1) Kadesh: Kiddush and the first of the four cups of wine.
Every Jewish adult male and female is obligated to drink four cups of wine over which the order of the Hagadah was recited. (Shulchan Aruch Siman 472:8 and 14)
Minor boys and girls who have reached the age of Chinuch (Around five or six years of age, depending on each individual child's level of maturity and comprehension) should be given 4 cups of wine as well. (Shulchan Aruch Siman 472:15)
The prevalent custom is to place a glass of wine (or grape juice) in front of all the children, even those that are not yet of Chinuch age.
2) There is a debate amongst the Poskim as to the exact amount of fluid that makes up a "Revi'is".
For Mitzvos D'Oraysa (biblical commandments) the Poskim are stringent and require the larger amount of approximately 4.5 ounces, while for Mitzvos D'Rabanan (rabbinic ordinances) the smaller Shiur of 3.3 ounces (According to Rav Moshe Feinstein Zatzal's opinion) suffices.
The 4 cups of wine at the Pesach Seder are a Mitzvah D'Rabanan and thus would only require 3.3 ounces for each of the four cups. (If the first night of Pesach falls out on Friday night, as it does this year, then the first cup, which is also the cup of Kiddush, a biblical commandment, will require the larger amount.)
If one is able, of course, it is best to try and drink the 4.5 ounces even for Mitzvos D'Rabanan. But if one has a hard time drinking that many cups of wine, the smaller Shiur may be relied upon.
QUESTION & ANSWER CORNER
Reader Submitted Questions of interest on topics related to Halachos we covered, as well as other interesting topic and Answers.
These Q&A are taken from the Q & A pages on the Halacha For Today website.
Although the answers I give to questions are taken directly from the Sifrei HaPoskim, and aren't my own, they are still for study purposes only, NOT for Psak Halacha.
Questions can be emailed to HalachaForToday@Gmail.com
Reader's Question:
Does one have to make a brocha achronah on a hot drink? e.g. coffee.
Answer:
This is a huge Machlokes HaPoskim. The Chasam Sofer's minhag was to recite a Borei Nefashos after drinking a hot tea (Shu"t MaHaram Shick 85 and Siman 263. Incidentally, in Minhagei Chasam Sofer they write that he used to request his tea to be extra piping hot! Yet he still paskened like this.
The accepted Psak however( as the Mishna Berura beginning of Siman 210 writes) is as follows: Unless a revi'is is drunk at one time, in a short amount of time (which isnt usually possible with hot drinks) a Borei Nefashos isn't made. The best thing to do is to drink the last revi'is 2-4 ounces after they have cooled, in one gulp thus you will need to make Borei Nefashos according to all opinions. (See archives of Hilchos Brachos, Halachos for August 5 2009 for more sources about this.)
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CHIZUK CORNER
This section is dedicated L'Ilui Nishmos the Telzer Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Chaim Yaakov Stein Zatzal , the Mir Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Noson Tzvi Finkel Zatzal and the Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Ohr, the great Posek HaRav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg Zatzal.
May we all strive to follow in their ways and may they both be Melitzei Yosher for all of Klal Yisroel.
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זכר צדיקים וקדושים לברכה
The following story is from a shiur given by Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein.
There was once a young lady who was blind and she was looking for a shidduch. As a blind girl, it was very tough for her. Eventually, she was set up with a boy who fell madly in love with her, and he married her and he took very good care of her.
One day he was listening to the radio and he heard that there was a doctor in the United States that dealt with blind people - this doctor performed eye transplants. The man researched it and he got himself on a list for an eye transplant for his beautiful Chana. The only problem was that there was a twenty year wait. He saw his wife was very broken.
A month later, the man runs into the house exclaiming, "Chanela! Its a miracle - You're next! They found a donor for you!" She didn't ask how he did it or what he did, but she knew she was going to get eyes.
The day before the operation, as the eager couple sat in the hospital room, the man turned to his wife and said. "Chana, I have to tell you something. Not only are you blind, I'm also blind. I never wanted you to know that because I never wanted you to pity me. However, I thought I should tell you now so that you won't be shocked once you get your sight." Chana started crying.
The next day Chana received her eye transplant, and it worked. Her eyes slowly began to heal until finally she was able to see more and more and more. For the first time in her life she saw light, colors, and people. Once she saw that her husband was in fact blind, she told herself that after all those years of being taken care of, she would now take care of him.
Or at least that's how she thought it work. In her eagerness to see the world and experience all of the things she had never been able to do before, she began to develop resentment for her blind husband who could not participate. Eventually the marriage began to dissolve.
She didn't have the hear tot tell him in person, so she called him one day. "Chaim, it's just not working. I can't live with you anymore ... I want a divorce." Chaim was shocked. "I'm sorry Chaim, but I want to see the world and I can't do that with you."
Chaim sadly agreed to pack up and leave. "I"ll be out by tonight," he murmured.
When she came home that night, she saw a letter on her bed that her husband had left her. She carefully opened the letter - "Dear Chana, I really and truly love you and I've always loved you. I respect your decision to leave me... but I have one big favor to ask you. Take care of those eyes, because not long ago they were mine."
There's a pasuk in Bereshis which says "Va'yitzer Hashem Elokim es ha'adam afar min ha'adama va'yipach apo nishmas chaim - Hashem created man from dirt and He blew into man His soul of life"
Hashem gave us a transplant - He gave us His neshama. But all too often we forget this. What do we do with this holy soul? We tell Hashem "Thank you, the soul is great!
But I have to see the world, I have to be busy with everything else but You."
Never forget that Hashem gave us our "eyes" - and he expects us to use them wisely, to serve Him lovingly and sincerely, to care for our fellow yidden, and to reach our unique potentials.
Important Numbers
