Siman 472, Se'if 7 · The view of the Ravyah as a support after the fact

Shulchan Aruch, Siman 472, se'if 7

"Anyone who is required to recline: if he ate or drank without reclining, he has not fulfilled his obligation, and he must go back and eat and drink while reclining. And some say that nowadays, when it is not the way of people to recline, the Ravyah is a substantial enough authority to rely upon, so that after the fact one has fulfilled the obligation even without reclining."

(Shulchan Aruch)

The view of the Ravyah as a support after the fact

• The basic ruling: Someone who is obligated in hesibah (reclining) and ate or drank without reclining has not fulfilled his obligation, and he must go back and eat and drink while reclining. That is the main point to know.
• The second opinion: The Ravyah holds a unique position (that in our times reclining is simply not the way people eat), and nevertheless, in a pressing situation, we sometimes rely on it after the fact.
• Where the discussion goes: The Mishnah Berurah here does not add anything to the ruling itself; the practical conclusion emerges from the words of the Rema that follow.

"And it seems to me that if one did not drink the third or fourth cup while reclining, he need not go back and drink again, since there is a concern that it will look as though he is adding to the number of cups. But with the first two cups he should go back and drink again without a berachah, and the same applies to eating matzah."

(the Rema)

• The ruling: The Rema does not rely entirely on the Ravyah, and he draws a distinction between the cups.
• The last two cups: With the third and fourth cups, if he drinks again it will appear that he is adding to the fixed number of cups. Onlookers do not know that he is repeating an obligation, and it looks as if he is drinking five or six cups on the night of the Seder.
• The first two cups: Both of them come before the meal, and at that stage a person is permitted to drink wine even not as one of the four cups (someone who is thirsty in the middle of the Haggadah). Therefore drinking again does not look like an addition to the cups, and so he goes back and drinks without a berachah.

Eating matzah and the afikoman (Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 22)

"And the same applies to eating matzah, meaning that he should go back and eat a kezayis of matzah without a berachah."

(Mishnah Berurah)

• The logic of the ruling: We rely on the Ravyah only regarding the berachah, in that we do not require him to recite it again, since it is possible that he has already fulfilled the mitzvah and the berachah would be in vain. But the act of the mitzvah itself he must perform again: he eats a kezayis of matzah while reclining.
• Afikoman: According to the Mishnah Berurah here, he does not go back and eat it again while reclining, because one may not eat the afikoman twice. And there are those who say that with the afikoman too he does eat again.
• The practical summary: Hesibah is an important component of the four cups, of eating matzah, of korech and of the afikoman. If someone did not recline, that is a real problem, and he must repeat these actions.

Why we insist on reclining in our times

• The difficulty: At first glance there was room to rule like the Ravyah, since reclining nowadays carries no real meaning, and if anything it is the opposite: it makes things harder for people. Yet the poskim did not accept his view.
• The explanation: The night of the Seder is one of those occasions on which a person is meant to be different, much like Shabbos, one of whose very definitions is being set apart from a weekday.

The two meanings of the root kadosh

• Kadosh in the sense of purity: Holy as the opposite of impure and of that which is not holy.
• Kadosh in the sense of set apart: In Hebrew, kadosh also means exceptional, separated, fundamentally different. The example always brought is the word kedeishah, a woman who departs from the natural way and is set apart by her conduct.
• "Remember the day of Shabbos to sanctify it": Beyond the words we say at Kiddush, the sanctification is accomplished by making the day different from a weekday. As the Gemara puts it: your walking on Shabbos should not be like your walking during the week, nor your Shabbos clothing like your weekday clothing, nor your Shabbos speech like your weekday speech. This is not referring to the prohibitions of Shabbos themselves, but to the manner of conduct, which is supposed to be different.
• The parallel on Pesach: Pesach too is a special day, the day of our freedom, and its uniqueness has to be marked with fine clothing and fine vessels on the table. There are poskim who say that even though reclining is uncomfortable in our times, it gives the day a distinctive character and sets it apart, and that is why they insisted on preserving it.
• A matter of convention: A white garment on Shabbos is meaningful because a person is used to it from childhood; in other places it is specifically during the week that people wear dignified clothing and a tie, and on the day of rest they wear something else. Reclining is regarded as something strikingly out of the ordinary, and that in itself marks Pesach as unique.
• A proof from the Haggadah: In the question of "Mah Nishtanah" we say "and tonight we all recline," which shows that hesibah carries the dimension of demonstrating that this night is different.

How much of the meal requires reclining (Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 23)

"Ideally he should recline throughout his entire meal, both while eating and while drinking; and after the fact he has fulfilled the obligation if he reclined while eating the kezayis of matzah and while drinking the four cups."

