Baruch Hashem, B’siyata Dishmaya, rabotai (my teachers). We begin a new siman (section): Pesach (Passover), siman tav-ayin-gimel, in the laws of Pesach. “Dinei kos rishon (first cup) veseder halaylah ad kos sheni (second cup)” (the laws of the first cup and the order of the night through the second cup). This siman discusses the first two kosot (cups), whatever happens with those first two cups.
I’ll start, and we’ll go around the table. Alef: “Bitchilat haseder mozgim lo kos rishon” (at the beginning of the Seder, they pour him the first cup). “Mozgim lo”—they pour him the kos rishon. “Vezehu beyeinot shelahem”: their wine needed mzigah; mzigah means dilution. The language of the Mishnah is “mazgu lo”—they poured for him. “Mashma de’acherim yimzgu lo”: it sounds like somebody else pours for him, and not he himself. That is derech cheirut: You’re a free man. Everybody has a butler.
“Umekadesh alav, umevarech techilah borei pri hagefen ve’achar kach omer kiddush (sanctification) hayom veshehecheyanu (Who has kept us alive).” As we do: gefen, mekadesh, say whatever zmanim, shehecheyanu. “Veshoteh kos rishon”: he drinks the first cup.
If you forgot to make shehecheyanu on the first night, “yevarech beleil bet”: make it on the second night. If you didn’t make shehecheyanu on the second night, “yevarech kol hachag”: make shehecheyanu during the holiday, even without a cup, because shehecheyanu doesn’t need a cup. We make it on the cup, but you don’t need a cup for shehecheyanu.
And if you made shehecheyanu on the first night but not on the second night—chidush, he says—you made shehecheyanu on the first night. We make shehecheyanu twice because we have two Seder nights. You forgot to make shehecheyanu on the second night? “Yevarech achar kach,” because he is obligated to make the blessing because of the doubt about which day it is. Right? We have a chiyuv (obligation) to make shehecheyanu on two nights. Very interesting. So we have to see what we do.
The Mishnah Berurah is not so sure what to do if you forgot shehecheyanu on the second night. On the first night, everybody agrees. But the second night is a safek (doubt). Today, we know exactly when Pesach comes out, so we’re doing it as a minhag: “We’re doing it.” So that’s the question: If you forgot shehecheyanu on the second night, what would you do? We have to see what the chachamim—The Mishnah Berurah is mesupak (uncertain).
“Aval im lo berach beleil rishon uverach beleil sheni”: Let’s say you didn’t make shehecheyanu on the first night, but you made it on the second night. That’s it; you covered yourself. “Ein tzarich levarech od bishvil yom rishon”: You don’t have to make shehecheyanu again for the first night. Why? “Mimah nafshech” (whichever way you look at it). If the second night is really Yom Tov (festival day), you don’t have to make it on the first night. You made it on the second night; that’s the real night. And if the first night is Yom Tov, what you made on the second night still counts. It’s no worse that you forgot on the first night and made it on the second night. “Harei yachol levarech kol shiv’at yemei hachag.”
It is simple that if you didn’t make shehecheyanu at the time of kiddush and remembered afterward, “detzarich levarech bimkom shenizkar”: you have to make it where you remember. Exactly. You forgot shehecheyanu on the first night and remembered during the se’udah (meal); make shehecheyanu right there. First night? Yes, the first night. You forgot shehecheyanu, and you’re in the middle of the se’udah; make it right there. Shehecheyanu doesn’t need a cup, and therefore, even if he has no kosot, he makes shehecheyanu.
“Ve’im lo amar hahaggadah balaylah hazeh ein lo tashlumin.” There’s no makeup for the Haggadah. You missed the Haggadah, you missed it. And if you didn’t eat matzah and maror on this night, that’s finished; there’s no makeup, because their mitzvot (commandment) are only on this night. That’s a very, very nice halachah (Jewish law). Okay, let’s go, Moshe.
Halachah bet: “Katav haTur.” This is an interesting two paragraphs over there. “Ve’eino mevarech she’asah nisim lefi she’atid le’omro baHaggadah.” The Tur has an unbelievable chidush. The Tur says we don’t say “she’asah nisim la’avoteinu bayamim hahem bazman hazeh” (Who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days, at this time), even though amazing miracles happened on Pesach. Why don’t you say she’asah nissim? Because anyway, we’re going to say it in the Haggadah. I don’t know: Do you say she’asah nissim in the Haggadah? Hallel, yes, but he says we don’t say she’asah nissim because we’re going to say it in the Haggadah.
“Keshah shemevarchim baChanukah uFurim she’asah nisim”—it is obvious that we should have made the blessing on Pesach, too. The Tur is saying that for sure, if you make she’asah nissim on Chanukah and Purim, you should make it on Pesach. Pesach is the mother of miracles. Rather, because in the Haggadah we tell the miracles and wonders, and afterward we make the blessing of Asher Ge’alanu (Who redeemed us). So we make the blessing of Asher Ge’alanu at the end of the Haggadah, and that is like the blessing of she’asah nissim. By the way, he understands that Asher Ge’alanu is like a long she’asah nissim, which is better than she’asah nissim. We make a whole long paragraph of a blessing, so why make two she’asah nissim blessings?
“Veta’ati lamah leh—mikol makom le’aniyut da’ati ein zeh maspik.” He says, “I don’t like it. I don’t like that answer.” “Lamah lo nevarech bitchilah uvasof, velamah lo na’aseh chen biYetzi’at Mitzrayim shenisseha hagedolim mines Purim?” He asks: “What? On Megillah, we also make blessings. We make…” He has a question. “How come we don’t say she’asah nissim on the Haggadah, on Pesach? Don’t tell me it’s because we’re saying Asher Ge’alanu. Make she’asah nissim, too! We make blessings on Megillah, too: ‘HaRav et rivenu,’ ‘VehaDan et dinenu,’ ‘VehaNokem et nikmatenu.’ We should make another blessing of she’asah nissim. Don’t tell me Asher Ge’alanu. I want she’asah nissim.”
