Good morning and a blessed morning. This morning we have an audio version of Beki’im BaHalacha. I know some of our members have been complaining that they are not receiving the videos and that they are not being uploaded. We are experiencing some technical difficulties, which will be handled in a timely fashion. In the meantime, we ask for your patience while we work out these glitches.
This morning we will not have the video. It is a shame, because I am wearing a new tie, and many of our members will be deprived of seeing what it looks like. That is why you have to attend live: when you are here live, you get to see exactly what the rabbi is wearing and all the latest fashion statements that the rabbi is making.
Today’s study is dedicated in memory of Vico Mizrahi, Hayim ben Mazal, may he rest in peace. He is still within the thirty-day period, and the dedication is being made by his children, may they live long lives, for the dedication of daily halachic study. This is Beki’im BaHalacha 7, day 50, on page 108. The daily sponsorship for day 50 is dedicated by Ronita and Joey Zaghi, and by the successors of their parents, children, and family.
We are discussing the question of drinking coffee or tea in the middle of a meal or at the end of a meal. The ruling given is that one should not recite a blessing over them. Since there is a doubt, we follow the lenient approach in matters of blessings. It is a genuine doubt: is coffee considered part of the meal or not? One could argue that the blessing over bread covers it, but one could also argue that coffee is not part of the meal. Coffee is more like a dessert item. It does not come to help one get the food down or to quench one’s thirst. It may be similar to the hard liquor we mentioned yesterday.
Regarding hard liquor, we said that there is a dispute as to whether the blessing over bread covers it. Therefore, we said that one should recite the blessing of Shehakol beforehand, or recite the blessing over wine if one is drinking wine, so that the liquor will be covered. If one did not recite a blessing beforehand, one may rely on the blessing over bread, but it remains a doubt. Coffee and tea are the same way: because of the uncertainty regarding blessings, one should avoid creating the issue.
It is therefore preferable to leave the coffee until after the Grace After Meals. Alternatively, one can take a piece of candy, recite Shehakol over it, and have the coffee in mind as well. This happens all the time. You are in the middle of a weekday meal; you washed, you ate, and then someone asks, “Coffee, anybody?” They bring Turkish coffee at the end of the meal, and it is delicious. The best solution would really be to recite the Grace After Meals first and then drink the coffee, thereby avoiding the problem.
On Shabbat and festivals, there is no problem, because one recited the blessing over wine during Kiddush. Once the blessing over wine has been recited, it covers all beverages. I am not concerned about that. But on a weekday, when Kiddush was not recited, your coffee might not be covered by the blessing over bread, and you might need to recite Shehakol. At the same time, we do not recite Shehakol because of the doubt. Why put yourself into a doubtful situation?
I skipped the discussion of whiskey at the end of the meal. We will return to that at the end of today’s study.
The response of Einat Veradim ruled that no blessing is necessary when one drinks coffee at the end of a meal, just before reciting the Grace After Meals. It is considered part of the meal. Hayah Adam, however, ruled that one must recite a blessing if one drinks the coffee after finishing the meal, because at that point, unlike other beverages, its purpose is only to aid digestion. If it is part of the meal, then one is drinking because one is thirsty or because one wants to get the food down; it is all part of the meal. But after the meal, one is simply conducting a postgame show.
The Mishnah Berurah commented that this is not necessarily correct. Nevertheless, to avoid the problem, one should recite Shehakol on some other item. Maran Hacham Ovadia ruled that this applies to drinking tea at the end of a meal as well. It is not limited to coffee. Most people do not drink coffee during the meal itself; they drink it at the end.
Anuk HaShoham distinguished between coffee and tea. He ruled that it is not necessary to recite a blessing over coffee, but that it is necessary to recite a blessing over tea. He argued that tea cannot be considered part of the meal. Hacham Ovadia disagreed and ruled that one does not recite a blessing in either case. Nevertheless, he recommended reciting the Grace After Meals first and then drinking, in order to avoid the controversy. He also testified that the custom is to recite Shehakol on some snack food before drinking.