(Mishnah Berurah)

• The language of the Shulchan Aruch: Ideally one should recline for the entire meal, even for the rest of the eating and drinking that takes place during it.
• The practice in fact: The poskim say that there is no obligation to recline throughout the meal; rather, one eats his meal in the normal way and reclines for the items that characterize the Seder night: matzah, the four cups and the afikoman.

Siman 472, se'if 8 · The four cups in their proper order

"One must drink the four cups in order, and if he drank them one right after the other, out of order, he has not fulfilled the obligation."

(Shulchan Aruch)

"Meaning that he recites the Haggadah in between."

(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 24)

• Each cup has its role: The first cup is the cup of Kiddush, the second is the cup over which the Haggadah is recited, the third is the cup of Birkas HaMazon, and the fourth is the cup of Hallel. Each cup has its own function within the Seder, and that is why they must be drunk in order. This is itself the reason the night is called Leil HaSeder, the night of order: everything has to be arranged in its place.
• Do not mix the cups: One should not drink the second cup in the middle of the Haggadah, out of its place, and one may not combine two cups together. Each cup stays in its fixed place.

If he drank out of order (Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 25)

• He drank them one after another: And all the more so if he drank all of them in a single cup, in which case he certainly has not fulfilled the obligation.
• Even if he paused and recited the Haggadah: There is an opinion that even if he paused in between and recited the Haggadah, he has not fulfilled the obligation of the four cups, since each cup belongs in its own place.
• An analogy: It is like someone instructed to take a medication every day who swallows the entire quantity in one day. It simply does not do what it is supposed to do, because there is a specific order involved.
• In practice: Someone who drank the cups all together has not fulfilled his obligation and must go back and drink again.

Drinking wine between the cups

• Between the first and second: One may drink wine that is not part of the four cups, since both of these cups come before the meal.
• During the meal: One may drink wine in the middle of the meal, up until the third cup, which is the cup of Birkas HaMazon.
• Between the third and fourth: One does not drink.

Siman 472, se'if 9 · The measure of the cup

"The measure of the cup is a revi'is after it has been diluted, if he wishes to dilute it, and he should drink all of it or most of it. And if the cup holds several revi'is, several people may drink from it. And some say that one must drink most of the cup even if it holds several revi'is."

(Shulchan Aruch)

• The general rule of measures: Every mitzvah has a shiur, a required measure. For most things the Torah commands us to eat, the measure is a kezayis, and when it commands us to drink, the measure is a revi'is. There are exceptions, but that is the rule.
• Regarding the four cups: Each cup ordinarily needs to contain a revi'is.
• The dispute among the poskim about the size of a revi'is: According to Rav Naeh, a revi'is is the numerical value of the word "kos," eighty six grams, a relatively small measure, and many poskim hold by it. According to the Chazon Ish, a revi'is is the numerical value of "kos hagun," which comes to about one hundred fifty grams, nearly double. Each person should follow the practice of his family, with a large cup or a small one.
• (The measures of Chazal are essentially measures of volume rather than weight, even though we are used to quoting them in grams.)

Undiluted wine and mixing with water

• Undiluted wine: Wine made from grapes that were pressed and fermented as they are, with no peppers, honey or water added. It is usually extremely strong, almost like a syrup, and most people do not drink it that way.
• Why it was diluted: Already in the Gemara it says that the wine should be diluted, since undiluted wine is hard to drink; there is no fulfillment of "wine gladdens the heart of man" in it, only affliction, and it does not accomplish what it is supposed to accomplish.
• The revi'is is measured after dilution: The intent is not that he adds the water on top of eighty six grams of wine; rather, the revi'is is measured after the wine has been mixed with the water.

"That is, we do not require a revi'is of undiluted wine, but a revi'is together with the water mixed into it. In their times, when the wines were very strong, they would dilute them one to three."

(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 28)

• The ratio of dilution: In their times the ratio was one third wine and two thirds water.

"'If he wishes to dilute it' means that in our times, when the wines are weak, there is no obligation to dilute even ideally. And know that even if he drinks undiluted, strong wine, he nevertheless needs a full revi'is."

(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 29)

• In our times: The wines are weak and there is no obligation to dilute at all, since the wine we drink is effectively already diluted; and if one were to mix it one third to two thirds it would no longer be wine but water with a bit of wine in it.
• Even one who drinks undiluted wine: The measures do not change. Someone who decided to drink undiluted wine cannot make do with less; he still needs a full revi'is.

All of it or most of it

"Meaning all of it ideally, or most of it after the fact; and in countries where wine is expensive, even ideally most of it suffices."

