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Introduction to Jewish Festivals: Selecting/Boreir
Issues of boreir are almost always d'oraita, not d'rabanan, and therefore we are stringent in applying restrictions concerning boreir.
Unlike on Shabbat (when you must remove some good along with the bad so as not to violate the melacha of boreir), on Jewish festivals you may remove the bad from the good if it is easier to take the undesired food from the desired food.

Desired from Undesired
You may select desired food from undesired (or inedible) substances if you follow these two rules:
1. Cannot Use Specialized Separating Utensil
    Don't use a utensil--such as a slotted spoon, peeler, or sieve--that is specialized
    for separating:
  • Food from other food, or
  • Food from other substances.
    Note You may remove dirt from a carrot's surface by scraping the peel with a knife (a tool not specialized for separating food), but not by using a peeler.
    Exception As on Shabbat, an action necessary to eat a food normally (derech achila) does not violate the prohibition of boreir. So you may peel a food that is normally separated from its peel or shell in order to be eaten, as long as you do not use a specialized instrument to do so.
Examples
  • You may peel an orange by hand, with or without a knife.
  • You may remove the shells from peanuts by hand.
  • You may remove the shell from a hard-boiled egg by hand.
2. Do This Shortly before You Eat the Food
   Prepare the food soon before it will be eaten.
     Note       You may prepare the food as much in advance as you would normally prepare a meal which you will eat--even as much as several hours.
     Examples     
On Jewish festivals, you may:
  • Remove fish bones from fish while you are eating the fish or just before eating it.
  • Cut open a melon such as a cantaloupe and remove any seeds normally.
Bracha Rishona: Popcorn
Say borei pri ha'adama on popcorn.
Bracha Rishona: Fiddleheads
Say borei pri ha'adama on fiddleheads (unfurled fern tops in early spring).
Fore-Blessings: Sushi
Say the fore-blessing borei minei mezonot over sushi, since the rice is primary. If you are eating the sushi for the salmon (or other ingredient) in the middle, say she'hakol, too (or whatever blessing is correct for that important ingredient).
Note To say fore-blessings over sushi:
  • Say borei minei mezonot, then take a bite of rice (which may have nori, etc., on it).
  • Say she'hakol, then take a bite of fish (which may have rice, avocado, etc., stuck to it).
Blessings: Scents: Hesech Da'at
If you say borei isvei vesamim or borei atzei vesamim, you should say the blessing again once you have had a lapse of thought (hesech da'at); that is, once you have stopped thinking about smelling fragrances at that time.
Shabbat: Separating Good Food from Bad in Your Mouth
Boreir does not apply to separating anything inside of your mouth: you may separate anything that way, even if you remove the bad from the good.
Fore-Blessing: Crackers
Over crackers, say the fore-blessing borei minei mezonot (after-blessing, al ha'michya).
Bracha Rishona: Coconut Water
To drink coconut water:
  • Say borei pri ha'eitz if you drink coconut water directly from the coconut.
  • Say she'hakol if you pour the water out of the nut into a utensil.
Which Fore-Blessing (Bracha Rishona) on Identifiable Produce
Say borei pri ha'eitz or borei pri ha'adama for foods made of identifiable pieces of fruit or vegetables.
Note Even if you know the ingredients in a prepared food--such as grated apples--you must see identifiable pieces in order to say a specific blessing (borei pri ha'eitz, borei pri ha'adama...). If no ingredients are visually identifiable, you must say she'hakol (or possibly borei minei mezonot).
Example Say borei pri ha'adama on a potato kugel with coarsely ground potatoes; if the potatoes are pulverized, say she'hakol.
Jewish Festivals: Salt Shaker with Rice
You may not, due to boreir, use a salt shaker into which rice has been added (in order to keep the salt dry).
Shabbat: Salt Shaker with Rice
On Shabbat you may not, due to boreir, use a salt shaker into which rice has been added (in order to keep the salt dry).
Fore-Blessing: Raw or Cooked Grains: Granola Bars
On granola bars, say borei minei mezonot (after-blessing, al ha'michya).
Jewish Festivals: Kiddush: Making New Kiddush after Drinking Kiddush Wine
To say borei pri ha'gafen as a new kiddush on the same wine, you must add at least one drop of new wine to the cup, if you have drunk any of the wine directly from that cup.
Fore-Blessings over Fruit Cocktail
For fruit cocktail, say fore-blessings of borei pri ha'eitz (for tree fruits) AND borei pri ha'adama (for pineapple, etc.).
Reason Fruit cocktail does not have a main ingredient.
Karpas Blessing
Dip the karpas in the salt water and say the blessing borei pri ha'adama; keep in mind that this blessing will also apply to the bitter herbs you will eat later in the seder.