[Avodah] What's the berakha on hearts of palm?

[Micha Berger]

It seems from a number of responses that this isn't generally known:

If the tree's major consumable is something other than a fruit, it
could still be a ha'eitz. (However, they still are exempt from orlah -
YD 194:2.) I assumed from RAF that hearts of palm are not taken from date
or coconut trees, and therefore they themselves are this particular kind
of palm's primary food product.

The star-K <http://www.star-k.org/cons-faqs-issues.htm#bracha2> says
"The proper Bracha is Ho'etz." That's the entire answer, they don't
explain the sevara.

Others hold it's a shehakol, based on the machloqes Rav Yehudah (the
amora) and Shemuel (Berakhos 36a) as to whether it would be haadamah or
shehakol. The SA (YD 204:1) holds like Shemu'el -- shehakol. However,
the gemara is clear that this is because the palm trees aren't planted
for the purpose of serving their hearts. This isn't true for mass produced
date palms, so the metzi'us is diffferent enough from the SA's to question
whether the pesaq should be the same.

The Y-mi is no help, as it has a far wider variety of berakhos than we
say. (Sorry, the daf finishes Shevi'is this weekend; Berakhos wasn't that
long ago and still on my mind.) R' Yehudah (Rebbe, not to be confused with
the Bavli's citation) holds "chayav adam levareikh mei'ein birkhosav"
and in the Y-mi that is taken very seriously. I think they would have
had you say borei minei desa'im, as one would before eating some kind
of pulp made from palm bark fibers.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Despair is the worst of ailments. No worries
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