He says, “Uveshem Maharil ra’iti…” Ah! Ta’am (reason). What does “bayamim hahem bazman hazeh” mean? The miracles of Purim still happen today. The miracles of Pesach—the great miracles and wonders—don’t happen anymore. Ah, wait a minute! And, by the way, Chanukah also: They say the main miracle was the war, let’s say, which was bederech hateva (through the natural order). It’s a teva (natural) thing.
“Uveshem Maharil bezeh hata’am: shehi mitzvah haktuvah baTorah, ve’ein mevar’chin she’asah nissim ela bemitzvah deRabbanan (rabbinic), kegon Chanukah uFurim.” Wow, another klal (principle), a great principle in Judaism! You don’t make she’asah nissim on Torah items. You only make she’asah nissim on rabbinic items. Since Pesach is a Torah item, and Chanukah and Purim are deRabbanan, that’s a klal.
Then he says, “Ve’ein hadevarim muvanim.” “Veha’emet da’afilu hachi dehachi perusho.” Now he is going to explain a big chidush. So far, we have a few answers for why you don’t say she’asah nissim: either you don’t say she’asah nissim on Torah things, for whatever reason, or Asher Ge’alanu is the she’asah nissim of Pesach. But he doesn’t like any of those answers. Now he is going to try a different answer.
“Dehinneh chol haberachot shetiknu Rabbanan lo shayach berachah ela levarech leHaKadosh Baruch Hu, asher tzivanu bemitzvotav vechu’, kemo le’echol matzah, lashevet basukkah, litko’a shofar.” All the blessings we make are rabbinic. And what is the concept of a blessing? “Hashem, You commanded me to blow the shofar; Hashem, You commanded me to put on tefillin; Hashem, You commanded me to sit in the sukkah.” We’re not making a blessing except to introduce the mitzvah we’re about to do. The blessing says, “Asher kideshanu,” that You sanctified us to do this mitzvah.
“Aval lo la’asot me’etzem hamitzvah berachah.” We don’t turn the mitzvah itself into a blessing. Again: The mitzvah is to wear tefillin, not to make a blessing to tefillin, correct? So we make a blessing as an introduction to the mitzvah we’re about to do. But the Rabbis didn’t establish taking the mitzvah and turning the mitzvah into a blessing. They didn’t do that.
Therefore, the mitzvah is to tell the story of the miracles that happened: “Vehigadta levincha bayom hahu” (You shall tell your child on that day). By saying she’asah nissim, you’re turning that mitzvah of Vehigadta levincha into a blessing, and the Rabbis never did that. Do you understand? “She’asah nissim la’avoteinu bayamim hahem bazman hazeh”—that is the mitzvah itself, to tell the miracle. So maybe you want to make a different blessing: “Asher kideshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu al mikra Haggadah.” That’s another question. Maybe we should do that. We should make a blessing like we say: Vehigadta levincha is a mitzvah de’Oraita (from the Torah), so you should say, “Asher kideshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu likro et haHaggadah.” No problem. But to say she’asah nissim—that’s the mitzvah itself! We never turn the mitzvah itself into a blessing; a blessing only introduces the mitzvah.
“Demin haTorah anu metzuvim lesaper hanissim balaylah hazeh vehaveh mitzvat aseh, im ken ein eich nevarech she’asah nissim? She’asah nissim harei zeh etzem hamitzvah!” The mitzvah itself. “Vaharei Haggadah achar Haggadah.” Right, it’s Haggadah after Haggadah! You say she’asah nissim, the blessing, and then you can’t even read the Haggadah; you just read the Haggadah already. You said she’asah nissim—that’s already part of the recitation.
“Uvirkat Asher Ge’alanu haytah al achilat matzah umaror.” This is the main thing of Asher Ge’alanu: it’s already about the matzah and maror, which you’re about to eat, as it says, “higi’anu halaylah hazeh le’echol bo matzah umaror”—“You have brought us to this night to eat matzah and maror.” But she’asah nissim is the main mitzvah of telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt. “Verak hamitzvah deRabbanan peirshu Ge’onim veram, vezehu…” Ah, so that’s what it says. Which means that for a mitzvah deRabbanan, they can make the blessing into a mitzvah. But for a mitzvah de’Oraita, they can’t make the blessing into the mitzvah. And therefore—okay, so he dealt with this issue. Very nice. Chazak uvaruch, Rabbi Aruch Hashulchan.
Now we get to the subject of the day. The reason we’re making it a subject is that it’s happening this year. It’s Shabbat, and Motza’ei Shabbat is Pesach. So on Motza’ei Shabbat, we’re going to run into the biggest kiddush of the year, which is Yaknahaz. We’re going to need havdalah (separation). Friday night—no, Friday night you just add Yom Hashishi to the havdalah, to the kiddush. But the second night of Pesach is Saturday night, so you’ll have to make havdalah somewhere in the kiddush.
Fine, make havdalah; no problem. That’s not going to be the question, because open the machzor, and it will tell you: yayin, kiddush, ner, havdalah, zeman, whatever. The discussion is: Imagine this case—what if you forgot to make the havdalah in the kiddush? I guess that could happen to guys like us. In the machzor, there are kiddushes for Pesach that comes out on a weekday; kiddushes for Pesach that comes out, you know, on Tishah Be’Av; kiddushes for Pesach that comes out on Sukkot. There are 32 options for the kiddushes. So now you said the wrong kiddush, right? You opened to the wrong page. You looked for the wine spot; that’s what you do. Where’s the wine? Which page has the wine on it? That’s where the kiddush is. Last night, you spilled wine on the kiddush page, so you made it again. Then they come and tell you, “Hey, wasn’t it Motza’ei Shabbat? Where’s the havdalah? You forgot the havdalah.” Whoa.
