Rabbis felt the meal had not ended until the table containing the food had been cleared. Others believed that the meal ended when the host said it ended. Ultimately we learn that the accepted ruling is that the meal ends when we wash our hands in preparation to say the Birhas Ha’Mazon. Once we take that action, we must say a new blessing for any later eaten foods. Along the way, we learn about the different courses Rabbis expected when they ate a formal meal with friends.

We then get a new Mishhah which states that blessing wine with appetizers also covers wine drunk after the meal. Similarly, if we bless an appetizer, that blessing covers our desert as well. If we make a blessing over bread as an appetizer, that does not cover bread eaten with the meal. Finally, we learn that when we recline an eat together, then one person can say the blessing for everyone. If however, we are eating in the vicinity of each other (the Talmud says we are sitting, but not reclining, together), then we must each say our own blessing.

Immediately, the Gemara, cuts back on the circumstances on which pre-dinner blessing of wine suffices for post-dinner wine. Only on festivals and the Sabbath does blessing the wine before dinner satisfy the requirement of a blessing for wine after dinner. On festivals and the Sabbath, we know we will drink wine after dinner. On other days, we can, but do not need to, drink wine after dinner. The Rabbis then ask if we bless wine with the meal, not with appetizers or before the meal, do we have to bless the wine after the meal or does our meal wine blessing cover the after dinner wine. The Rabbis cannot agree on an answer to this question, and so it remains subject to debate.

Finally, we conclude with discussing when one person can say the blessing for a group and when each individual has to recite their own blessing. We don’t really recline at banquets anymore (at least, I don’t). The Rabbis conclude that the key is whether we are eating together or just eating in geographic proximity. If you come to my house for a delicious home-cooked meal made by my wife (and you should not turn down that invitation!), then one person can say the blessing for the group. If we just happen to be eating lunch in the office break room at the same time, we may be talking to each other, but we did not intend to share a meal. Therefore, we each have to say our own blessing, whether we are reclining or sitting or standing.