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...
Reciting "Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto" Silently
Visiting the Sick and Comforting the Mourner: Which Takes Precedence?
“Berachot Parties” to Bring Merit to Ill Patients
Some Laws and Customs of Traveling
Avoiding Anger
Shobabim – Suggestions for Maintaining a State of Purity and Avoiding Sin
May Birkat Halebana be Recited When the Moon is Covered by a Thin Layer of Cloud?
Yihud – Driving in a Car with Tinted Windows or Curtains Over the Windows
Saying "God Willing" Before Every Undertaking; the Delicate Balance Between Effort and Excessive Work (Work-A-Holics)
Some Rules About Counting Jewish Persons
The Issue of Gambling
May a Man and Woman Drive Alone Together in a Car?
Is it Improper to Date a Girl Who Has an Older Unmarried Sister?
Convening a Bet Din and Incarcerating Criminals on Shabbat
Washing One's Hands After a Haircut or After Nail-Cutting
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found