Now, the reason why this is—do we have a Tur Beit Yosef, Hilchot Pesach? We do, inside. You want to bring a Tur Beit Yosef, Hilchot Pesach. Let’s start reading dalet. Yosef chaver, you want to read dalet in the Aruch Hashulchan?
“Ve’im chal beShabbat, omer Vayechulu (They were completed).” Beautiful. “Omer Vayechulu.” This year, Friday night we’re going to start the kiddush with “Vayechulu hashamayim veha’aretz vechol tzeva’am” (The heavens and the earth and all their host were completed), like every Friday night. “UveMotza’ei Shabbat, omer achar kiddush havdalah.” Okay. “Umiyoshev.” He holds you make it sitting. We don’t sit; we stand for kiddush. But he is going to say that since it’s havdalah, you have to sit for the kiddush of Saturday night. No problem.
“Ve’af al gav shehavdalah omrim me’omed, mikol makom zeh she’im kiddush ve’al haseder omer miyoshev.” Okay, miyoshev. He wants to say you have to sit for this havdalah. Very nice. “Ve’ein besamim bahavdalah.” There are no besamim in this havdalah. Not bashamayim? I knew you said it right. Chazak! “Ve’ein besamim bahavdalah.” There are no besamim in this havdalah. Why? “Eino ela lechazek hanefesh.” What are you saying besamim for? To fill the void in the nefesh, in the neshamah yeterah that left, and to strengthen yourself on Motza’ei Shabbat.
“Vezehu kesheMotza’ei Shabbat chol velo Yom Tov, sheme’atzmah hanefesh betokfo.” The nefesh is not so bad on Motza’ei Shabbat Yom Tov. Yom Tov itself strengthens the nefesh, so you don’t need besamim. Another answer: “Vegam beYom Tov yesh ma’achalim tovim.” The ribah will strengthen the nefesh. You have good food coming up, so don’t worry about the nefesh. You don’t need a little mazahar. The good food, the good meal, will strengthen the nefesh.
“Venosach hahavdalah”—a very nice piece now. Have you ever seen the havdalah we make on Motza’ei Shabbat on Yom Tov? It’s a long one, where we mention many distinctions. The Gemara says you have to mention seven distinctions, seven havdalot. Normally, on Motza’ei Shabbat, we say, “Hamavdil bein kodesh lechol” (who separates between sacred and ordinary), “bein or lechoshech” (between light and darkness), “bein Yisrael le’amim” (between Israel and the nations), and “uvein yom hashevi’i lesheshet yemei hama’aseh” (between the seventh day and the six days of work). We make four havdalot. On Motza’ei Shabbat Yom Tov, the Gemara says you have to make seven havdalot, and he is going to tell you the seven and explain them.
“Venosach hahavdalah: Hamavdil bein kedushat Shabbat likdushat Yom Tov hivdalta.” There is a difference between the sanctity of Shabbat and the sanctity of Yom Tov; that’s number one. “Uvein yom hashvi’i lesheshet yemei hama’aseh kidashta.” There is a difference between the weekday and the seventh day. “Hivdalta vekidashta et amcha Yisrael bikdushatach.” You made a distinction and a sanctification between the people of Israel and what? Their holiness.
“Vechatav Rabbeinu Tam”—continue; we only have four so far. This is either in Vatodi’enu or in the kiddush. Do we say it in kiddush? We’ll have to see the nusach (wording). “Vechatav Rabbeinu Tam: hata’am shema’arichin harbeih bahavdalah.” Why do you make such a long havdalah? Just give the regular one. He says, “Sheshaninu sham: hapochet al yifchat mishloshah, vehamosif al yosif al sheva.” The one who wants the minimum should make three distinctions, but don’t make more than seven.
“Lefichach, mipnei chovat hayom…” I have chibat hayom. “Chibat hayom.” Here it’s chovat hayom. “Chovat”—change it to chibat hayom, because of the love of the day. Yom Tov is a beautiful day. Different meaning. “Nazkir pa’am achat sheva havdalot.” Ah! Because it’s Yom Tov, we’re going to do something incredible: we’re going to go all seven. We’re going all out for Yom Tov, lichvod Yom Tov, rabotai; we’re going to say all seven distinctions.
Now he explains it. “Vehainu bein kodesh lechol, echad.” God, You separated sacred days from ordinary days; that’s number one. Number two? No, we know that’s going to be the blessing, “Baruch Attah Hashem, hamavdil bein kodesh lekodesh” (Blessed are You, Hashem, who separates between sacred and sacred). But we’re going to say the distinctions: “Hamavdil bein kodesh lechol.” Continue: “Bein or lechoshech.” Between light and darkness; that’s two. “Bein Yisrael la’amim,” that’s three, between the Jewish people and the nations of the world. “Uvein yom hashvi’i lesheshet yemei hama’aseh.” Between the weekdays and Shabbat; that’s four.
“Bein kedushat Shabbat likdushat Yom Tov hivdalta.” Oh, there’s a difference between Shabbat and Yom Tov! What’s the difference? “Deveyom Tov hutar ochel nefesh.” Okay, so that’s five. “Hivdalta vekidashta et amcha Yisrael.” Now, hivdalta and hikdashta are two more. What are hivdalta and hikdashta? Two distinctions? Go ahead: “Bein Yisrael leshevet Levi,” and “uvein Yisrael leLevi’im,” as it is written, “ba’et hahi hivdil Hashem et shevet haLevi.” Wow, God separated the Children of Israel from the tribe of Levi. The tribe of Levi has its own item. And between the Levites and the Kohanim. The Kohanim have their own item, too, as it is written, “vayibadel Aharon lehakdisho kodesh kodashim.” That makes seven.
So now you learned a chidush: there are seven havdalot. That’s a nusach, no? Not a nusach? I don’t remember. I know Vatodi’enu, but yes, Vatodi’enu, and we’re going to say it in the Amidah as well. On Saturday night in the Amidah, instead of “Attah chonantanu,” we’re going to say Vatodi’enu. This is the wording of Vatodi’enu. And in the havdalah, too, we’re going to make this special seven-part havdalah. Now you know the seven parts. The last two, hikdashta and hivdalta, are between the Children of Israel and the tribe of Levi, and between the tribe of Levi and the Kohanim.