This is an important issue. We are learning that beverages during a meal are not so simple. They are not as straightforward as one might think.
Now, whenever people drink wine, there is a custom that, before reciting the blessing over wine, someone says, “Pay attention, my rabbis,” and everyone responds, “To life.” Why do people do that? We do not know for certain. Everyone answers, “To life,” because that is what appears in the prayer book. The question is why it appears there in the first place.
Shlomo Al-Ludia explained that the custom is to announce “Pay attention before drinking wine” because the Gemara relates that, when a sinner was sentenced to death, they would give him wine before carrying out the sentence. They did not want him to be too frightened. In America, before a person is put on death row, he receives one last meal and can order whatever he wants. You see these people making their last request: they order the entire menu from Burger King, a milkshake, an apple pie, a blueberry muffin, and ice cream on top. They eat like animals. That is their last fling. Most of the time, they die from obesity.
The verse says, “Give strong drink to the lost soul and wine to the bitter spirit.” Likewise, mourners were given wine, as we learned, because it gave them a little more peace of mind. We are therefore concerned when we drink wine. This, however, is good wine. It is not wine being given to a condemned person or to a mourner; it is wine being used on a fortunate occasion. Therefore, whenever someone wishes to drink wine casually, he summons the attention of his colleagues, and they respond, “To life.” The idea is that this drink should be associated only with good occasions. That is where the custom of making a toast comes from.
Madame Mitz explained that a person announces “Pay attention, my rabbis” when drinking wine, but not when eating bread or drinking beer, because wine has historically been associated with tragic events. Noah drank wine after coming out of the ark, and that led to a problem involving his grandson, Canaan. Therefore, when someone wishes to drink wine casually, he announces, “Pay attention to my drinking, so that no harm should befall me.” It is a nice idea. Many times, people drink and then get into trouble. We therefore say, “To life,” meaning that this wine toast should bring only life and positive consequences.
Rabbi David Abudarham explained that, according to one opinion, the Tree of Knowledge was a grapevine. Adam and Eve drank grapes, and that brought death into the world. In that view, the beverage that brought death into the world was wine. We therefore say, “No—this wine should bring us life rather than death.”
Shireenik, as the Gemara suggested, offered another reason. Wine can make people drunk, and drunkenness can lead to tragic events. For example, he cited the incident involving Rabah and Rabbi Zeira. They were together on Purim, and, as the Gemara says in Megillah, they drank. People drink on Purim. Rabah got up and killed Rabbi Zeira. A miracle occurred, and he was able to bring him back to life. But the following year, when he invited Rabbi Zeira to come over for Purim, Rabbi Zeira said, “No, thank you. I dodged the bottle once; I am not guaranteed to dodge it twice.”
According to another explanation, the reason is based on the concern that one’s wine might be laced with poison. We discussed this when we learned that, when wine was given to someone, they would say, “To life,” to reassure him that poison had not been placed in it. These are some of the reasons given for the custom.
Another source cited the Shaarei Kavanot, explaining that the reason is based on Kabbalah. The Talmud related that Rabbi Akiva hosted his son’s wedding celebration. Whenever he was served a cup of wine, he would announce, “Wine and life should be granted to the rabbis and to the disciples.”
Nowadays, the response “To life” is generally used during Kiddush. That is true; we do not usually say “Pay attention, my rabbis” outside of Kiddush. If two people are drinking wine on a Tuesday night, perhaps they will say it, but most people, when they drink wine, make a toast. They say, “To the occasion.”
There is an important point here. The Pele Yoetz writes that one is not permitted to bless oneself before blessing God. Therefore, one must first recite the blessing, “Who creates the fruit of the vine,” and only afterward make the toast. That is a very important point.
