Relevant Halachos During These Trying Times (38)
Lost Sense of Smell: Saying Havdalah. Question: Due to the virus, I have lost my sense of smell. Does this complicate saying the beracha on Besamim (sweet-smelling spices) by Havdalah?
Answer: The Poskim (1) and the Mishna Berura (2) rule that a person who cannot smell, cannot say the beracha on Besamim even to be motzie other people who can smell. So in a case where you are saying the Havdalah, you have two choices: 1) to leave out the beracha on Besamim completely and the listeners will say it themselves after you finish reciting havdalah. However, a seemingly better way would be: 2) to appoint somebody else to say that beracha when you get up to it, and then you continue after that and finish the Havdalah. If that is done, then the proper thing to do is for that person to hold the cup of of wine when he says the beracha or at least be positioned in a way that the cup of wine is right in front of him (3).
The Mishna Berura (4) brings the following question: Even if one Yid has already been yotze a beracha, he is still called a “Bar Chiyuva” (obligated) to exempt another Yid because of Arvus - communal responsibility. If so why can’t the person who is unable to smell, say the beracha on Besamim to exempt others? He answers that the beracha on Besamim is not really an obligation but rather more of a minhag, and one who doesn’t have Besamim at hand is not obligated to go find spices. Thus, there is no Arvus to make sure he is yotze the Besamim.
Lost Sense of Smell: Listening to Havdalah. Question: If I listen to Havdalah, should I answer amen on the beracha of Besamim that the reciter says? Similarly, in the case of the previous paragraph, when I appoint someone else to say the beracha on Besamim, should I answer amen?
Answer: In the second half of the question, it seems that one should not answer amen because if he is not being yotze, it is a clear hefsek - verbal break, between the beracha on the wine that he said earlier and him drinking the wine which is coming later. Even in the first case where one is just a listener to another’s recital of Havdalah, there is also reason to say that he should not answer, because even the listener is at least lechatchila supposed to connect to the drinking of the wine and not talk out till the reciter drinks from the cup. I found that Rav Moshe Sternbruch shlit’a in Teshuvos Vehanhagos (5) (based on an earlier Teshuva in 1:297) says that even a listener who cannot smell should not answer to the Besamim beracha of the reciter. (See Shmiras Shabbos Kehilchoso (6) who suggests a different logic to justify answering, but it’s not a clear derech that all hold of.)
Note: Even though we keep writing “Besamim”, the correct pronunciation in the beracha is “Vesamim” ("בשמים").
(1) או"ח רצז:ה (2) שם:יג (3) עיין משנה ברורה רצח:ד (4) רצז:יג (5) תשובות והנהגות ה:פו (6) סא (יב)
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