“Veseder hahavdalah, Lior. Veseder hahavdalah Yaknehaz.” Yes, everybody knows Yaknahaz. This is a Yaknahaz year, rabotai: yayin, kiddush, ner, havdalah, zeman. “Uchech nifsekah halachah bePesachim, mipnei shekiddush kodem lehavdalah.” Kiddush has to come before havdalah for whatever reason. I guess because it’s Yom Tov already, so you have to introduce Yom Tov. I guess we always want to push havdalah later, right? You always want to keep the kedushah for as long as you can, so do kiddush first and put havdalah at the end. “Vezman husderu levasof.” Shehecheyanu is always at the end.
Now we get to our story, rabotai. He has that wording, but it doesn’t include all seven. The second night—why not? Shehecheyanu, that was our first halachah: shehecheyanu on both nights. To us, the second night is like the first night; we don’t make any difference. “Rabbi, does the havdalah proclaim a new day? Why do they do that? Don’t you need to say that with the havdalah before kiddush, because kiddush proclaims the second night?” No, no. It could be that the second day begins at nightfall. The kiddush just changes its level of kedushah. But nightfall is already a new day, let’s say. It’s still Saturday night.
Continue. Now we get to the story. What did you say before? “Ve’im shachach lehavdil.” “Ve’im shachach lehavdil velo nizkar ad shehitchil hahaggadah, yashlim hahaggadah ad Ga’al Yisrael ve’achar kach yavdil.” What is he saying? You forgot to make havdalah and didn’t remember until you started the Haggadah. All of a sudden you’re reading the Haggadah: “Oh, we didn’t make havdalah!” What are you going to do? He says, “Yashlim hahaggadah”: finish the Haggadah through Ga’al Yisrael, meaning say Ga’al Yisrael, and afterward make havdalah.
I don’t know exactly what this means. So I would say, “Baruch Attah Hashem, Ga’al Yisrael.” Okay, now what? There’s a cup to drink afterward; there’s a second cup at that point. So wait, tell me exactly. I don’t know what this means. Tell me what you think this means. Ga’al Yisrael—now what about havdalah? No, wait. Put this cup on the side. I’m holding the cup for Ga’al Yisrael. Put it down. Rabotai, pick up your cups. “Baruch Attah Hashem, Ga’al Yisrael.” Don’t drink! Put the cup down and pour me another cup. I’ll use that cup, okay? Why not? I don’t know.
Okay, rabotai, don’t put your cup down; hold the cup. “Shochen Tziyon”—no, no, Shochen Tziyon; we’re just going to make havdalah. Make esh (fire), because there are no besamim. Gefen—you, behod'at, gefen—you’re not going to make gefen, because we already made gefen. And just say mavdil, and then drink. Shehecheyanu? You already made shehecheyanu. No, you forgot havdalah. You didn’t forget that it was Pesach; you forgot that it was Motza’ei Shabbat.
Just explain it to me, David. This never happened to me, ayin hara. So you pick up the one cup and say, “Baruch Attah Hashem, Ga’al Yisrael.” It’s not a hefsek (interruption), you tell me? No, I guess Ga’al Yisrael isn’t on this cup. Ga’al Yisrael is about the miracles we’re discussing over there. I said gefen already, again. It may not be a hefsek. Okay, no problem. Ga’al Yisrael, bring the ner (candle), “borei me’orei ha’esh” (Creator of the lights of the fire), and don’t forget to lean! Trivia question: When do you lean for havdalah? This is the case where you lean for havdalah. When do you have to lean for havdalah? When you forgot it and make it on the second cup. Well, you leaned on the first kos, too, I guess. You lean then, too.
Now, by the way, you can’t imagine who this would happen to. Who would this happen to? So you open up the Beit Yosef, and what siman is this, rabotai? Tav-ayin-gimmel. I got chizuk (encouragement) from this Beit Yosef. To be honest with you, I got chizuk. Look at the chizuk I got: “Ve’im chal beMotza’ei Shabbat omer Yaknehaz.” Then he gives the seven items here.
“Vechatav be’Orchot Chayim”—the Beit Yosef is speaking—“pa’am achat shachach Rebbi lehavdil beMotza’ei Shabbat Yom Tov shel Pesach.” The Orchot Chayim, one of the great Rishonim, says that his rabbi forgot to make havdalah! You know why I get excited about this? Even the greatest tzaddikim, the Rishonim, made mistakes! What would happen if you forgot havdalah on leil Pesach? Forget it; you’d be depressed for the rest of the chag. “Oh, I messed up.” It happens once a year. Your wife will tell you, “Am ha’aretz, you idiot! We do this once a year and you forgot havdalah.” The kids are going to say, “What a chamor my father is.” The guy is going to tell me about Yetzi’at Mitzrayim now? He don't even know how to make havdalah here. “Tamar and got in a fight,” you know what I mean. The whole Seder becomes tainted. You didn’t make havdalah. Now go to the neighbor—what do we do? We didn’t make havdalah.
Then you open up the Beit Yosef, and the Orchot Chayim says, “My rabbi on Pesach forgot to make havdalah.” Give him the benefit of the doubt; he probably felt the kedushah, and nana! No problem. But whatever you say, he forgot it! I get excited about that. I get excited. No, because he’s going to teach you halachah; there’s no halachah. “Pa’am achat shachach Rebbi lehavdil beMotza’ei Shabbat Yom Tov shel Pesach ad she’achal yerakot.” Wow, he’s eating the celery! Yalla, he’s already eating the vegetables. They got up, washed, “Kaddesh u’rchatz karpas.” Where were they? Wait, was he alone? What do you think, he was alone? He was alone. He was alone.
