**Announcement**
Participate in Rabbi Eli Mansour’s “Daily Interactive Torah Program” at work program.
Starting, Monday Nov. 12th, 2007, Rabbi Mansour will offer a live class, via conference phone, on the Parasha of the week.
Listen and participate live, or call in later in the day and listen to the recording of the class.
Each class will last about 15 minutes.
Live Participation times:
Mondays 12:45 PM – 1:00 PM
Tuesdays 1:45 PM – 2:00 PM
Wednesdays 12:45 PM – 1:00 PM
Thursdays 12:45 PM – 1:00 PM
Conference Phone number#
1-404-920-6610
Access Code: 728418#
To hear the recording of the class later in the day, call 404-920-6610, and enter *301578#.
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Today's Halacha...
The Gemara establishes in Masechet Berachot (59a) that if people drink wine at a meal and then a different wine is brought to the table, before partaking of the new wine they must recite the Beracha of "Baruch At Hashem Elokenu Melech Ha'olam Ha'tov Ve'ha'metiv." However, this obligation is subject to a number of conditions:
1) It applies only in situations where one does not need to recite "Bore Peri Ha'gefen" over the new wine. If, for example, people drank wine at a meal and a different wine was brought after Birkat Ha'mazon, they do not recite the Beracha of "Ha'tov Ve'ha'metiv." Since they had already recited Birkat Ha'mazon, they are now required to recite the Beracha of "Bore Peri Ha'gefen" before partaking of wine. In such a case, the Beracha of "Ha'tov Ve'ha'metiv" is not recited.
2) The Beracha of "Ha'tov Ve'ha'metiv" is not recited if the second wine is known to be inferior in quality to the first. Many people misconstrue this condition and believe that the Beracha is required only if the second wine is superior to the first. This is incorrect; the Shulhan Aruch clearly writes (Orah Haim 175:2) that the Beracha may be recited so long as the new wine is not known to be inferior.
3) The Beracha is not recited if a person drinks the new wine alone; only if one drinks in the company of others does he recite "Ha'tov Ve'ha'metiv" when he drinks the second wine.
4) The Beracha is not recited if nothing remains of the first wine; some of that wine must remain when the new wine is drunk for the Beracha to be required. This is the ruling of Rabbi Moshe Halevi (Israel, 1961-2001), in his work Birkat Hashem (starting on p. 192).
It should be noted that a guest also recites this Beracha; this Halacha is not restricted to those who drink their own wine. Furthermore, no distinction is made between new wine that had been on the table throughout the meal and wine that is brought to the table for the first time. If one drinks a second kind of wine that he had not drunk earlier, then he recites "Ha'tov Ve'ha'metiv" even though this wine had been on the table throughout the meal.
If one recites this Beracha over new wine at a meal, and later a third wine is brought, then he recites the Beracha again before drinking the third wine. According to some views, however, the recitation of "Ha'tov Ve'ha'metiv" covers all wines on the table, and thus if the third wine had been on the table when the Beracha was recited, one does not repeat the Beracha before drinking the third wine. Others, however, disagree. It is best to avoid this debate by ensuring to remove all wines from the table before reciting "Ha'tov Ve'ha'metiv." One will then be required to repeat the Beracha according to all views when he drinks the third wine.
Summary: If two or more people drink wine at a meal and at some point before Birkat Ha'mazon they drink another wine that is not known to be inferior to the first, and some of the first wine remains, then before drinking the second wine they recite the Beracha of "Ha'tov Ve'ha'metiv." The Beracha is repeated each time a new wine is drunk, provided that all the aforementioned conditions are met. Preferably, when the Beracha is recited all other wines should be removed from the table, as otherwise there would be a difference of opinion among the authorities as to whether the Beracha is repeated when another wine is drunk.
