Halachot and Customs

Is it permissible to drink wine poured by a Shabbat desecrator?

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Question

Hello, if I have a brother/sister who does not observe Shabbat and publicly desecrates Shabbat, is it permissible for me to drink the wine that they poured for me or opened the bottle? Thank you very much.

Answer

Greetings,

1. In principle, wine poured by a public desecrator of Shabbat is treated as yayin nesekh (wine offered to idols) and is prohibited to drink. However, only the wine that was poured from the bottle into the cup is forbidden, but the remaining wine in the bottle is permitted (Responsa Yabia Omer, Volume 1, Yoreh De'ah, Siman 11).

2. Moreover, if your siblings have always been secular and have not received traditional education, they can be considered as "captured children" (tinoq she-nishba), and in such a case, they do not prohibit even the wine poured into the cup (see Responsa Mishneh Halakhot, Volume 12, Siman 36).

3. If they are embarrassed to desecrate Shabbat in front of a rabbi or something similar, they are not considered public desecrators of Shabbat, and it is permissible to drink from the wine they poured (according to Mishnah Berurah, Siman 300, Sk 6).

4. If the wine is cooked - even if it concerns those who have returned to questioning Jewish law, and they are not embarrassed to desecrate Shabbat even in front of a rabbi - it is not prohibited by them (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah, Siman 143, Sec 3), and similarly, it is permissible to be lenient regarding pasteurized wine (Responsa Yabia Omer, Volume 8, Yoreh De'ah, Siman 15).

Blessings,

Hillel Meirs


Tags:HalachaShabbatkosher wine

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