From the ruling of the Mehaber and the Rama, through the arbitration of Taz, Shach
and Pitchei Teshuva, down to the open bottle left on our table
Subject:
שולחן ערוך יורה דעה סימן קכ״ח (ה׳ סעיפים)
עם נושאי הכלים: ט״ז, ש״ך, פתחי תשובה, רמב״ם
⚠ A note on this level:
This level is not “Daat HaRav”: the Shulchan Aruch HaRav
(the Alter Rebbe) does not cover Yoreh De'ah, hence not Siman 128.
It is a level of practical psika: what one does, and whom one asks.
Written and studied by:
הרב יוסף חיים סממה · DAAT
How to read this level. Every statement here is anchored either in the language of the Shulchan Aruch and its nossei kelim (Taz, Shach, Pitchei Teshuva), or in a named and checkable posek (Rambam, Tur, Beit Yosef, Gemara Avodah Zarah, Tosafot). On Yoreh De'ah there is no Mishnah Berurah (which comments only on Orach Chaim) and no Shulchan Aruch HaRav / Daat HaRav (the Alter Rebbe did not write Yoreh De'ah). Three further authorities one would expect here are not quoted, because they cannot be checked on this particular siman: the Aruch HaShulchan, the Kaf HaChaim and the Pri Chadash — their text on siman 128 is not accessible to us, and one does not quote what one cannot read back. Siman 128 is short — five seifim — and it is made entirely of scenes: a man walked in, a door closed, a hand was holding something. Wherever the question runs past the siman, this level says so and stops: halakha lema'asse goes through your Rav.
דין מקום שיש בו יין ונתיחד עובד כוכבים שמה. ובו ה׳ סעיפים:
עובד כוכבים שנתייחד עם היין אפילו ברשותנו אפילו שעה מועטת אסור בהנאה אבל מי שנודע לנו שאינו עובד עבודת כוכבים מותר לייחד יין אצלו ברשותנו לזמן מועט כגון כדי שילך כדי מיל או יותר אפילו בעיר שכולה עובדי כוכבים ואפילו הודיעו שהוא מפליג אבל אין מפקידין אצלו יין בביתו ואפילו בבתינו אסור אם הוא לזמן מרובה ואם עבר והפקיד אסור בשתיה. (עובדי כוכבים שבחוצה לארץ אע״פ שאינן עובדי עבודת כוכבים מ״מ אין מייחדים יין אצלם) (ב״י בשם הרשב״א):
The founding scene. Nobody saw anything. A non-Jew was alone with wine — and the Mehaber opens at maximum severity: even on our own premises, even for a brief moment, the wine becomes forbidden to all use, not merely to drinking. The siman does not ask what the man did; it asks what was possible.
Then comes the first distinction, which governs the whole siman. That severity applies only to one who serves idols. Where we know that a man does not: wine may be left with him on our premises, for a short while — the time it takes to walk a mil — even in a wholly non-Jewish town, and even if he was told the Jew is going far. But one does not deposit wine with him, and even on our own premises it is forbidden if it is for a long time.
Two regimes, not one. Hold on to the hinge of this seif: מייחדין (leaving alone for a while) and מפקידין (entrusting as a deposit) are not two degrees of one thing. They answer different fears — which is why the second stays forbidden where the first is permitted.
— Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 128:1 · Sefaria YD 128:1
« כל מי שדרכו לנסך אין מייחדין יין אצלו אפילו שעה אחת ואם יחדו אצלו אסור בהנאה שאנו תולין לומר ודאי נסכו »
— טור יו״ד סימן קכ״ח
« כיון דלא פלח עבודת כוכבים לא נגע ולא מנסך »
— ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק א
« מיהו נראה דהיינו דוקא אם הוא בענין שאין לחוש שנגעו לשתות או להנאה אחרת »
— ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק א
« דטעמא דהפקיד אצלו אסור משום שאנו חוששין שמא החליפו בשלו ושלו ודאי אסור כיון שאינו חושש על מגע עובד כוכבים »
— ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ג
Siman 128 has five seifim — that is the count announced by its heading (ובו ה׳ סעיפים) and it is also the number of segments the text itself carries. The five form a clear progression: first the general rule of yiḥud and of deposit, then four scenes that grow steadily more open — a house where the non-Jew has an interest, a house where both keep wine, a house where only the Jew does, and finally the street.
