DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 654 KB)
Passover – Halachot of Birkat Ha’mazon at the Seder

After eating the Afikoman, everyone at the Seder washes Mayim Aharonim, and then Birkat Ha’mazon is recited over a cup of wine. The cup must be rinsed – both the interior and the exterior – before Birkat Ha’mazon, even if it is clean. The one leading Birkat Ha’mazon is handed the cup, which he takes with both hands and then holds with only his right hand throughout the recitation of Birkat Ha’mazon. He should preferably hold the cup at least one Tefah (3-4 inches) above the table, and look at the cup while reciting Birkat Ha’mazon.

One must recite Birkat Ha’mazon with Kavana (concentration), and remember to add Ya’aleh Ve’yabo. One does not perform Heseba (leaning) during Birkat Ha’mazon, as this would not be respectful to the Beracha. Immediately after completing Birkat Ha’mazon, one recites the Beracha of "Boreh Peri Ha’gefen" and drinks the cup of wine while leaning on the left side. If one drinks without Heseba, he must pour another cup and drink again while leaning.

One may not drink wine in between the third and fourth cups of wine at the Seder. Therefore, if a Hatan is present and Sheba Berachot are being recited, only a single cup of wine is used for the Sheba Berachot (as opposed to other times, when, depending on the circumstances, two cups are used). This applies regardless of whether two or seven of the Sheba Berachot are being recited. (The issue of how many Berachot are recited under which circumstances lies beyond the scope of our discussion here.) The Beracha of "Boreh Peri Ha’gefen" is recited first, immediately after Birkat Ha’mazon, followed by the Birkat Hatanim, and, of course, the wine must be drunk while leaning. This Halacha is mentioned in Yalkut Yosef (p. 345; listen to audio recording for precise citation).

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Are Women Obligated to Recite Musaf?
Shaving, Showering and Immersing in the Mikveh Before Shaharit
Kedusha: Proper Intention Before Beginning Kedusha; Lifting One’s Heels During Kedusha
Laws of the Daily Viduy (Confessional)
The Recitation of Alenu Le’shabe’ah
The Recitation of Alenu After Shaharit
May a Person Standing Near the Doorway be Counted Toward a Minyan?
Answering Kaddish, Barechu or Kedusha During “Asher Yasar” and Immediately After Using the Restroom
The Procedure for Bowing and Stepping Back After the Amida Prayer
Facing Toward the Temple Site During the Amida
Reciting the Nighttime Shema After Daybreak; Proper Intentions and Pronunciation While Reciting the Word “Ehad”
If One Recited the Wrong Musaf on Shabbat Rosh Hodesh
If One Forgot to Recite Ya’ale Ve’yabo in Birkat Hamazon on Rosh Hodesh
The Proper Intention While Reciting the First Verse of Shema
Halachot Pertaining to the Beracha of “Yoser Or”
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found