[Avodah] Is it forbidden to teach Torah to one who has not said birchas ha’Torah?

[Professor L. Levine]

I wonder how this applies to restaurants.  How are they allowed to serve people who do not make brachas before eating?  YL


>From today's OU Kosher Halacha Yomis


Q. Is it forbidden to teach Torah to one who has not said birchas ha’Torah?



A. In regards to birchos ha’nehenin (brachos recited on food), there is a concept that one is not permitted to give someone food if the recipient will not recite a bracha. Offering food to one who will not recite a bracha is a violation of “lifnei iver lo sitain michshol” (enabling one to stumble) (See Shulchan Aruch OC 169:2). However, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l (Minchas Shlomo 1:91) writes that this does not apply to teaching Torah to one who did not recite birchas ha’Torah. Birchas ha’Torah is a birchas ha’mitzvah. Though birchos ha’mitzvos are obligatory, we do not find that Chazal forbade the performance of a mitzvah if a bracha is not recited. He notes that not studying Torah (bitul Torah) is a more serious offense than omitting the bracha. If possible, one should instruct those who have come to learn Torah how to recite the bracha, but if this is not practical, one should teach them Torah in any event.


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