| Seif | Subject | Ruling (anchored in the text) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | yiḥud and deposit | A non-Jew left alone with wine, even on our premises and even briefly: forbidden for benefit. But where we know he serves no idols: wine may be left with him on our premises for a short while — the time it takes to walk a mil or more — even in a wholly non-Jewish town, and even if he was told the Jew is going far. One does not deposit wine with him; and even on our premises it is forbidden for a long time; and if one transgressed and deposited, the wine is forbidden to drink. Rama: non-Jews outside the Land, though they serve no idols, are nonetheless not left alone with wine. |
| 2 | a non-Jew found in the house, and the creditor | If he holds a lien on that very wine — apotiki, or a pledge — it is forbidden, even if the wine bore a seal. If he has a claim on the Jew but not on the wine, it is permitted, even if he stood right against the barrels within arm's reach, and even with no seal at all: knowing that the Jew would lose his wine, he is afraid to touch it. And even if froth of the kind that rises on wine was found in his hand — permitted, we attribute it to the side of the barrel. Rama: but a thing found only at the mouth — forbidden; and if he holds the tap in his hand, the wine is forbidden. |
| 3 | both keep wine there, and the door was bolted from within | The non-Jew entered and bolted the door from inside, so that a Jew could not enter without his consent: the wine is forbidden. If there were holes in the door through which the Jew can see all the barrels: all permitted to drink, even open ones. Otherwise: what can be seen is permitted, the rest forbidden for benefit — even sealed barrels, if he stayed long enough to open, make a fresh bung and let it dry. And all this even if a Jew was living in that house. |
| 4 | the house holds only the Jew's wine | If the door is not bolted: permitted to drink. If it is bolted, with a key, from inside: where he would not be seized as a thief, forbidden for benefit; where he would be seized for entering, permitted to drink. Rama: some say that nowadays, when non-Jews do not pour libations, it is permitted even where he would not be seized as a thief — unless there is reason to fear they touched it to drink or for some other benefit; and if the mouth of the vessel is wide, or it is a container in which one may fear an absent-minded touch, we do worry. |
| 5 | barrels in the marketplace | Barrels of wine stood in the street and a non-Jew was found among them: if he is weak, if the fear of the town's judges is upon him, and if he would be seized as a thief were he found touching — permitted to drink. Otherwise, forbidden for benefit. Rama, closing the siman: see further at the next siman for the rest of these laws. |
The Mehaber gives no minutes: he gives כדי שילך כדי מיל, the time of a mil's walk. The duration of a mil is itself a classic dispute among the poskim, and this siman does not settle it. So do not convert that shiur into minutes on this page. Hold on to the structure — an order of magnitude of tens of minutes at most, and a permission that runs out with time — and put the number itself to your Rav, who will tell you which opinion your community follows.