(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 30)

• The practical calculation: If the cup holds exactly a revi'is, eighty six cc, he should drink all of it; and if he cannot manage that, he should drink forty four cc, which is the majority of the cup, one gram more than half.
• One who finds it difficult: Anything permitted after the fact may be done ideally by someone who finds drinking difficult, and likewise in countries where wine is expensive.
• Why one takes a cup of precisely the right size: Some people take a cup on Seder night that holds exactly a revi'is, because according to the opinion that one must drink most of the cup even if it holds several revi'is, whoever takes a large cup of one hundred twenty cc must drink sixty, and with a still larger cup seventy or eighty, whereas with a regular cup he would have discharged his obligation with forty four. He has made things harder on himself. Therefore people are careful to take a cup of eighty six cc or slightly more, and not an oversized cup.

The fourth cup and the berachah acharonah

"But the fourth cup he should drink in its entirety, so that he will be able to recite the berachah acharonah according to all opinions."

(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 30)

• The sequence of the final berachos: Over the first and second cups one does not recite a berachah acharonah at the time, and some say that Birkas HaMazon covers them. The third cup comes right after Birkas HaMazon, and its after-berachah is said over the fourth cup.
• A first berachah versus a final berachah: A berachah rishonah is recited over any quantity at all, since a person may not derive benefit from this world without a berachah. A berachah acharonah, by contrast, requires a shiur.
• The measure for a berachah acharonah: Some say a mouthful, and most poskim say a revi'is. Accordingly, someone who drinks half a cup of water does not recite a berachah afterward.
• The practical difference: Most of a revi'is cup is not a full revi'is, so someone who drinks only most of the fourth cup will face the question of how he can recite the berachah acharonah over it. Therefore with the fourth cup he should drink all of it, so as to satisfy every opinion and recite the berachah acharonah according to all views.

Grape juice for someone who has difficulty drinking wine

• The view of most poskim: Grape juice is valid for the four cups and there is no problem with it.
• The view of a minority of poskim: On Pesach one should specifically take wine and not grape juice.
• The reason for the distinction: Drinking wine on Pesach also carries the element of derech cheirus, the manner of a free man; the wine marks a person's freedom, just as reclining does. Some say that derech cheirus requires actual wine, something a person could become intoxicated by, that affects his state of mind and warms him, whereas grape juice is a more ordinary beverage.
• In practice: Someone who cannot drink wine and wishes to satisfy those poskim as well should take cups of exactly eighty six cc, and he will then be able to rely, even ideally, on drinking most of the cup rather than all of it.

Those who are stingy with the four cups

"And there are those who are stingy and become angry at their servants if they drink a lot; they will have to give a reckoning in the future, for they cause others to stumble and prevent them from the mitzvah."

(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 30)

• The explanation: It is a mitzvah to drink the four cups, and one should not be keeping accounts with the household help over how much wine they drink, for whoever holds another back from a mitzvah will have to answer for it.

In passing · Practical difficulties and emunas chachamim

1. The real difficulties of reclining

• The difficulty: Reclining is uncomfortable, and it is very hard to manage, especially when there is no free space around the table. At a large Seder this is a serious problem, and likewise in a hotel.
• The limited solution: Placing a cushion behind one's back on a chair with a backrest is not the finest solution, but at the very least one should do something along those lines.

2. Emunas chachamim when the reason is not apparent

• The difficulty itself: People raise questions about reclining, just as they raise questions about kitniyos and other matters; not everything we do appeals to people.
• The words of the Vilna Gaon: Chazal had a hundred and fifty considerations behind every ruling, and they revealed only one reason, and even that one they were initially reluctant to reveal. They did not always disclose the reason, because a person might say that this particular reason does not seem worthwhile to him. It follows that there are additional reasons, even weightier ones, that we simply do not know.
• The practical conclusion: One cannot be guided by convenience alone. There are many things in halachah that are inconvenient and we do them anyway; because if a person's comfort were the only consideration, he would find it far more convenient to turn on a television on Shabbos or head out to the beach.

3. Rinsing the cup, a remembrance of dilution, and sparkling wine

• Rinsing the cup: At Kiddush, and likewise on Seder night, there is a requirement that the cup be rinsed, and when rinsing it one leaves a little water inside and pours the wine over it. This serves as a remembrance of the dilution that used to be practiced, and it is also evident that the cup was rinsed.
• Adding water according to Kabbalah: Some add drops of water in the middle, and the essence of this is based on Kabbalah, that the dilution carries a deeper significance.
• Sparkling wine: With sparkling wine a foam collects on top, and the foam is not part of the wine. One should therefore wait a bit until it settles, so that the cup contains the required measure of wine.