Should One Recite a Blessing on Chewing Gum?

Answer: Contemporary authorities have discussed whether one should recite the blessing "shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro" (by whose word all things came to be) on chewing gum. After all, when a person chews gum, they don't swallow the gum itself, and the gum itself has no taste; all its flavor comes from the small amount of sweeteners added to it. Therefore, there is room to question whether this requires a blessing or not.

Rabbi Moshe Levy z"l wrote in his book "Birkat Hashem" that one should not recite a blessing at all on chewing gum. Although one tastes sweetness at the beginning of chewing the gum, this tasting doesn't have the significance of eating or drinking, and therefore no blessing should be made. He brings proof from the Magen Avraham who wrote that a person who is fasting is permitted to taste food but not swallow it, even though they certainly intend to enjoy the taste of the food, and it's impossible that a tiny amount of the food doesn't enter the person's body. Nevertheless, since this is not the normal way of eating, it is permitted during a fast and is not considered as if one ate during a fast.

From this, Rabbi Moshe Levy z"l proved that one should not make a blessing on chewing gum, since this case of tasting food without swallowing is certainly comparable to tasting chewing gum. If it's permitted to taste food this way during a fast, one shouldn't make a blessing on such tasting, and therefore one should not make a blessing on chewing gum. 

However, our master Rabbi Ovadia Yosef shlita wrote that there is no proof at all from the Magen Avraham's words. The Magen Avraham himself wrote regarding fasting that the reason it is permitted to taste food this way is because the person who is fasting didn't intend to accept upon himself a fast with such stringency that he wouldn't even taste food in this manner. Since this is not the normal way of eating, but rather a way of tasting, such tasting doesn't contradict the fast. Regarding deriving pleasure from the food, certainly one who tastes it derives pleasure from it, and if so, even according to the Magen Avraham who would permit tasting food this way during a fast, one would still be obligated to recite a blessing, since it's forbidden to "derive pleasure" from this world without a blessing. The obligation to make a blessing doesn't depend at all on eating or tasting, but rather on the enjoyment of the palate, and since one who chews gum tastes sweetness and derives pleasure from it, it is obvious that they are also obligated to make a blessing on it.

In conclusion, who chews gum is obligated to recite the blessing "shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro," because it is forbidden to derive pleasure from this world without a blessing, and anyone who derives pleasure from this world without a blessing is as if they misappropriated sacred property. Since the one who chews gum derives pleasure from its taste, they are obligated to make a blessing before chewing it, and this is the consensus of the leading authorities of our generation. The person chewing the gum should not speak until they have tasted the flavor of the gum and swallowed a bit of its taste, at which point it's considered as if they have already begun eating and they are then permitted to speak.

Rulings of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef shlita courtesy of the "Daily Halacha" website