« דלענין לכתחלה להפקיד אצלם מחזקינן להו כעובדי עבודת כוכבים »
— ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק א
« אפילו נכרים שבח״ל שאין עובדין כו״ם אלא מעשה אבותיהם בידיהם מכל מקום כיון שהם מנסכין יין לפני כו״ם אין כח בידינו להתיר לייחד אצלם ואפי׳ בדיעבד אסור »
— ב״י יו״ד סימן קכ״ח
« אם כן ה״ה הכא דאם יחדו אצלו שרי בדיעבד כמו גר תושב וישמעאלים אלא דלכתחלה מיהת אסור »
— ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ד
« דדוקא בזמן מועט שרי בדיעבד ודוקא במקום שאין לחוש לנגיעה ולא לשתיה להנאתו »
— פת״ש יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק א
« אבל היכא דאיכא למיחש דלמא נגע להנאתו כדי לשתות כגון שיש לחבית ברזא בולטת לחוץ שבקל יכול למשוך הברזא ולשתות מהיין יש לאסור כל היין אפילו בדיעבד אפילו יחוד בעלמא לזמן מועט »
— פת״ש יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק א
This is the single most directly transposable line in the whole siman. The Tzemach Tzedek sets two containers against each other. A barrel whose opening is a narrow bung, with no tap: the man would have had to work at it, we do not suspect him, and the after-the-fact permission stands. A barrel fitted with a protruding tap that need only be pulled to drink: there we forbid all the wine, even after the fact, even for a brief yiḥud. In other words: the easier the wine is to reach, the less brevity protects. An open bottle, or one closed with a screw cap that turns in one hand, is far closer to the second case than to the first — and a bottle sealed with an intact cork, closer to the first.
Lema'asse (seif 1 as a whole). Lechatchila, uncooked wine is not left alone with a non-Jew and is not deposited with him: on that the Rama is plain, and no workaround should be sought. After the fact there is a real dispute — the Rashba and the Ateret Zahav forbid, the Shach permits — and the Pitchei Teshuva conditions the permission on time and on the vessel. A real case therefore turns on four facts: which wine, which vessel, how long, and was there reason to think he drank from it. Gather them, then put the question to your Rav.
« מפני שמאחר שהוא יודע שיפסיד ישראל יינו הוא ירא ליגע »
— שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב
« והיינו דוקא כשהעובד כוכבים יודע דמגע עובדי כוכבים אסור לישראל ויפסיד יינו בכך… הא לאו הכי לא שייך מירתת »
— ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י״א
« ומיהו ודאי דוקא בבית הפתוח לר״ה וישראלים עברי ברה״ר הא לאו הכי לא מירתת »
— ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ז
« מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהָעַכּוּ״ם מְפַחֵד תָּמִיד וְאוֹמֵר עַתָּה יִכָּנֵס לְבֵיתוֹ פִּתְאֹם וְיִמְצָא אוֹתִי בְּתוֹךְ בֵּיתוֹ »
— רמב״ם הלכות מאכלות אסורות פרק י״ג הלכה א
« הָיָה יַיִן זֶה הַטָּהוֹר שֶׁל עַכּוּ״ם מֻנָּח בִּרְשׁוּת הָרַבִּים אוֹ בְּבַיִת הַפָּתוּחַ לִרְשׁוּת הָרַבִּים וְיִשְׂרָאֵל הוֹלְכִים וְשָׁבִים מֻתָּר »
— רמב״ם הלכות מאכלות אסורות פרק י״ג הלכה ה
« חַמְרָא שְׁרֵי, אֵימַר מִגַּבַּהּ דְּחָבִיתָא שְׁקַלְתֵּיהּ, וְאַף עַל גַּב דְּלֵיכָּא תּוּ, אֵימַר אִתְרְמוֹיֵי אִתְרְמִי לַהּ »
— עבודה זרה ע׳ ע״ב
« אבל דברים שאינם נמצאים אלא על פי החבית אסור »
— הגה, שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב
« וכן אם מצא שהעובד כוכבים תופס הברזא בידו היין אסור ולא אמרינן דהברזא מנפשיה נפל והעובד כוכבים הגביהו »
— הגה, שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב
« משמע כל היין שבחבית ולא מהני כאן היתר דהפסד מרובה דניצוק חיבור »
— ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ג
« ולפי זה לדידן בזמן הזה שרי אף בשתיה במקום הפסד דהוי מגע עובדי כוכבים על ידי דבר אחר שלא בכונה »
— ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ח
Lema'asse (what is found in his hand). The rule of the siman is a rule of attribution, not of charity: an indication is tied back to the ordinary explanation. A trace that could come from elsewhere proves nothing; an object that could come only from the wine proves everything. But the reach of that proof — the whole barrel or only what was touched; forbidden for benefit or only to drink; and what a large financial loss changes — is exactly where the Taz and the Shach do not say the same thing. Do not settle that gap on your own: it is a question for a Rav, and the answer will also turn on the size of the loss.