“Vehitchil Haggadah,” bingo! “Avadim.” They go on, full steam ahead; the train’s moving. “Vekodem shegamar hahaggadah nizkar.” All of a sudden his wife tells him, “Hey, havdalah! Havdalah!” Watch your wife—the rebbetzin. The rebbetzin tells him, “Hey, havdalah. What happened over there?” “Velo ratzah lachazor lehavdil.” He didn’t want to go back and make havdalah. “Ad sheyashlim hahaggadah ad Ga’al Yisrael.” He told him, “No problem. Keep on going, veiter; go to Ga’al Yisrael, and after Ga’al Yisrael we’ll figure out what to do.” That’s the whole story, by the way.
And Maran is going to take this opinion. Maran is going to say that’s what you do: If you forgot havdalah and started the Haggadah, just go to Ga’al Yisrael; we’ll negotiate it. Then the guy said, “Now there’s a Rema over here.” You know, the Rema wrote two books. One book is the hagahah (gloss) on the Shulchan Aruch, where he writes his comments. Then there’s another book he wrote called Darkei Moshe, his comments on the Beit Yosef. He wrote two books connected to Maran: a book on the Shulchan Aruch and a book on the Tur and Beit Yosef.
Here he has a little note, Darkei Moshe: “Vechen katav Maharil beshem Tzafnat Paneach”—what? Push the havdalah until Ga’al Yisrael. “Omnam katav deyesh cholkim vesovrim deyavdil miyad.” He says there are other poskim (halachic authorities) who say you should make havdalah immediately. “Can I drink it all now?” Yes! You’re allowed to drink between one and two. There’s more of a problem because it almost looks like a fifth cup, and an Ashkenazi probably has to make a blessing. Fine, sorry, I have no choice.
That’s what he says. All I wanted to show you in this Beit Yosef is that the Beit Yosef brings down the Ga’al Yisrael shitah (approach). Now let’s see what the Aruch Hashulchan says. “Velamah lo yavdil be’emtza hahaggadah?” He asks: Why am I telling you to wait until Ga’al Yisrael? Do it right away! “Am I allowed to talk during the Haggadah?” Yes, I’m allowed to talk, especially if it’s a tzorech (need). So he asks, why shouldn’t you do it right away?
“Lo mipenei she’asur lehafssik.” It’s not because it’s forbidden to make a hefsek. Rather, “dehavdalah tzarich kos, veheich ya’aseh? Im yishteh, harei mosif al hakosot.” The problem is that it will look like you’re adding to the cups. A kos chamishi (fifth cup). Okay, rabotai, pick up your cups. “Dad, what was this cup?” Don’t ask questions; pick up your cup. The next day, when he goes to school: “In my house we had five cups.” “What happened?” Tell him, “In the middle of the Haggadah, we got to ‘Maror zeh,’ and then picked up another cup.” The ba’al habayit makes it. Fine, the ba’al habayit makes it, but my daddy drank five cups!
“Sheharei lechatchilah ein lehosif af bishnei kosot harishonim.” That’s true. Maran is going to tell you that you’re really not supposed to add between the first two cups, although you’re allowed to. He says you shouldn’t add unless there’s a tzorech gadol (great need), because he’s worried you’ll get drunk. So we really don’t want you to add another cup here.
“Ve’im lo yishteh ad kos sheni, harei yesh hefsek bein havdalah lishtiyat hakos.” Why not make havdalah and then drink after Ga’al Yisrael? That’s not a good option either, because there’s an interruption between havdalah and drinking. You want to connect the havdalah to the drinking. So it’s no good to say, “We’ll read the wording of havdalah now, and drink at Ga’al Yisrael.” That’s too far away.
So what does he say? “Vesheyishteh veyetzei bo yedei kos sheni, lefi mah shekatavnu bise’if hakodem, se’if yud-alef, ayein sham. Vevadai lechatchilah asur la’asot ken.” That means they say, “You know what? Make havdalah in the middle and have in mind that it should count as the second cup, too.” Yes, but you’re in the middle of the Haggadah. You’re not supposed to have the second cup until after the Haggadah, so that’s not an option either. You understand what he’s doing? He’s giving you every possible option and telling you they’re all no good.
Another option would be: “Rabotai, you know what? We’re at ‘Maror zeh’ now; the Haggadah is over. We’ll make havdalah, drink the second cup, and everybody can finish the Haggadah to themselves.” That’s not a good option either, because you’re really supposed to finish the Haggadah. “Velachen yamtin ad Ga’al Yisrael, veyavdil veyishteh.” So he says: Say Ga’al Yisrael, make havdalah, and drink. It sounds like you’re drinking the same cup. Or maybe not; maybe you’re drinking a different cup. I don’t know how many cups you’re drinking, but basically he’s telling me to say the words Ga’al Yisrael and then go straight into havdalah.
“Umilvad kach—eino ochel ve’eino shoteh ad achar kach, achar ken, shene’emar, sheyesh isur le’echol velishtot kodem havdalah.” You’re going to ask me, “Hey, Rabbi! How could you eat before havdalah?” I didn’t eat. What did I eat here? I’m making havdalah; I’m drinking a cup. “Ah, you ate the karpas?” Yes. “You ate the karpas. What are you going to do? Spit it up?”
But, Rabbi, what if the guy realizes after he drank the first cup and hasn’t eaten karpas yet? We didn’t see that case. Right, we didn’t see that case. We only saw the case where he remembered during the Haggadah. During the Haggadah, so what are you going to do? Wait until Ga’al Yisrael. Benny is asking, “Okay, good. But let’s say I remember before karpas. Now you’re really not allowed to eat before havdalah. Should I make it before karpas, or should I also wait until Ga’al Yisrael?” That’s a good she’elah (question) you’re asking.
Look at the Orchot Chayim: He made a point of saying that the rabbi ate the vegetable. He ate the vegetable and continued, so it could be that—Right. He ate less than a kezayit (olive-sized measure). Less than a kezayit, like an achilah (act of eating). Continue.
