Translation:Shulchan Aruch/Yoreh Deah/135

Halakhot of Wine Vessels

In which vessels must one be concerned about libation

This section contains sixteen paragraphs:

Vessels that do not absorb (liquids), whether they are made of leather, wood, glass, stone, or metal, if they are not coated with pitch, can be rinsed well with water and are permitted, whether they were initially used by a non-Jew or by a Jew. If they were coated and are new, if it is customary to put wine in them at the time of coating, and especially if they are old and have been used by a non-Jew for wine, the pitch is removed, they are rinsed, and they are permitted. If one does not want to remove the pitch, they should be filled and left for three days. The same applies to our vessels that were touched by a non-Jew while wine was still on them.

Rema: Some say that in our vessels, if a liquid was on them and a non-Jew touched them, if they are made of wood, stone, or metal, and they were rinsed, even if they are coated, if a non-Jew subsequently poured wine into them, they are not prohibited retroactively (as per the Tur in the name of R. Tam, the author of the Terumah, and the Rosh). In cases of significant loss, leniency is warranted.

A vessel that has been punctured and sealed with pitch is not considered a coated vessel. Accordingly, a funnel that is slightly coated around the metal does not have the status of a coated vessel.

A vessel that has been smoothed and coated with wax is not considered coated, as wax does not absorb.

A clay vessel that has been used by a non-Jew, as long as it has not absorbed (liquids), requires filling and pouring even if it is not coated. From when does it become absorbed? From the second use onward. Therefore, if it was used by a non-Jew for the first and second time, it requires filling and pouring. If it was filled with water three times and then wine was poured into it, and a non-Jew touched it, it is permitted with rinsing. However, if it was filled with water only twice and then wine was poured into it, and a non-Jew touched it, some say that it requires pouring. If it was filled with water once and left for a long time, like a quarter of the day, it is considered absorbed with water as if it had been filled three times. If they are coated, the pitch must be removed or it requires filling and pouring, even for our vessels that were touched by a non-Jew while liquid was still on them (and retroactively, they are treated like stone and wood vessels as explained) (thus explains the Beit Yosef the language of the Tur).

Vessels made of tar (which are made from the excavation of a hut) absorb much more and have no purification whatsoever, even after twelve months, and even if they are not used for storage, and even if their initial use was by a Jew.

Clay vessels coated with glass or with glass-like materials (meaning a type of glass that has not been fully processed and is made from sand) if they are green, are treated like tar vessels because they contain earth from the excavation of a hut. However, if they are white or black and smooth without cracks, they are treated like metal vessels. If they have cracks, they are treated like other clay vessels that do not absorb.

Rema: The reason that clay vessels can be purified by pouring is only if they have not been used for wine libation but only for cold liquids. However, if they have been used for hot liquids, clay vessels have no remedy, and for other vessels, they require boiling like other prohibitions (as per Mordechai, Chapter 2 of Idol Worship in the name of Rabi'ah).

Vessels that are used for wine storage require pouring, whether they were acquired from non-Jews or whether they are ours and were used by a non-Jew, even if only temporarily. However, pouring suffices for them even if they are coated.

Some say that the stringency applies only to clay vessels, while others add wood and leather, and some add stone and metal. It is appropriate to act accordingly, but for glass, all agree that there is no stringency regarding wine storage.

Bottles are not considered for storage since they are only made to transport wine from the vat to the barrel. However, a jug of tavern keepers, since wine is always in it, as soon as it is poured out, it is immediately refilled, and its status is like that of a vessel used for storage. But cups, even though they are frequently drunk from, do not have wine residing in them continuously; rather, they are filled temporarily for drinking and pouring, and therefore they do not have the status of vessels used for storage.

(A vessel that holds wine for three days is considered a vessel used for storage, and thus the pouring must also be for three days) (Mordechai, P'AM, and in the Beit Av).

A leather vessel that requires filling and pouring must have additional leather or a similar material added to its opening, like a kind of cover, so that the water can rise to the opening, or it should be turned upside down in a vessel full of water for three days.

Wherever we said that rinsing is required, it must be rinsed three times (with water, but not with wine, even if one wants to prohibit the wine that is rinsed) (Tur and Beit Yosef in the name of the Ramban) (and there are those who are lenient retroactively). (In the name of some).

Wherever pouring is required, it must be filled with water to the brim and left for twenty-four hours from one time to another. After twenty-four hours, the water should be poured out, and the water is permitted (and there are those who prohibit the water) (Mordechai, P'AM, and in the Beit Av and Agudah in the name of Rabi'ah). One should put in water twice and leave it for twenty-four hours, and do the same a third time. Even if these three days are not consecutive, it is not a problem. If the water stood in it for several days and was not poured out, it only counts for one day. If the water was poured out before it stood for twenty-four hours, that water does not count.

(Strong brine that contains one-third salt and two-thirds water is effective from one time to another (Tur in the name of the Rema) like pouring for three days) (Tur in the name of the Rosh).

Even when it is used for storage, it does not absorb more than the thickness of the peel. Therefore, if one passes a scraper or a knife over them or peels them with an axe, they are permitted.

Rema: (However, the pitch peel does not help in vessels used for storage) (this is implied from the response of the Rosh).

A clay vessel that has been used for wine libation, if it is returned to the kiln and heated from the outside until it becomes white, even if it was not left inside until the pitch was burned off, but only until it became soft, it is permitted. However, if it was heated from the inside, it is not effective unless it was heated to the point that its heat passed to the outside to the extent that one cannot touch it.

Wooden vessels, leather vessels, and clay vessels, even if they are coated and even if they are used for storage, can be purified by boiling in the first vessel.

Rema: There are those who permit even by pouring hot water over them and rolling them (Tur in the name of R. Chaim and in the response of the Rosh). One can rely on this retroactively (Beit Yosef), and even l'chatchila, it is customary to place small white stones inside the barrel or (large ones) and place them on the funnel and pour boiling water over them, and they go into the barrel, and this is considered as boiling in the first vessel (Aruch, Chapter 58).

All vessels that have been unused for twelve months are permitted, as it is certain that all the moisture of wine within them has evaporated, and even if water was placed in them within twelve months, it is of no consequence.