Ask the Rabbi
- Halacha
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Question
I read recently that technically, a banana tree is not a tree but the world’s largest herb, seeing as it actually contains no woody tissue, but is soft and living all the way through.
Being that the hebrew word for wood is etz, does this mean that it should take ’borei pri haadama? Or should it be ’borei pri haetz’, because banana trees are popularly considered to be trees?
Answer
A banana is not a tree and the blessing made befor eating a banana is “borei pri haadamah”.

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