Shabbat Shalom. This class is dedicated by Emir of Jaffa for the elevation of the souls of Avraham ben Rivka, Rachel bat Malka, the father of Rachel, and the deceased members of the family; for Adam, Eitan ben Jaffa, Avigail, the father of Jaffa; for finding a suitable match; and for the success of Ben Zion ben Rachel and Jaffa bat Sada.
Today we are on page 122, continuing at the tail end of the laws of the blessing of Hatov Vehametiv. There are a few more conditions. The case discussed is as follows: A person drank red wine and recited the blessing over wine. Then they brought him white wine, and he recited the blessing of Hatov Vehametiv, even though the white wine was not as good as the red wine.
There is a major novelty here. Why? The Rama says that white wine is healthier than red wine. So they knew something that academia has not yet said. As we know, academia is usually five thousand years behind halacha. I will get to that.
If the white wine is much worse than the red wine—if it is extremely inferior—then he does not recite the blessing of Hatov Vehametiv. Instead, he recites only the blessing over the wine. This is a major novelty. Normally, the rule is that when the second item is inferior, one does not recite Hatov Vehametiv. For example, suppose the first red wine has a Parker rating of 94 and the second red wine has a rating of 89. The second wine is inferior. According to Maran, one does not recite the blessing for the better and the worse over it.
We have said many times that the second wine does not have to be better, but it cannot be worse. If the two wines are on equal footing, it is acceptable—unless the second wine is white. The novelty regarding white wine is that, from a health perspective, white wine always has an advantage over red wine. Therefore, because it is healthier, one may recite the blessing for the better and the worse over it, unless it is so inferior that its low quality outweighs its health benefits. The exact level of inferiority must be measured, but we are speaking about a type of cheap white wine whose health benefits do not compensate for its very low quality. In such a case, one would not recite Hatov Vehametiv. There are many subjective elements in these halachot, but that is the rule.
What if the person drank the white wine first and then moved to red wine? One might say, “I am going from something healthier to something less healthy.” The answer is that if you know the red wine is better, you recite the blessing. If you do not know which wine is better, then you do not recite it, because the white wine is healthier for the body.
This is another major novelty. When moving from white wine to red wine, the red wine has to be better in order to balance the health advantage of the white wine. If the wines are otherwise equal, they are not truly equal, because the red wine lacks that health advantage. Therefore, the red wine must be better.
This comes up frequently. For example, the first wine may be non-cooked wine. Obviously, this is something particularly relevant to Jews; we do not cook their wine. Why would they cook their wine? Cooking would only ruin it. We cook our wine to avoid problems related to non-Jewish wine and similar concerns, so cooked wine is automatically considered inferior in this context.
If someone was first served non-cooked wine and then was brought cooked wine, the non-cooked wine is presumably better. Even if one does not know very much about wine, it is reasonable to assume that going from cooked wine to non-cooked wine is an improvement. The reverse would not be an improvement.
Now we come to grape juice, which is a major question. Many people use grape juice for the Friday-night sanctification over wine. I use it myself—the Barmas grape juice, which we like very much. Why do we use grape juice? Although Kedem also has grape juice, we use grape juice for the simple reason that many of the people drinking it around the table do not like wine. The children do not like the taste of wine, and the wife does not like dry wine. Every Friday night, they are given wine, spit it out, and say, “I would rather not taste this.”
The problem with Kedem grape juice, aside from the fact that some people question whether it is suitable in the first place because it is so diluted with water—a longstanding disagreement that I will put aside—is that it is cooked. There is one large bottle that may not be cooked, but the regular bottle that people generally buy is cooked. The Shulchan Aruch writes that, according to the early authorities, it is preferable to use non-cooked wine for the Friday-night sanctification. Therefore, one has to find non-cooked grape juice, which is not easy to obtain.
The grandson of Hacham Ben Zion went into the wine or grape-juice business and makes it himself. That is good for him and good for us. They deliver it, and although not every bottle spoils, once in a while you get one that does. The product is exactly what the Shulchan Aruch describes when it says that one of the preparations for Shabbat is to squeeze grapes on Friday and prepare wine for the sanctification. It is fresh and non-cooked.
At first, we used to receive the large bottles. You pour one cup for the sanctification, and then you have to decide what to do with the rest of the bottle. You put it back in the refrigerator, but the maid or housekeeper may be there, and that creates halachic problems. There is a gadget made by Eddie Cohen or Sonny—I do not remember which of them—that locks onto the top of the bottle like a Samsonite suitcase lock, with a combination code. Once it is attached, nobody can get into the bottle. It is a good gadget, really an excellent item.
If you do not have that gadget, what can you do? You bring the bottle to your bedroom and put it in your closet. My grandfather, may he rest in peace, Joe Sabti, used to use non-cooked wine for the Friday-night sanctification. Every Friday night, after he finished, he would take pieces of tape that he had cut before Shabbat and cover the bottle one way and then another way. After that, he would take the wine upstairs to his bedroom and hide it in his closet. Nobody could find it. Whenever someone asked where the key was, only Grandpa knew where it was. They were careful about these things; they did not simply put the bottle back in the refrigerator.
Today there are small bottles, which are much better. You pour one cup and the bottle is finished. There are no leftovers, and that avoids the problem.
