Reselling Non-Kosher Wine on Amazon

Hi, I received non-kosher wine as a New Year gift from my company. It seems to be quite expensive. Am I allowed to resell it on Amazon and make money from non-kosher wine?

Thank you for your question.

The answer:

Ashkenazim : It is permitted to resell it.

Sephardim: It is prohibited to resell it.

The answer explained:

We know that wine that was used in the service of avodah zarah as a means of libation is not only forbidden to drink but also forbidden to derive any benefit from, since anything that was used for avodah zarah is assur be’hanah .

Nowadays, wine is forbidden even though it was not used for avodah zarah . Such wine is called stam yeynom (ordinary wine). This is a rabbinical prohibition, and there seems to be a contradiction in the Talmud regarding the reason for this decree.

Talmud Avoda Zara page 29b.

תלמוד בבלי מסכת עבודה זרה דף כט עמוד ב

. אלו דברים של עובדי כוכבים אסורין ואיסורן איסור הנאה: היין,

These are the items of idol worshippers that are prohibited, and their prohibition extends to deriving any benefit: wine...

תלמוד בבלי מסכת עבודה זרה דף כט עמוד ב

יין מנלן? אמר רבה בר אבוה, אמר קרא: אשר חלב זבחימו יאכלו ישתו יין נסיכם, מה זבח אסור בהנאה, אף יין נמי אסור בהנאה.

How do we derive that wine is prohibited? Rabba bar Avuha said: it is written, "They eat the fat of their sacrifices; they drink the wine of their libations" (Deuteronomy 32:38). Just as the sacrificial offerings are prohibited for benefit, so too their wine is prohibited for benefit.

The Rishonim (Rashi page 31a and Tosfot 29b) explain that the Talmud here is referring to stam yeynom , and the reason why the Rabbis decreed that even wine which was not used for avodah zarah is still prohibited, that it is as an extension of the original prohibition of not benefiting from wine that was used in the service of avodah zarah .

Yet we find another reason why stam yeynom is prohibited later in the same tractate, Avodah Zarah , page 36b.

תלמוד בבלי מסכת עבודה זרה דף לו עמוד ב

ועל יינן משום בנותיהן

And the prohibition on their wine is because of their daughters.

We see that the rabbinic decree prohibiting the wine of non-Jews is to prevent intermarriage and other forms of closeness that could lead to inappropriate relationships.

So we find that there are two reasons why stam yeynom is prohibited: either as an extension of the Biblical law of not benefiting from wine used for avodah zarah or as a prevention against intermarriage.

According to the first reason, it would not only be prohibited to drink but also prohibited to benefit from Stam yeynom . However, if it is only as a prevention from leading to intermarriage, then it would be permitted to benefit from the wine, since the decree was solely to prevent intermarriage, which results only from drinking together with non-Jews, but not from benefiting from there wine.

תוספות מסכת עבודה זרה דף כט עמוד ב

דודאי עיקר גזרה דסתם יינם (לקמן לו:) משום בנותיהן הוא מיהו לא היו אוסרים אותו בהנאה מטעם זה מידי דהוה אפיתן ושמנם אלא עבדו רבנן כיין נסך גמור שנתנסך לפני עבודת כוכבים שאסור מן התורה משום דדמי ליה

Tosafot, Tractate Avodah Zarah, page 29b:

The primary reason for the decree of stam yeynom (ordinary wine) as mentioned later is due to the concern of intermarriage with their daughters. However, they would not have prohibited deriving benefit from it solely for this reason, similar to the cases of their bread and oil which are prohibited for consumption but not for benefit. Instead, the Rabbis treated it like actual yayin nesech (wine poured as a libation for idol worship), because it is similar to it.

So Tosafot explains that there are two parts to this decree: first, it was prohibited to drink lest it leads to intermarriage, and then, since it is similar to the prohibition of yayin nesech , they initiated it as the same prohibition, so it would also be forbidden to benefit.

Now that we know the source of this issur called stam yeynom , we can understand the two opinions brought le’halacha .

שולחן ערוך יורה דעה הלכות יין נסך סימן קכג סעיף א

סתם יינם של עובדי כוכבים אסור בהנאה. וה"ה למגעם, ביין שלנו.
הגה: משום גזירת יין שנתנסך לאלילים. ובזמן הזה, שאינו שכיח שהאומות מנסכים לעבודת כוכבים,

Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah, Laws of Yayin Nesekh, Siman 123, Se'if 1:

Opinion of the Mechaber:

Stam yayin (ordinary wine) is prohibited to benefit from.

Opinion of the Rema:

However, in contemporary times, when it is uncommon for non-Jews to pour libations for idol worship, some say that idol worshippers who touch our wine do not prohibit it from benefit, only for drinking; similarly, their stam yeynom (ordinary wine) is not prohibited for benefit.

The Taz explains that the Mechaber maintained the original decree, and so stam yeynom is prohibited even from benefit. However, the Rema holds that since it is not common for non-Jews to use wine for libation anymore, that reason is no longer applicable. Only the reason that it could lead to intermarriage still stands, and therefore it is prohibited to drink but permitted to benefit from.

It is important to note that even according to the Rema, it is only permitted to resell it as a one-off sale, but one may not run a business selling forbidden wine.

Wishing you all the best.

1. Talmud Avodah Zarah 29b
2. Talmud Avodah Zarah 36b
3. Tosafot, Avodah Zarah 29b
4. Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah Siman 123 Se’if 1
5. Taz on Yoreh De'ah Ibid