Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Drinking soda at a kiddush

There is a well known halacha in Hilchos Berachos (סימן קע"ד) that wine is פוטר other drinks from a beracha. However there is a fundamental machlokes why this is so.

The Magen Avraham explains that since wine is important and it has it's own beracha therefore it is פוטר other drinks (even if you drink a little). The Chayei Adam, Aruch Hashulchan and R' Akiva Eiger hold that it is the same as the reason for bread, namely that you are קובע your meal on wine.

The Mishna Berura tries to make a פשרה and requires that you drink a shiur. The Mishna Berura is difficult because he is going with neither shita.

What is the din in the following case. You go to a kiddush and you drink a little of the wine from kiddush. You now want to drink soda. Do you make a שהכל or not? According to the M"A no, since you drank a little wine it is פוטר all other drinks. However, according to the Chayei Adam etc. you would be חייב to make a new beracha as you were not קובע your meal on wine. You just drank a little wine for kiddush and that is not a קביעות. To be יוצא a mitzva they write does not create a קביעות, you need to really want to be קובע your meal on wine.

What happens if you are the one making kiddush? Here the Aruch Hashulchan writes that since kiddush has to be במקום סעודה, making kiddush is considered to be a קביעות. R' Akiva Eiger may argue with this as well and may hold that since nowadays we only make kiddush to be יוצא the mitzva and not to be קובע our seuda on wine that even if you made kiddush you would need to make a שהכל.

The best advice in this situation is not to make kiddush and certainly not to drink from the wine of the מקדש. This way you have no safek. If you do make kiddush you should try to find some food to make a שהכל on before you drink anything else.

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