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DAAT · LEVEL 1 — INTRODUCTION

Siman צ״ט · Wine and prayer

דין שתוי ושכור לתפלה — one who drank wine: a revi'it (שתוי) — he does not pray until the wine passes; if he cannot speak before a king (שיכור) his prayer is תועבה and he repeats it; the remedy (walking a mil, sleeping); our wines that are not strong
סימן צ״ט · ג׳ סעיפים
דין שתוי ושכור לתפלה
🌱 Introductory level · Beginners
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This siman teaches the din of one who drank wine before prayer: one who drank a revi'it (שתוי) — אל יתפלל עד שיסיר יינו, he waits until the wine passes; one who drank more and cannot speak before a king (שיכור) — תפלתו תועבה and he repeats it; the remedy (דרך מיל ושינה — walking a mil, sleeping); and that we are not stringent with our wines which are not strong. Hebrew text, fluent English translation and explanation of the ג׳ seifim, with a section of practical cases.

Topic: Wine and prayer — שתוי, שיכור, הפגת היין, יינות שלנו
Source: שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן צ״ט · ג׳ סעיפים

Compiled by: רב יוסף חיים סממה
DAAT · daattorah.com

Our Sages taught (עירובין ס״ד.): שָׁתוּי אַל יִתְפַּלֵּל, וְאִם הִתְפַּלֵּל — תְּפִלָּתוֹ תְּפִלָּה; שִׁכּוֹר אַל יִתְפַּלֵּל, וְאִם הִתְפַּלֵּל — תְּפִלָּתוֹ תּוֹעֵבָה — one who has drunk (שתוי) does not pray at the outset, but if he prayed his prayer is valid; the drunkard (שיכור) does not pray, and if he prayed his prayer is an abomination. The siman distinguishes the שתוי (a revi'it) from the שיכור (who cannot speak before a king), the remedy, and the conduct with our wines. We study here at the level of principle; for personal conduct, one refers to the custom and to the ruling of the Rav.

📑 Study outline

A. The ג׳ seifim — שתוי ושיכור (séif 1), הפגת היין (séif 2), לפי מה שמרגיש בנפשו (séif 3)
1. Practical case — the שתוי and the שיכור: to wait or to repeat
2. Practical case — dissipating the wine: דרך מיל ושינה, on foot or riding
3. Practical case — our wines and the siddur: לפי מה שמרגיש בנפשו
+ Comprehension questions and going further

A. Wine and prayer — the ג׳ seifim

שָׁתוּי וְשִׁכּוֹר — one who has drunk and the drunkard — two degrees are at play: the שתוי, who drank a revi'it of wine — he does not pray לכתחילה until the wine passes, but if he prayed תפלתו תפלה; and the שיכור, who drank so much that he cannot speak before a king — his prayer is תועבה and he must repeat it. Hence the הפגת היין (how the wine dissipates: דרך מיל ושינה) and the conduct with our wines which are not strong.

Séif 1 — שתוי ושיכור: one who drank and the drunkard

שתה יין כדי רביעית — אל יתפלל עד שיסיר יינו. ואם שתה יותר: אם הוא יכול לדבר לפני המלך, אם התפלל — תפלתו תפלה; ואם אינו יכול לדבר לפני המלך, אם התפלל — תפלתו תועבה, וצריך לחזור ולהתפלל כשיסיר יינו מעליו. ואפילו אם עבר זמן התפלה — משלים אותה בתפלה שאחריה כדין שוגג. (הגה: ודין קריאת שמע כדין תפלה, אבל שאר ברכות יכול לברך אף על פי שהוא שכור.)
Séif 1: one who drank a revi'it of wine — does not pray until his wine passes. And if he drank more: if he can speak before a king, if he prayed — his prayer is a prayer; and if he cannot speak before a king, if he prayed — his prayer is an abomination, and he must go back and pray again when his wine passes from him. And even if the time of prayer has passed — he makes it up in the following prayer, as one who erred unintentionally (שוגג). (Rama: the din of the קריאת שמע is like that of prayer, but the other berakhot he may say even if he is drunk.)
Two degrees. The שתוי (a revi'it) does not pray לכתחילה — he waits until the wine passes — but if he prayed, תפלתו תפלה. The שיכור, by contrast, is one who cannot speak before a king: his prayer is תועבה (an abomination) and he must repeat it; and even if the time has passed, he makes it up in the following prayer כדין שוגג. For the Rama, the ק״ש follows the din of prayer, but the other berakhot remain permitted even to the drunkard.