“Velachen im lo nizkar ad shehitchil le’echol, yafsik miyad veyavdil.” If you didn’t make havdalah and remembered before karpas, or before you started eating, stop immediately and make havdalah. There you go! You have to make havdalah right away. How could he do it on the cup? Mistama (presumably). And what does the Mishnah Berurah say? It’s also here. What are you talking about? Like this—the meal, he’s talking about. If you remembered before the meal, you have to do it before the meal.
The Mishnah Berurah adds, “Vehu hadin im nizkar miyad achar sheshatah kos sheni.” Right. You drank the second cup; it’s finished. Now you remember you didn’t make havdalah—pour another cup. You have to use another cup. “Ve’im hayah da’ato lishtot yayin betoch hase’udah, eino tzarich levarech borei peri hagefen. Ve’im lo, tzarich levarech.” If he intended to drink wine during the meal, he doesn’t need to make the blessing over the fruit of the vine; otherwise, he needs to make it. We don’t make blessings anyway on cups—on cups anyway.
“Ve’im shachach ad achar birkat hamazon.” Now we’re pushing the guy to the end. He remembered after Birkat HaMazon. Now what does he do about havdalah? “Yavdil achar kach veyishte kos gimmel veya’aleh lishnehem.” Very good. That means say “Oseh shalom bimromav,” make havdalah, and drink the cup; it will work for both. “Vechen im lo nizkar ad achar Hallel.” Wow, the guy is a crazy guy—Hallel! So he says, “Baruch Attah Hashem, Melech mehulal batishbachot,” “Kos yeshuot esa,” whatever, makes havdalah, and drinks for both. “Uve’emtza birkat hamazon—uve’emtza Hallel lo yafsik.” Of course, in the middle of Hallel you’re not going to stop.
“Ve’af al gav de’ein osim shetei kedushot al kos echad, bimkom she’i efshar shani.” Oh! Now he has another problem: What about mitzvot chavilot chavilot? How could you put two kedushot on one cup? You’re doing Birkat HaMazon and havdalah, or the second cup and havdalah. How do you put two things on one cup? Aren’t you not supposed to do that—to put two kedushot together, to bunch up the mitzvot? He has a very simple answer: What are you going to do? “Heicha de’i efshar shani.” What do you want me to do now? I have no choice. I have no choice. I have no choice.
What do you mean, I have no choice? Why not take two cups? I have a choice. I’ll tell you what to do in the Ga’al Yisrael case. Maran is going to tell you. First of all, open the Shulchan Aruch. Let’s open the Shulchan Aruch; I’ll tell you what to do. Open up the Shulchan Aruch, boys. Tav-ayin-bet, tav-ayin-gimmel, alef. Open up the Shulchan Aruch; I have it here. Marcel, do you have tav-ayin-gimmel, alef? Why not?
“Mozgim lo kos rishon.” Good. “Umekadesh alav umevarech shehecheyanu.” Good. “Ve’im chal beShabbat, omer: Vayechulu.” Good. “Bemotza’ei Shabbat, omer: Yaknehaz.” And: “Ve’im shachach lehavdil velo nizkar ad shehitchil haHaggadah, yashlim haHaggadah ad Ga’al Yisrael, ve’achar kach yavdil.” Listen to Maran. Maran took the Orchot Chayim, as we saw in the Beit Yosef. He discusses only one case: You forgot havdalah in the middle of the Haggadah, so the next stopping point is Ga’al Yisrael. But he doesn’t really tell me what I’m supposed to do. I’m assuming you make havdalah on the cup and drink it, because what are you going to do? Even though I’m doing two things on one cup. I’m using this cup; I’m getting my money’s worth. I’m using this cup to fulfill the second cup, meaning for the Haggadah, and I’m using it for havdalah.
That’s already what you’re doing at the beginning, too: kiddush and havdalah in the same cups. Do holidays have chavilot chavilot? Ah, chavilot chavilot—kiddush and havdalah? You’re putting two things together. No, kiddush is one thing: “Hamavdil bein kodesh lekodesh.” That’s the kiddush. “Mekadesh Yisrael vehazmanim”—that’s kiddush. But that’s all one item. It’s all one thing. I understand that it’s two blessings; I understand what you’re saying. But I can argue it’s all the kiddush. The kiddush today is kiddush havdalah. Normally it’s kiddush; this is kiddush and havdalah. This is the kiddush tonight. The kiddush is normally this big; tonight it’s this big. This is the way you make it. It’s called Yaknahaz; that’s what it is tonight. Normally it’s Yak or Yakaz, not Yaknahaz.
Fine. But here I can tell you it’s all the same thing anyway; it’s all the same inyan (matter). It’s kiddush, havdalah—it’s all the inyan of the holidays. Mah she’ein ken (unlike that), here I’m taking a second cup, a Pesach item, Yetzi’at Mitzrayim, and a havdalah item. Yalla, what else have you got? Throw the kitchen sink into this cup, too. What else do you want to do now? A wedding? Mesader kiddushin (one who arranges marriages), too? Anybody want to get married? Bring them; yalla, bring the ring over here. We have one cup. How many things do you want to do on this cup? Anybody have a milah (circumcision) now? Bring it; we’ll do a—You can’t do a milah at night anyway. But the point is, the Aruch Hashulchan answered it for the Magen Avraham: What do you want to do? “Bimkom she’i efshar.” It’s impossible; what do you want the guy to do?