« כֹּל דְּלַהֲדֵי בִּיזְעָא — שְׁרֵי, דְּהַאי גִּיסָא וְהַאי גִּיסָא — אֲסִיר »
— עבודה זרה ע׳ ע״א
« דוקא שידוע שנעלו בפנים אבל אם אין ידוע אע״פ שיש מנעול בפנים אין אוסרים מספק והיינו ביום אבל בלילה אמרינן מסתמא שנעלו »
— ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ה
« מיהו הא דבעינן שידוע שסגר היינו ביום אבל בלילה מסתמא סגר כשיש לו שייכות בבית ואסור »
— ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י
The seif ends with a clause read as a detail that is in fact a reversal: ואפילו היה ישראל דר באותו בית. Elsewhere, a Jew living on the premises is what saves everything — it is the very principle of the Rambam in chapter 13. Here it saves nothing, and the Shach explains why: because the non-Jew himself has a title in the house, he can be there without it looking odd, and the bolting stays explicable. Dwelling protects only where one can walk in unannounced — not where one has been locked out.
« חָבִיּוֹת פְּתוּחוֹת אֲסוּרוֹת, סְתוּמוֹת מוּתָּרוֹת, כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּפְתַּח וְיִגּוֹף וְתִיגּוֹב »
— עבודה זרה ס״ט ע״ב
« דיכול לישמט ולומר ישן הייתי ולכך לא פתחתי לך »
— ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ו
Three elements of the siman say one thing in three forms. A bolt on the inside gives a way out; the darkness of night gives one; a title to be there gives one. Conversely, an open door, a hole in the door, a public thoroughfare and passing Jews take it away. Before a real case, the question is not “did he touch it?” but: had he done so, could he have talked his way out? The whole siman is built on that.
« אִם נִתְפָּס עָלָיו כְּגַנָּב — חַמְרָא שְׁרֵי, וְאִי לָא — אָסוּר »
— עבודה זרה ס״א ע״ב
« הָהוּא אוּשְׁפִּיזָא דַּהֲוָה יָתֵיב בֵּיהּ חַמְרָא דְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, אִישְׁתְּכַח גּוֹי דַּהֲוָה יָתֵיב בֵּי דַנֵּי »
— עבודה זרה ע׳ ע״א
« בכ״מ שהוזכר נתפס כגנב פירושו שאם ימצאוהו יהא נתפס כגנב »
— ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י״ב
« פי׳ שאם ימצאהו ישראל יהיה נתפס כדין גנב ע״פ המושל והוא אינו אלם »
— ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ח
« אבל אי נתפס כגנב על הביאה ודאי חמרא שרי »
— תוספות עבודה זרה ס״א ע״ב ד״ה ההוא כרבא
« ואפ״ה שרי בהנאה במקום הפסד בזמן הזה »
— ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י״ג
« יין מבושל שלנו שנגע בו העובד כוכבים מותר ומאימתי נקרא מבושל משהרתיח על גבי האש »
— שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ג:ג
« יַיִן מְבֻשָּׁל וְהַשֵּׁכָר… אֵינוֹ צָרִיךְ שְׁנֵי חוֹתָמוֹת אֶלָּא חוֹתָם אֶחָד בִּלְבַד דַּיּוֹ »
— רמב״ם הלכות מאכלות אסורות פרק י״ג הלכה י
But do not conclude too quickly that cooked wine settles this whole siman. It extinguishes the fear of a touch; it does not automatically extinguish the third fear of seif 1, that of substitution, which requires no touch at all — and which the Shach puts at the foundation of the ban on deposits. An open bottle on the table, yes: nothing to fear where the wine is cooked. A stock entrusted for weeks to a third party is another matter, and it is not settled here. Likewise, whether a given wine is genuinely cooked in the sense of siman 123 — and not merely pasteurised or flash-pasteurised — is a question of fact and of contemporary psak: your Rav answers it, not a label.
