We are in Bikim BaHalakha, the Mizrahi edition, Aleph Hashalom, dedicated by the children of Haim Ben Mazal for the daily study of halakha, and in memory of Dania Koel, Aleph Hashalom. Today is day forty-nine—look at that: seven times seven. This day is dedicated by Ronit and Joey Zaghi, with blessings for success and for their parents, children, and entire family.
Yesterday we learned that if you are planning to eat bread and drink during the meal, as most people do, it is preferable to drink before the meal and recite Shehakol before beginning. Some authorities say that HaMotzi does not cover water that one drinks, while others say that it does. Ultimately, if you recited HaMotzi, it will cover the water, but if you did not, it is better to recite Shehakol beforehand.
Yesterday, for example, I went to lunch with the rabbis. I washed my hands and was going to eat bread, but we were in a pizza restaurant. Right before the meal, I recited HaMotzi, and then I said, “Let me get the Pellegrino.” She asked, “What are you doing? You are washing for bread.” I told her that I was reciting Shehakol.
Every day we learn a new halakha. I told the boys, “Do not be afraid to change.” When we learn something new, we institute it in practice. Why do we go to the yeshivah every day—to remain the same pickle we have been for the past thirty years? No. We want to change our ways. We learn, and then we put what we learn into practice.
Therefore, a person should not say, “When I got married, I was an ignoramus. I did not know anything.” As we develop, we learn more, and we should not be embarrassed to institute what we learn. That is what we did. Now, however, we are being told another point: One should drink less than a revi’it before the meal.
There is another dispute here. If you drink, for example, three ounces—or even one ounce—you may have to recite a blessing after drinking. That creates another difficulty. We do not want to solve one problem and create two more. Therefore, the best solution is simply to take a sip. The additional condition to what we said yesterday is that, although it is preferable to drink before the meal, one should drink only a sip.
Look at note 25. The Ben Ish Chai ruled that one should avoid drinking a revi’it. Some authorities say that one must recite Borei Nefashot before beginning the meal. According to some authorities, Birkat Hamazon at the end of the meal will not cover water that a person drank before the meal. To avoid this issue, one should drink less than a revi’it.
Hacham Ovadia writes that Maran Chaluk cited a dispute among the early authorities as to whether one becomes obligated to recite a concluding blessing after drinking a revi’it of wine or after drinking a kezayit of wine, which he describes as an ounce. He adds that the same dispute applies to other beverages, not only wine. Therefore, to avoid all doubts, one should even drink less than an ounce. So what is the right answer? Take a sip.
What if someone did not listen and drank more than a revi’it before the meal? If he is in a hurry to study a revi’it in one day—one day down the hatch—he should not recite the concluding blessing. Do not recite the concluding blessing before the meal, because some authorities say that Birkat Hamazon will cover what he drank. If someone wants to recite Borei Nefashot before beginning the meal because he drank more than a revi’it, you cannot yell at him. There are worse things. However, if he is planning to drink more during the meal, there is no purpose in reciting Borei Nefashot; he should rely on Shehakol to cover it.
Look at the note at the bottom. The Ben Ish Chai writes that if someone mistakenly drank a revi’it of water before the meal, he should recite Borei Nefashot before proceeding with the meal. He testified that this was the ruling of the Arizal.
The Arizal had divine inspiration. One day, he saw a mark written on the forehead of Rabbi Chaim Vital. The mark accused him of having drunk without reciting Borei Nefashot. The Arizal told him, “I see that you must recite the concluding blessing.” Rabbi Chaim Vital replied that he had drunk a revi’it of water before the meal and had intended to continue eating without reciting the blessing after drinking. In other words, he was saying, “I was going to wash, and then I was going to rely on HaMotzi to cover me.” The Arizal rebuked him and told him that he should have recited Borei Nefashot first and only then continued.
Hacham Ovadia, however, took issue with this ruling. It is remarkable that he could disagree with the Arizal. He cites the Magen Avraham, who demonstrated that one should not dispute the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch. Based on this, he says that this case should be no different from someone who drank wine before the meal, since Birkat Hamazon does cover the beverage consumed before the meal.
Although it is true that the Arizal personally ruled in favor of those who maintain that one must recite Borei Nefashot before the meal, Hacham Ovadia says that his opinion carries no more weight than that of any other halakhic authority. That is Hacham Ovadia’s position: everyone is equal. The Ben Ish Chai and the other rabbis say one thing, and then there is the Arizal. I need to learn with Elijah the Prophet! Come on—you need broad shoulders. No promises; we follow the rules.