Séif 2 — הפגת היין: dissipating the wine

דרך מיל ושינה כל שהוא — מפיגין את היין. והני מילי כששתה רביעית, אבל אם שתה יותר — כל שכן ששינה משכרתו ודרך טורדתו. והני מילי במהלך ברגליו, אבל רוכב — ודאי דרך מפיגה היין.
Séif 2: traveling a mil and any amount of sleep — dissipate the wine. And this when he drank a revi'it; but if he drank more — all the more so sleep intoxicates him and the road agitates him. And this when he walks on foot; but if he is riding — the road certainly dissipates the wine.
The wine dissipates by two means — walking a mil and a little sleep — but only for a revi'it. If he drank more, the effect reverses: sleep intoxicates him (משכרתו) and walking on foot agitates him (טורדתו). This proviso applies only to one who walks on foot; one who is riding, without the effort of walking, has the road dissipate the wine even beyond a revi'it.

Séif 3 — לפי מה שמרגיש בנפשו: according to what he feels

כל אחד שהוא שתוי — סגי ליה לפי מה שמרגיש בנפשו שיפיג יינו. (הגה: ולכן אין נזהרין ביינות שלנו שאינן חזקים, שמתפללים אף על פי ששתו רביעית ויותר; וכל שכן אם מתפללים מתוך סדור שבידו, שאין חוששין לשכרות מעט.)
Séif 3: anyone who is שתוי — it is enough for him to wait according to what he feels in himself, that his wine has passed. (Rama: therefore we are not stringent with our wines which are not strong, that people pray even though they have drunk a revi'it and more; and all the more so if they pray from a siddur in hand, for we are not concerned with slight intoxication.)
The measure is not a fixed time: each relies on what he feels (מה שמרגיש בנפשו) as to whether his wine has passed. Hence the Rama: our wines are not strong, so one is not stringent, and prays even after a revi'it or more — וכל שכן when praying מתוך סדור, a siddur in hand, for we are not concerned with slight intoxication. For personal conduct, one follows one's Rav.
The siman in one sentence: one who drank a revi'it (שתוי) does not pray until the wine passes, but if he prayed תפלתו תפלה; one who cannot speak before a king (שיכור) — תפלתו תועבה and he repeats it (and makes it up כדין שוגג); the wine dissipates by דרך מיל ושינה (riding even beyond); and each judges according to what he feels, our wines not being strong.

Practical cases

Case 1 — The שתוי and the שיכור

Situation: he drank wine and the time for prayer is approaching. May he pray? And if he already prayed?
Conduct: if he drank only a revi'it (שתוי), he waits until the wine passes לכתחילה; but if he already prayed — תפלתו תפלה. If he is שיכור — to the point of not being able to speak before a king — his prayer is תועבה: he must repeat it when the wine passes, and if the time has passed he makes it up in the following prayer כדין שוגג. For the practical application, one follows one's Rav.

Case 2 — Dissipating the wine

Situation: how does one bring about the dissipation of the wine before praying?
Conduct: for a revi'it, walking a mil or a little sleep dissipate the wine. But if he drank more, sleep intoxicates him and walking on foot agitates him — these no longer suffice. One who is riding, however, has the road dissipate the wine even beyond a revi'it. For the concrete cases, one follows one's Rav.

Case 3 — Our wines and the siddur

Situation: today, must one refrain from praying after drinking a little wine?
Conduct: each judges according to what he feels (לפי מה שמרגיש בנפשו). The Rama teaches that our wines are not strong: one is not stringent, and prays even after a revi'it or more — וכל שכן when praying מתוך סדור, a siddur in hand. This does not exempt from vigilance toward true drunkenness (the שיכור); for borderline cases, one follows one's Rav.

Comprehension questions

Check your understanding:
  1. What quantity of wine makes one a שתוי, and what must he do (séif 1)?
  2. What defines the שיכור, and why is his prayer תועבה (séif 1)?
  3. How is the wine dissipated, and why can sleep and walking on foot worsen the intoxication (séif 2)?
  4. Why does one who is riding differ from one who walks on foot (séif 2)?
  5. Why are we not stringent with our wines, and what is the role of the siddur (séif 3)?

Going further

If you wish to deepen this siman:
Continue to the next simanSiman 100 →
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DAAT · רב יוסף חיים סממה

סימן צ״ט · ג׳ סעיפים · Level 1 — Introduction
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