Which bracha do we make on rice?

The Gemara rules that on cooked orez one says Borei Minei Mezonos, since it sustains like the five grains, though its after-bracha is Borei Nefashos.¹ But what is orez? The Gemara speaks of two similar species, orez and dochan, and never settles which is which. Most poskim understand that orez is our rice and dochan is millet, but some hold the reverse.² This matters because the halachos of dochan are different.

Orez is Mezonos according to some Rishonim only when the kernels dissolved somewhat in cooking, while others apply it even to whole kernels, since it’s normal to eat them whole. Because of this doubt, one would say Shehakol on whole cooked orez, though one who said Ha’adama or Mezonos has fulfilled his obligation.³

Dochan, however, when cooked whole is Ha’adama like other kitniyos, and when it loses its natural form, crushed or made into bread or a dish from its flour, it becomes Shehakol.⁴ Thus, depending on which identification is correct and the form it takes, rice could be Mezonos, Ha’adama, or Shehakol.

Because of this double safek, the Alter Rebbe advises a yerei shomayim to eat rice or millet, whether whole or mashed, only within a bread meal, where Hamotzi covers everything served in the meal.⁵ Even a small piece of bread is enough for this purpose, and one need not eat a kezayis to exempt the rice.⁶

What about rice eaten outside a meal? The Alter Rebbe paskens that one says Shehakol.⁷ However, some have suggested a hiddur of first saying Mezonos, Ha’adama, and Shehakol on three other foods with the rice in mind, so that it is covered whichever way the doubts fall. ⁸ (Others note that ordinary cooked rice, even when the kernels were softened, is either Mezonos or Ha’adama, so two brachos are enough, and only rice-flour breads or dishes carry a Shehakol side.⁹)

Others argue, however, that the Alter Rebbe’s silence here is deliberate. The Alter Rebbe suggests similarly in other cases, but only to save a person from a real doubt, like eating without a valid bracha. Here, a Shehakol on the rice already covers the obligation fully. All one stands to gain is the special quality of a specific bracha, and that is only possible when one knows what specific food he is praising Hashem for. On the other hand, rice eaten in a meal receives a true bracha through Hamotzi, the head of the entire seudah.¹⁰

In practice, prominent Chabad rabbanim of the previous generation reported this minhag among chassidim, and it is a worthy hiddur.¹¹

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