So I’ll say: Why is it impossible? Take another cup. I have an idea. When we make sheva berachot, you know how you make sheva berachot? We’ll take two cups. We’ll tell the ba’al habayit beforehand, before he says Ga’al Yisrael, “Tell your wife to pour me two cups.” Well, he already has one in front of him, the Ga’al Yisrael cup. He tells his wife, “Pour me another cup.” What’s that for? Havdalah. Now what’s he going to do? Rabotai, pick up cup one and cup two. Pick up cup one: “Baruch Attah Hashem… Ga’al Yisrael.” Don’t drink it! You can’t drink; you haven’t made havdalah yet. Put it down. Pick up the second cup. Eish, “hamavdil bein kodesh lekodesh”; “hivdalta, hikdashta, hikdashta, hivdalta”—the whole thing, all seven items. Then drink the havdalah cup. You don’t have to lean; this is a havdalah cup. Put it down.
I never saw such a thing. You never saw such a thing? So that’s it. Since David Meyer never saw such a thing, the poskim say that if he never saw it, it must not be acceptable. The truth is that Chacham Ovadia, alav hashalom, proposes that option. Look what he says here. Don’t miss it. Chazak uvaruch. “That’s the advice you’re giving us over here?” Yes. Resh-lamed-gimel. Chacham Ovadia, in one of his discussions in Chazon Ovadia, siman 16, tet-zayin, has this exact question. He has ten pages on it. At one point he writes:
“Umikol makom nir’eh she’im hayah rotzeh lishtot shetei kosot besof ha-Haggadah, yuchal levarech al Ga’al Yisrael al sof ha-Haggadah, velo yishteh hakos. Veyikach kos acher lehavdalah, uchsheyasayem havdalah, yishteh rov revi’it mikol echad mehakosot.” Drink from the two cups. “Uvchei hai gavna lo chashiv hefsek.” It won’t be considered an interruption. He says, “Shekayotzei vizeh osim bise’udat beit chatanim.” That’s how we do sheva berachot. When you make all seven blessings, you have the kos shel birkat hamazon, and the other cup for the other blessings. He makes “Asher bara” and “Gefen,” and then you take the cups and do the combinations. He says, “So we do it!”
Then he says, “Ela she’ein tzorech bazeh min hadin.” There’s no need for this as a matter of law. Why is he telling you to do this? He’s concerned about the chavilot chavilot issue, the inyan of bunching mitzvot together. He says, listen, technically, if you want to get around that problem, you could use the two-cup scenario, but you don’t have to. Why? We have the Rambam. Bring the Rambams, boys. The Rambams are right here; give them out. I’ll give you the reason you don’t have to worry about this. Everybody open a Rambam here, Hilchot Shabbat, perek kaf-tet, halachah yod-gimel.
In Hilchot Shabbat, open up, rabotai. Perek kaf-tet, Rambam, halachah yod-gimel. Found it? Hilchot Shabbat, rabotai. Hilchot Shabbat, perek kaf-tet, halachah yod-gimel. The Rambam has an interesting case. We’re talking about a guy eating Friday afternoon. He’s eating Friday afternoon, and Shabbat comes in. Now he has to make Birkat HaMazon, finish his meal, and make kiddush for Shabbat. He says: “Hayah ochel vegomer achilato im hachnasat Shabbat.” He was eating Friday afternoon, and he finished as Shabbat came in. “Mevarech birkat hamazon techilah”: he has to make Birkat HaMazon first. “Ve’achar kach mekadesh al kos sheni.”
In the old days, they had the custom, as we do today, of making Birkat HaMazon on a cup. After he makes Birkat HaMazon on one cup, he takes another cup and makes kiddush. “Velo yevarech viyikadesh al kos echad.” Don’t make Birkat HaMazon and kiddush on the same cup. Why? “She’ein osim shetei mitzvot bekos echad.” That’s chavilot. “Shemitzvat kiddush umitzvat birkat hamazon shetei mitzvot shel Torah hen.” Oho! Because Birkat HaMazon is min ha-Torah (from the Torah), and kiddush is min ha-Torah, and you don’t put two Torah mitzvot on the cup.
Chacham Ovadia says a chidush. Is the havdalah we make on Motza’ei Shabbat Yom Tov min ha-Torah or mi-derabbanan (rabbinic)? He says the only havdalah that is min ha-Torah is “hamavdil bein kodesh lechol.” But “hamavdil bein kodesh lekodesh” is mi-derabbanan. There is no law requiring havdalah between Yom Tov and Shabbat. There is a law requiring havdalah between Shabbat and an ordinary day. So he says it’s rabbinic. When do we have a problem of chavilot chavilot? When we put Torah obligations on the same item—that’s the Rambam’s position. But when we put rabbinic obligations on the item, that’s fine. And the cup of the arba kosot (four cups) is clearly rabbinic. That’s for sure; all the four cups are rabbinic. So arba kosot plus havdalah, two rabbinic obligations, is not a problem. He says that on daf resh-lamed-tet. Nice answer.
He says, “Velo amru din mitzvot chavilot ela kesheyihyeh tzorech lishtei al hakos, she’al zeh ameru ein shtei kedushot al hakos, uvelav hachi yesh lomar, al pi mah shekatav haRambam, shedavka bishtei mitzvot shel Torah.” He quotes that specifically regarding two Torah mitzvot. “Vechan havdalah mimotza’ei Shabbat leyom tov shebein kodesh lekodesh lo havya min haTorah,” as the Chatam Sofer writes. Therefore, we have no problem.
So he says you don’t have to do this. If you want to be a hero and use two cups, like at sheva berachot, good luck to you. We can’t stop you. So now it sounds like, according to Maran, the guy says Ga’al Yisrael on the same cup before he drinks, and then he makes havdalah. What does he say first? He doesn’t have to say gefen, because he already said gefen in kiddush. What does he say? Ner.
Now we have a problem. How was he able to read the Haggadah without making ner? What is ner? Ner hamotza’ei Shabbat is what we make so we can benefit from the light. Don’t we do that on Motza’ei Shabbat—for example, if Purim fell on Motza’ei Shabbat—right before mikra Megillah? Let’s say Saturday night is Purim. Tishah Be’Av and Purim, you’re right. Saturday night is Purim. What would we do? Right after the Amidah, we read the Megillah. What do we do before the Megillah? We say “borei me’orei ha’esh.” Why? So you can read the Megillah and benefit from the light.
