DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Halacha is In Memory of
 Sima bat Alexander Zisha Halevi Striks

Dedicated By
Her Children

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
      
(File size: 788 KB)
If a Non-Jew Pours a Cup of Wine, Does the Wine Remaining in the Bottle Become Forbidden?

If a non-Jew moves a bottle of wine from one point on the table to another (even though the wine is not "Mebushal"), the wine is nevertheless permissible. According to the Shulhan Aruch, kosher wine becomes forbidden only through "Shichshuch," meaning, if a non-Jew moves the bottle in a way that causes the wine to significantly shake. It often happens that a non-Jewish housekeeper moves a bottle of wine on the table to make room for a platter or serving dish. In such a case, the wine in the bottle remains entirely permissible.

If a gentile pours wine (that is not "Mebushal") into a cup, then the wine in the cup is forbidden for drinking. If the non-Jew who poured the wine is practicing idol worship, then the wine is forbidden also for any other kind of benefit, and thus it may not even be sold. The question arises in such a case as to the status of the wine remaining in the bottle. In other areas of Halacha, there is a principle known as "Nisok" which means that a stream of liquid has the effect of Halachically combining the liquid in the top utensil with the liquid in the bottom utensil, such that they are given the same status. Do we apply the rule to this case, such that the wine in the bottle will have the same status as the wine in the cup, and thus be forbidden?

The Halacha in this case depends on whether the non-Jew has the Halachic status of an Obed Aboda Zara (idolater). Moslems do not have this status, and therefore, as mentioned, the wine that they pour is forbidden only for drinking, and not for other kinds of benefit. In such a case, the wine remaining in the bottle is permissible even for drinking. If, however, the non-Jew who poured the wine is an idol worshipper (most of the population), in which case the wine in the cup is forbidden for any kind of benefit, then the wine remaining in the bottle is forbidden for drinking. Other forms of benefit, however, are permissible, and thus the wine may be sold.

Summary: If an idol worshipper pours kosher wine into a cup (and the wine is not "Mebushal"), then the wine in the cup is forbidden for any kind of benefit, and the wine remaining in the bottle is forbidden for drinking, but permissible for other types of benefit, such as selling. If a Moslem pours kosher wine into a cup, then the wine in the cup is forbidden only for drinking, and the wine remaining in the bottle is entirely permissible.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Is It Permissible To Place Food Items Such As A Beverage Bottle Beneath The Table At A Meal
Is It Proper To Refer To Rabbis As Colleagues
Facing the Direction of Israel While Praying the Amidah
Is It Permissible For A Nursing Mother To Resume Nursing Her Baby After A Few Days Interruption
It It Permissible To Release A Person From A Debt On Shabbat Or Is It Considered A Prohibited Shabbat Transaction
Invoking the Merit of Rabbi Meir Ba'al Ha'ness During Times of Crisis
Is It Permissible to Have Elective Surgery
The Importance of Immediately Fulfilling One's Pledges
Earning Atonement Through Eating- A Seuda (Meal) Is Tantamount To A Mizbeach
Uttering a Name of God in a Restroom, Bathhouse or Mikveh
The Difference Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; Crying on Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashana- "Simanim" on Rosh Hashanah, Sleeping and Eating The Ritual Foods
Is It Beneath A Rabbi's Dignity To Conduct Certain Tasks?
Beracha L'Vatala (Waste) and Preserving One's Dignity- Must a Wife Inform Her Husband of a Past Pregnancy to Avoid an Unnecessary Pidyon Ha'ben?
The Benefit Of Many Visiting The Sick In A Hospital; Cleaning a Patient's Room
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found