The question is whether one recites Hatov Vehametiv in such a case. The law says that when a person drinks one wine and then drinks another wine, he recites the blessing for the abundance of good wine. But here, I have not yet drunk wine. The first beverage was grape juice, perhaps not wine at all. Can one go from grape juice to wine and recite Hatov Vehametiv?
There is a major discussion of this in note 43. Let us read it together. Or L’Tzion ruled that one may not recite Hatov Vehametiv over grape juice, since it is non-alcoholic and is not a beverage that gladdens God and people. Accordingly, if a person first drank wine and was then served grape juice, he may not recite this blessing, even if the grape juice has a superior flavor.
The opposite case is also discussed. If a person first drank grape juice and was then served wine, perhaps Or L’Tzion would agree that the blessing should be recited, because the person is now drinking an alcoholic beverage. On the other hand, perhaps Or L’Tzion would say that since the first beverage was not alcoholic, even though wine was served afterward, the person does not experience the joy of an abundance of wine, as we explained. If someone first drinks Welch’s grape soda, everyone agrees that he would not recite Hatov Vehametiv over wine afterward. Grape juice may be the same, because it is not considered a wine beverage for this purpose.
Hacham David, the current Chief Rabbi, challenged the ruling of Or L’Tzion. He argued that grape juice has the same status as wine even though it is not alcoholic. When a person recites the blessing over wine on grape juice, he may then drink whatever other beverages he wishes without reciting another blessing. That is true: when one recites the blessing over wine, it covers all beverages. When one recites that blessing over grape juice, it also covers all beverages. We do not say that it is not really wine for that purpose.
He demonstrated that the responsa of Beit Yehuda ruled that a person must recite Hatov Vehametiv over raisin wine, which is also not alcoholic. He added that even according to Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, who ruled that grape juice may not be used for the four cups at the Passover Seder, grape juice is still called wine, and one recites the blessing over wine when drinking it. Although Rabbi Elyashiv did not want grape juice used for the four cups, he still considered it wine for the blessing. If so, he could agree that when a person drank grape juice and was then served wine, Hatov Vehametiv should be recited, since the second wine is alcoholic and gladdens the heart.
The book Shevut Yitzchak cited Rabbi Elyashiv as ruling specifically that Hatov Vehametiv may be recited only when a person drinks two types of alcoholic wine. Hacham David tried to explain that Rabbi Elyashiv’s position requires wine followed by wine, and not wine following grape juice. According to this explanation, grape juice is missing some of wine’s exalted status.
Rabbi Cohen Rubin, however, argued that grape juice should be no worse than raisin wine, just as the halachic work Halacha Berurah ruled that one may recite Hatov Vehametiv when grape juice is served after wine. This would apply even when the grape juice is better or equal. Perhaps one has found exceptionally good grape juice, while the wine was so poor that any grape juice would be considered better.
This opinion is discussed at length in the book Birkat Kahalachah, and the author’s last name is difficult to pronounce. See also Avnei Yashver. Furthermore, none of the classical halachic authorities mentioned that the law is different when one drinks freshly squeezed grape juice, unless one argues that the plain term “wine” refers specifically to alcoholic wine, while grape juice is called grape juice from the outset.
Whatever one says, the proof from raisin wine is a strong proof. Nevertheless, it appears that we must follow the ruling of Pesach Barachot L’Hakein. He does not issue a definitive ruling; he says that the matter requires further research.
If you ask about my practice, when I use Barmas grape juice for the Friday-night sanctification, I read the discussion in Halacha Berurah and was convinced by it. I also saw that Hacham David recited Hatov Vehametiv when grape juice was served. That became my practice. However, Hacham Ben Zion creates a doubt, and Rabbi Elyashiv presents another concern. We therefore have to question whether we are correct to be so confident in reciting Hatov Vehametiv over grape juice when Hacham Ben Zion would say not to do so.
Perhaps we should simply return to using wine for the Friday-night sanctification. Maybe that is the answer. I wonder whether one could pour half Barmas grape juice and half wine, creating a hybrid beverage. It would have some taste of wine and perhaps some of the effect of an alcoholic beverage, while still being sweet. Maybe that would work. I think one would then be all right. It was a major doubt, and even when I raised it, people responded, “Yes, yes,” as though they considered it drinkable.
For them, the issue may simply be that the wine is cooked, which is why I do not like using it. That is why I prefer to obtain non-cooked wine. Nevertheless, we are being stringent regarding the non-cooked wine while being lenient regarding the blessing. Perhaps I should not be doing that. As the rabbi said, this matter requires further research.
At least we know that this beverage is considered wine. If you ask Hacham David, he will tell you that there is no question. But if you ask the other side—Hacham Ben Zion across the street—he will tell you that the rabbi was not entirely pleased with the practice. Hacham David, however, brought a good proof from Rabbi Yehuda Ayash regarding raisin wine. It sounds as though he had no problem with it, even though it was not alcoholic.
If Rabbi Bitan said that the matter requires further research, then even he was not going to rule definitively against the practice. Therefore, those who are already doing this may continue their practice, while those who are not doing it perhaps should not begin, out of deference to Hacham Ben Zion.
We will stop here.