Toch k'dei dibur

"Toch k'dei dibur" (תוך כדי דיבור, "within the span as though to say") is a principle in Jewish law that governs the immediacy with which one must speak words for them to be considered a continuation of what had been stated just immediately prior.

The time span is equivalent to the time necessary to say the words "Shalom alecha rebbi" (שלום עליך רבי, "Peace unto you, my teacher"), which is somewhat less than three seconds. [Mishnah Brurah 206:12, although the "Taz" adds the word "u'mori" (ומורי, "and my master"), which would lengthen the permitted window of opportunity.]

Practical example

Prior to consuming any food or beverage, a Jew must recite a blessing to express his or her gratitude to God for providing sustenance, ["Bavli" "Berachot" 35a] and there are different blessings for different types of food.

If for instance, an individual was just about to take a bite from a carrot, for which the blessing ends "borei pri ha'adamah" (בורי פרי האדמה, "...the creator of fruits of ground") but instead, erroneously concluded the blessing that applies to fruit, "borei pri ha'eitz" (בורי פרי העץ, "...the creator of fruits of the tree"), correcting the suffix of the blessing to the appropriate conclusion "toch k'dei dibur" (i.e. within the alloted 3-second window of time), the error would thus be resolved. ["Be'er Heitev" 209:2 "v'toch"]

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