Wine or Grape Juice at the Seder?
BY RABBI YOSEF ZVI RIMON
The Talmud in Bava Batra (97b) explains that one can use grape juice for Kiddush: “A person may squeeze a cluster of grapes and recite Kiddush over it.” This is also ruled in the Shulchan Aruch (272:2). However, the Mishnah Berurah notes that it is preferable to recite Kiddush over aged wine.
For the Seder night, there is an additional reason to specifically drink four cups of wine, as some authorities hold that one does not fulfill their obligation with grape juice. Why? First, some argue that only drinking wine is considered a way of expressing freedom (Kol Dodi Haggadah, section 3, citing Rabbi Feinstein). Second, some argue that the mitzvah of rejoicing on the holiday is specifically fulfilled with wine (Pesachim 71a), and the four cups must be specifically “wine that gladdens,” which can fulfill both the obligation of the four cups and the joy of the holiday (Rav Zvi Pesach Frank, Mikraei Kodesh 2:35).
The later authorities have an interesting discussion on this topic, following the story about Rabbi Yehuda in the Talmud. There, Rabbi Yehuda testifies about himself: “If I taste [wine] only for Kiddush, Havdalah, and the four cups of Pesach, I have to bind my temples from Pesach until Shavuot” (Nedarim 49b).
This means that Rabbi Yehuda would minimize his wine consumption and only drink when required (i.e., for Kiddush, Havdalah, and the four cups). When he would drink the four cups of wine on Pesach, he would have to bind his temples afterward until Shavuot due to the headaches he experienced. At first glance, this story suggests that a person must force themselves to drink wine even when it is very difficult for them, and if so, it appears to prove that one must be particular about drinking wine rather than grape juice, even if the drinker suffers from it!
However, this proof is rejected for several reasons. First, we must distinguish between Rabbi Yehuda, who enjoyed drinking wine but suffered afterward, and someone who dislikes wine and whose drinking causes immediate suffering. In such a case, there is certainly no reason to force them to drink, as this would not be a way of expressing freedom (Rav Elyashiv, Seder Pesach K’Hilchato 2:3, note 9).
Additionally, it appears that Rabbi Yehuda forced himself to drink wine because he had no option to drink grape juice or similar alternatives, and therefore he was not exempt from the mitzvah, despite his suffering. However, someone who can fulfill the mitzvah by drinking grape juice (or even chamar medinah), clearly does not need to force themselves to specifically drink wine, even in a much less severe situation, and certainly if it causes dizziness or fatigue and impairs the mitzvah of recounting the exodus from Egypt, which is the main purpose of the night.
Why didn’t Rabbi Yehuda have the option to drink grape juice? The answer is simple. Today we are accustomed to having grape juice available year-round, but in the past, grape juice was only available during the grape growing season (grape juice cannot be preserved – it turns to vinegar unless it is pasteurized or properly refrigerated). Therefore, since grapes typically aren’t yet available during the Pesach season, Rabbi Yehuda could not fulfill the four cups requirement with grape juice!
Therefore, according to the basic law, one may use grape juice lechatchila for the four cups. Thus, someone who has no difficulty with wine should drink wine, but someone who finds drinking wine difficult, and certainly if drinking wine would make it harder for them to fulfill the mitzvah of recounting the exodus from Egypt, should preferably drink grape juice and fulfill the mitzvah of “v’higadeta l’vincha, telling your child,” in the best way possible! For such a person, drinking wine is not a way of expressing freedom but rather causes distress and sadness. The Rambam (7:9) wrote that one should dilute the wine with water so that “the drinking should be pleasant,” and from here we also learn that people who find it difficult to drink wine, whether due to taste or headaches, fatigue, etc., may drink grape juice. This was also the practice of the Chazon Ish and Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (though he would mix a little wine into the grape juice).
A person who cannot drink even grape juice can fulfill their obligation with chamar medinah (Mishnah Berurah, 472:37). What is chamar medinah? According to Rav Moshe Feinstein (Igrot Moshe, Orach Chaim, Vol. 2, 75), it is a beverage that is customarily served to guests as an honorable drink even when they are not thirsty (for example, natural juice or another important beverage).
The Shulchan Aruch (472:11) adds, based on the Talmud Yerushalmi (10:1), that there is a hiddur to use red wine (or grape juice), unless the white wine is of superior quality.
In summary, it is a hiddur in drinking wine, but grape juice is initially acceptable, and therefore someone who is concerned that wine will cause them fatigue or similar issues may initially drink grape juice.
Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon is the Nasi of World Mizrachi. He is the Founder and Chairman of Sulamot and La’Ofek, and serves as the Chief Rabbi of Gush Etzion, and Rosh Yeshivah of the Jerusalem College of Technology.