So seemingly, why shouldn’t you make “borei me’orei ha’esh” as soon as you remember? It’s in the middle of the Haggadah, after maror. They say, “Hey, we didn’t make havdalah!” I would say, get the ner and make ner now, at least, and then make havdalah after Ga’al Yisrael. Even on Purim, if you forget, you don’t stop the Megillah to do it; you do it afterward. Oh, maybe I can’t make a hefsek in the Megillah, but in the Haggadah we’re allowed to talk.
Chacham Ovadia points this out on daf resh-lamed-vav, in a footnote. He says: “Umikol makom nir’eh li shera’ui levarech borei me’orei ha’esh kodem sheyamsich bikri’at hahaggadah kedei shelo yehene min ha’or veyazun einav mimenu kodem sheyevarech alav.” That’s what he holds. Chacham Ovadia says, “Ein hachi nami”: stop right away and make esh. So now we’re getting the protocol. It should never happen to us, but you should know exactly how to handle it. If you remembered in the middle of Haggadah shel Pesach, stop on the spot and say “borei me’orei ha’esh.” Then what? Continue to Ga’al Yisrael, one cup.
So that’s what Maran meant: say Ga’al Yisrael on one cup, don’t drink it, and afterward make havdalah. It turns out you’ll make only one additional blessing. You already said gefen; you don’t make besamim; you already made esh. So you’ll make one extra blessing.
The question, then—and we’ll conclude with this—is: What is the law if you remembered before you started the Haggadah? Before you started karpas? No, I already did karpas. You’re saying only—No, no, no, I didn’t start the Haggadah. I said Kadesh, Urchatz, Karpas, Yachatz. They poured the second cup, and I didn’t start Maggid yet. Maran’s case was only—look at Maran. What was Maran’s wording? “Velo nizkar ad shehit’chil hahaggadah.” What if I didn’t start the Haggadah?
Look at the Bi’ur Halachah, rabotai. See Bi’ur Halachah? “Ad shehit’chil: ayen baMishnah Berurah mah shekatav delididan afilu kodem shehit’chilu nami hadin ken.” Oho! “Vechen hu midevrei haGaraz, vehaGaraz hiflig yoter de’afilu nizkar kodem she’achal hakarpas.” Someone says even before you started karpas! “Nami ochel hakarpas”—eat the karpas; don’t worry, without havdalah. Wait until Ga’al Yisrael.
So bottom line, the Mishnah Berurah always says Ga’al Yisrael! He doesn’t want to go that far. He says that before karpas, the Mishnah Berurah may tell you to make havdalah then. But after you’ve eaten the karpas and poured the second cup, once you’ve poured the second cup, you’ve already started the havdalah; that’s considered starting the Haggadah. He says Chacham Ovadia discusses this. What do you do in such a case?
Chacham Ovadia says: “Umihu im nizkar kodem achilat hakarpas, nireh sheho’il ve’adayin lo hitchil baHaggadah yavdil miyad al hakos,” no problem, “kedei sheyuchal le’echol hakarpas achar havdalah, she’asur lit’om kelum kodem havdalah.” He says that for sure. Don’t eat the karpas; you’re not allowed to eat before havdalah. That much, for sure, he tells you, as the Shulchan Aruch writes.
Then he says, “Velo od ela, nireh li she’afilu nizkar achar achilat hakarpas, kodem shehitchil Haggadah, yavdil miyad.” He ate the karpas, but before he started the Haggadah, he should make havdalah immediately. Why? “Kedei lehasdir birkat me’orei ha’esh al kos hahavdalah”—to put the esh together; you don’t want to separate them. Put the esh and everything else together, so he won’t benefit from the light beforehand. “Vechavivah mitzvah besha’atah.” Very interesting. Therefore, don’t delay the mitzvah until after the Haggadah.
He comes along and says: Maran said you shouldn’t drink between cup number one and cup number two, but Maran said that if it’s a tzorech gadol, you can, and he calls this a tzorech gadol. He does admit, however—he does admit, however—“Ve’af shera’iti laMishnah Berurah beBi’ur Halachah, shegam hu kotev shekol shemazgu lo hakos hasheni.” Once they’ve poured the second cup for the Haggadah, that’s already like they’ve started the Haggadah. The Haggadah doesn’t start when you say Mah Nishtanah or Avadim Hayinu. Once they’ve poured the cup, you’re committed.
“Vechen mashma midivrei haRamban, umikol makom ein lazeh hechre’a.” He says, “I’m not too sure.” So it turns out we have a machloket (dispute) between Chacham Ovadia and the Mishnah Berurah here.
Therefore, it comes out halachah lema’aseh: If you remembered right after kiddush, before you started karpas—before everything—everybody agrees: make havdalah right there. Another cup; you have no choice. If you remembered once they poured the second cup, there is a machloket between Chacham Ovadia and the Mishnah Berurah. The Mishnah Berurah says wait until after Ga’al Yisrael. Chacham Ovadia tells you to do it right away. Once you’ve started the Haggadah, according to Maran—and everybody’s opinion—wait until Ga’al Yisrael, make borei ha’esh right away, and make havdalah after Ga’al Yisrael.
Once you’re already after Ga’al Yisrael, if it’s in the middle of the se’udah, do it in the middle of the se’udah. If it’s after Birkat HaMazon, do it after Birkat HaMazon. If it’s after Hallel, do it after Hallel. You have no choice. If you forgot it completely and went through the whole night without making havdalah until Tuesday, that’s it.
Wait, but he answered the chavilot issue in the Ga’al Yisrael case. What about chavilot in Birkat HaMazon? The Rambam called Birkat HaMazon de’Oraita. Yes, but kiddush is still deRabbanan. So am I allowed to bundle a rabbinic obligation with a Torah obligation? That’s what is implied, because the Rambam’s wording was that they are two Torah mitzvot. That’s what—