Berakhot 124

1:
In the Gemara this mishnah is treated as a continuation of the previous mishnah.

2:
Let us state clearly that (apart from a situation in which one is eating bread with other foods) as a general rule, we are expected to recite a berakhah over every different foodstuff that we eat. In other words, if we eat a banana and then an apple – say – we should first recite "…Creator of the fruit of the ground" over the banana and then "…Creator of the fruit of the tree" over the apple.

3:
The following is the situation addressed by our mishnah: which berakhah is one to recite first when faced with the necessity of reciting several different berakhot? Rabbi Yehudah says that one should give preference to any one of the Seven Species. He is referring to "the seven agricultural products that are the glory of Eretz Israel" [shiv'at ha-minim she-nishtab&$293;ah ba-hen Eretz Israel]. Deuteronomy 8:7-8 reads as follows:

So, according to Rabbi Yehudah, if we eat pomegranates and bananas, we should recite a berakhah first over the pomegranates [tree] because they are one of the Seven Species, and only subsequently eat and recite the berakhah over the bananas [ground]. The sages say that the order should be an eclectic one, dependent purely on our subjective preferences.

4:
According to all the rules of mishnaic exegesis the halakhah should here follow opinion of the sages. For where the opinion of a minority (Rabbi Yehudah) clashes with that of the majority (all the other sages) we follow the majority. However, rather surprisingly, the discussion in the Gemara [Berakhot 41a – 42a] leads eventually to conclusions that are much nearer to Rabbi Yehudah's view than to that of the sages. Rather than follow the intricate reasoning there demonstrated, I shall try to summarize the eventual halakhah on this matter as succinctly as I am able.

5:
If you have before you foodstuffs all of which require the same berakhah –

1. you should give pride of place to one of them that is of the Seven Species;
2. if more than one of them is from the Seven Species give them the order of priority that derives from the proximity of the product in the verse from Deuteronomy to the word "Eretz" – which occurs twice in the verse: wheat and olive oil, barley and dates, wine (or grapes), figs, pomegranates.
3. Apart from these, choose according to your subjective preference.

6:
If you have before you foodstuffs which require various berakhot –

1. choose according to your subjective preference.
2. If your subjective preference falls upon one or more of the Seven Species follow the rules of priority indicated in 4b above.

I hope you are not now completely confused!

Jeff Silver asks –

a question on berakhot over food… I had always understood that if a meal includes bread, motzi is sufficient, even if other foods in the meal, taken alone, would require another berakhah. Is this in fact so, or is this practice minhag or minhag k'halakhah?

I respond:

Generally speaking your assumption is correct. However, if something comes during the meal that is considered complete in itself it requires its own berakhah. This would include something like wine being brought to the table after ha-motzi (where no blessing was recited on it before, such as Kiddush); a whole piece of fruit, cake, coffee…