Rabbi Hayim Palachi says that the custom may be based on the passage stating that whoever recites a blessing over wine on Friday night will be granted long life. Therefore, we are saying that this wine should bring us long life, since the passage says that one receives long life through it. These customs should not be minimized. The Tzavik Maranah certainly has a sound basis.
Now let us discuss whiskey at the end of a meal. All the discussion above regarding alcoholic beverages concerned drinking during the meal. We had a doubt as to whether a hard drink is covered by the blessing over bread and whether it is considered part of the meal.
The Mishnah Berurah and Al Khabar Berah pointed out that if someone did not drink the alcoholic beverage during the meal, but wants to drink it after finishing the meal and before reciting the Grace After Meals, all the halachic authorities require him to recite a blessing over it.
This is not an uncommon situation. People drink wine during the meal, and at the end they have a little Scotch, port, or some other after-dinner drink—a sweet drink of some kind. According to this ruling, one would certainly have to recite a blessing over it.
It appears that the Ben Ish Hai agreed with this distinction. He referred to Rabbi Zalman, who ruled that if someone drinks an alcoholic beverage in order to aid digestion, he must recite a blessing over it. But if he drinks it in order to whet his appetite, then it would be treated differently. After the meal, however, one is not whetting one’s appetite.
He then commented that in practice, it is often difficult to determine a person’s intention when drinking alcohol. The person drinking does not stop to ponder, “Am I drinking this to whet my appetite? Am I drinking it to aid digestion? Am I drinking it for both reasons?” Therefore, whenever someone drinks an alcoholic beverage during a meal, he should not recite a blessing. We said that earlier.
Following the principle of avoiding a doubtful blessing, if he drinks it after finishing the meal, then it is obvious that he is no longer drinking it to whet his appetite. It is for digestion, and digestion is not part of the meal. Therefore, it sounds as though, if he drinks Scotch at the end of the meal, he should recite Shehakol.
Notice, however, that when we say that one does not recite a blessing when drinking alcohol during the meal, I am being careful. During the meal, we have a doubt. It sounds as though after the meal, once one has finished eating, one would recite a blessing. But a close examination of the halachic discussion reveals that this distinction was not actually made.
The Sefat HaKedoshim wrote that even when someone drinks specifically to aid digestion, the halachic debate remains. He recommended drinking a little of the alcohol before the meal and having the intention that it should cover the drink consumed later. He concludes that this matter requires further research.
This is not something we see often. The Ben Ish Hai sounds as though, at the end of the meal, one recites a blessing. It sounds as though all the rabbis would say the same thing, and even Hacham Ovadia sounds that way. But when one examines Hacham Ovadia’s notes, he does not want to make a distinction, and the ruling of the later authority is clearly not in that direction.
Therefore, in practice, do not put yourself into this issue. If you intend to drink Scotch at the end of the meal, perhaps wait until after reciting the Grace After Meals. That way, you avoid the problem. Alternatively, recite Shehakol before the meal begins, so that at least you will have something covering the drink.
The one item with which you will never have this problem is wine. With wine, you can always make a distinction. With anything other than wine, it is always better to drink a little water before the meal, as we said. Now we are learning that this applies even to Scotch.
You are not going to drink coffee before the meal, because that is not your purpose. Regarding coffee, we said that if you drink it during the meal, you do not recite a blessing, although people usually do not drink it then. They wait until the end of the meal. It is quite possible that coffee and tea at the end of the meal are not part of the meal, and it is also possible that they are. Therefore, either take a piece of candy and recite Shehakol over it, or wait until after the Grace After Meals.
These are all practices that require us to adjust our eating habits in order to satisfy these doubts. It takes doing it a couple of times until it becomes part of one’s routine.
With wine on Shabbat, there is no issue, because one recites the blessing over wine, and that blessing covers everything. That is the best situation. If you recite the blessing over wine either before the meal or during the meal, you will not run into this problem.
It is like a fire.
No. You have to work at it. You have to work at it.