The Ben Ish Chai established the principle that whenever the Arizal ruled that a blessing must be recited, we do not apply the rule of uncertainty regarding blessings. The Arizal said it, and therefore we do not invoke that uncertainty. Many authorities disagreed with this principle, maintaining that the rule of uncertainty regarding blessings takes precedence over the ruling of the Arizal, just as it takes precedence over the ruling of Maran.
Rabbi Yosef Yedid El Levi, the kabbalist Rabbi Shaul Katzin, and Pri Etz Tzadik rule that, in light of this, if someone mistakenly drinks a revi’it, he should not recite a blessing. Even so, Maran added that if someone wishes to follow the position of the Ben Ish Chai, one cannot object to him. That is why the ruling is qualified in this way: if he wants to recite the blessing, you cannot yell at him. It is based on a possible doubt upon a possible doubt.
First, some authorities ruled that even when someone drinks wine before a meal, he must recite the concluding blessing and cannot rely on Birkat Hamazon. That is one reason. Although the Shulchan Aruch ruled that Birkat Hamazon does cover wine consumed before the meal, it is possible that water is different from wine. Wine can be considered essential to the meal because it wets a person’s appetite, whereas water does not have that property. Therefore, it could be that Birkat Hamazon does not cover water, and there is reason to recite Borei Nefashot beforehand.
So he is giving two reasons why one may recite Borei Nefashot. What would I say? I would follow the Arizal. Although we follow Hacham Ovadia’s approach, and although he tells us to recite a blessing, normally we are bound by the rule of uncertainty regarding blessings. Nonetheless, it is difficult to set aside the Arizal. Hacham Ovadia, may he rest in peace, has his approach, and of course it is a proper approach. But I would accept the second position: those who wish to recite Borei Nefashot may and should do so.
But you know what? Do not put yourself into a dilemma. Drink less than a revi’it, and then you will not have a problem.
Now look at number 27. What about alcoholic beverages, such as whiskey? During the meal, we do not recite a separate blessing over whiskey. Why? Because the blessing over wine is different. But can one drink whiskey before the meal? The same principle applies: drink a little before the meal if you want the blessing to cover it. If you recited HaMotzi during the meal, it covers all beverages.
By the way, there is no coincidence here. Today is the daily Talmud study, and Jackie was here, although we did not have the class. Today’s page is from Chullin, page 111. Look at what it says at the bottom of the page—we read it today: Wine covers all beverages. Could you ask for a better coincidence? We are not in a conference, and suddenly everything converges.
The Taz rules that if someone wishes to drink hard liquor during a meal, he must recite the blessing of Shehakol. Although HaMotzi covers all beverages, it does not cover hard liquor, because hard liquor is not considered part of the meal.
The Magen Avraham disagrees. He says that people drink hard liquor during the meal to renew their appetite and to aid digestion. If someone wishes to drink hard liquor at the very beginning of the meal, however, the Magen Avraham agrees that it is necessary to recite Shehakol, because people do not drink hard liquor before the meal in order to whet their appetite.
Here are the rules: You begin drinking the liquor only after you have started eating, because then it can whet your appetite. But if you drink it at the beginning, the Magen Avraham says that you recite Shehakol. The main purpose of drinking these beverages, he explains, is to strengthen the heart. I would tell that to an alcoholic: “The reason you drink is to strengthen your heart.”
The Nishmat Adam argued that it is not possible to make a blanket rule, since different individuals have different needs and natures. Some people use hard liquor to whet their appetite before eating; it is true that it can open the appetite when one has not eaten. The Mishnah Berurah likewise cast doubt on the position of the Taz. Nevertheless, the common custom is not to recite a blessing over Scotch, whether one drinks it before the meal or in the middle of the meal.
The Ben Ish Chai ruled that since the halakhic authorities debated this matter, one should not recite any blessing over hard liquor during the meal. He related that his father, Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim, would recite Shehakol over a small piece of sugar whenever he wished to drink wine or Scotch during the meal.
That is another option. Since this is a matter of doubt, take a piece of sugar or a candy and recite Shehakol over it. I said that I am not sure whether that blessing would cover Snapple. It might not cover Scotch, because hard liquor may be different. It is remarkable that he did not prefer the sugar, because the sugar itself could be considered a separate quantity that requires a blessing. Therefore, he said to take something else and recite Shehakol over it.
The Ben Ish Chai pointed out that this is not an issue during the first two minutes of Shabbat, because one recites Kiddush over wine. The blessing over wine covers the other beverages. The question concerns the other cases.
We will continue tomorrow with the authorities at the end of the meal. I have to go to the big meal, but I remember that I have to cover this footnote tomorrow. Blessed is the Lord. Amen.