Chapter 2. Additional Laws Pertaining to the Seder Night

Regarding wine

ayin gimel It is preferable to use uncooked wine, unless the cooked wine is better 5 .

Pasteurized wine

ayin dalet Pasteurized wine is not considered cooked wine, and one may even use it ideally to fulfill the obligation.

Intoxicating wine

ayin hey  Ideally, one should drink intoxicating wine, for this is the manner of freedom6 , and therefore ideally one should drink wine and not grape juice, or at least one third wine and two thirds grape juice ]or, in any case, one sixth wine [if the taste of the wine is clearly noticeable in it. One for whom this is difficult may fulfill the obligation with grape juice.

Hamar medinah

ayin vav Hamar medinah is valid for the four cups if one has no wine, but it is not clear what is called hamar medinah in our times. One may say that after the fact one fulfills the obligation with tea, coffee, or Coca-Cola; and since it is not clear that there is hamar medinah in our times, it is therefore proper also to employ shomea ke-oneh, as below7 . 

What blessing should he recite

ayin zayin Since the blessing over hamar medinah is shehakol, one should not recite a blessing over the second and fourth cups, for they are covered by the first and third blessings8 . 

A diabetic patient

ayin chet A diabetic patient who cannot drink any wine or grape juice at all, even dry wine, fulfills his obligation with hamar medinah and also through shomea ke-oneh, as below. 

Shomea ke-oneh

ayin tet Tosafot9  were uncertain whether one fulfills the obligation of the four cups through the principle of shomea ke-oneh, as with kiddush, where the one reciting kiddush sanctifies over the cup and others fulfill their obligation through him also with respect to drinking; likewise with the four cups, the participants would fulfill their obligation through the blessing of the head of the household. In Chiddushei Maran RY Z HaLevi10  it is explained that the essence of the mitzvah of the four cups is not the drinking of the cups, but rather the blessing over the cup.

The size of the cup

pe Ideally, one should use a cup that holds a reviit )150 cc( and drink all of it for each of the four cups. Sick people and minors who cannot drink this amount should drink from a cup that contains 86 cc )- a reviit according to the smaller measure(, and if they cannot drink all of it, they should drink at least the majority of a reviit, which is 44 cc.  See also the laws of Seder night, section 15.

A sick person

pe alef A sick person who can drink 86 cc and no more: there is room to question whether he should take a large cup containing 150 cc and drink most of it, or take an 86 cc cup and drink all of it. It appears preferable that he take a cup containing 150 cc and drink most of it. 

Crumbling the matzah and dipping it in water

pe bet A healthy person may crumble the matzah into fine crumbs and eat them, or dip the matzah in water without soaking it, or drink a little water while swallowing11 .

A sick person

pe gimel A sick person may soak the matzah in water until it softens and then eat it, but it must not become dissolved into mush12 .

He vomited

pe dalet If one ate matzah or maror and vomited, he has fulfilled his obligation; however, he should not recite an after-blessing ]over the matzah[ if he vomited everything he ate and no kezayit remained13 .

With lettuce

pe hey When reciting the blessing over eating maror: the one reciting the blessing should eat 50 grams of lettuce ]which is close to the weight of water[, and for the listeners 17 grams of lettuce is sufficient. For eating korech, 17 grams is sufficient both for the one reciting the blessing and for the participants. [See above, section nun].

With chrein

pe vav Chrein has the same weight as water. Therefore, the one reciting the blessing should eat 50 grams for maror and 17 grams for korech, while the listeners need 17 grams for all the eatings.

To the left side

pe zayin One always reclines to the left side, whether one is right-handed or left-handed14 .

Leaning his body in the air

pe chet A person who sits on a chair and leans his body in the air toward the left has not fulfilled the obligation of reclining.

The proper manner

pe tet When reclining, one should turn the chair so that the backrest is on the left side, lean himself to the left, and rest on the backrest15 .

It is difficult for him to begin while reclining

tzadi One for whom it is difficult to begin drinking while reclining may begin drinking without reclining and continue drinking a reviit while reclining.