Which body of water merits the special blessing 'creator of the great sea' (oseh ha-yam ha-gadol) — the Mediterranean or the Ocean?
Synopsis
A major dispute among Rishonim and Acharonim: the Mechaber rules that 'the great sea' for blessing purposes is the Mediterranean (traveled to reach Israel and Egypt), while many Acharonim (Rosh, Magen Avraham, and others) hold it refers exclusively to the Ocean (Okeanos) that encircles the world.
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