| Modern case | Tool of the siman | Orientation (to be confirmed with a Rav) |
|---|---|---|
| An open bottle stays on the table while one steps out of the room | Seif 4 · הגה סעיף ד׳ | The door is not bolted: the opening clause of seif 4 permits it to drink. But the second half of the Rama's gloss wakes up at once — an open bottle is the textbook case of fearing a touch for drinking. Distinguish an absence of seconds from a prolonged one. |
| An open bottle, with a non-Jew left alone beside it for a long while | פת״ש ס״ק א · הגה סעיף ד׳ | This is the Tzemach Tzedek's case: an easily reached container, so brevity no longer protects, and he forbids even after the fact. A question for a Rav, and the answer will turn on the actual duration and on how likely it is that he drank. |
| A bottle still sealed, capsule intact | Seif 3 · פת״ש ס״ק א | This is the regime of sealed barrels: the fear falls away as long as there was not enough time to open and restore it unnoticed. Siman 130 deals specifically with how many seals are required. |
| The cleaner alone in the kitchen, an open bottle on the worktop | Seif 4 · ש״ך ס״ק י״א · פת״ש ס״ק א | No bolted door, so not the grave case of the siman; but no automatic mirtat either — the Shach requires that she know a touch ruins the wine, which today is almost never so. Everything then turns on the fear of a sip. With cooked wine the question does not arise. |
| A delivery man, a tradesman or a technician there for a few minutes | Seif 2 · ש״ך ס״ק ז | Seif 2 is very broad: even standing against the bottles, within arm's reach, with no seal at all, it is permitted — provided the place is one where a man can be seen, and that he has reason to hold back. The Bach, as the Shach reports him, requires a place open to passers-by. |
| An employee who is owed money, or who has an interest in the stock | Seif 2 | The seif's distinction is exact: a lien on the wine itself (a pledge, a charge) removes mirtat and forbids — even under a seal. A claim on the employer, even one already due, does not affect it. |
| A shared cellar or store where a non-Jewish neighbour also keeps wine | Seif 3 · ש״ך ס״ק י | This is literally seif 3. His presence there is legitimate, so nothing stops him bolting the door, and at night we presume he did. It is the case where the clause “even if a Jew was living there” saves nothing. |
| A stock entrusted for several weeks to a non-Jewish third party | Seif 1 · ש״ך ס״ק ג | This is no longer yiḥud but מפקיד, and the regime is stricter: the fear is no longer a touch but substitution. Siman 130 supplies the seals that answer it. |
| A hotel room, with a bottle left in the room | Seif 4 · עבודה זרה ע׳ ע״א | The Gemara treats this very case — the inn — and the Shulchan Aruch draws seif 4 from it. A room that staff enter lawfully is no break-in; the question becomes once more one of a feared sip and of the vessel. |
| In a restaurant: a non-Jewish waiter opens or pours the bottle | Outside siman 128 | Siman 128 deals with a man left alone, not with a man pouring: pouring is an observed touch, and it belongs to simanim 124 and 125. Where the wine is cooked, siman 123 has already answered. |
| An open room, foot traffic, people coming and going | Seif 2 · ש״ך ס״ק ז · רמב״ם י״ג:ה | This is the most favourable configuration in the siman: an open place, passers-by, no chance to be alone. The Rambam treats it in its own right, and the Bach makes it the condition of mirtat. |
| The corkscrew, or the cork, is found in a non-Jew's hand | הגה סעיף ב׳ · ט״ז ס״ק ג · ש״ך ס״ק ח | This is the Rama's tap: an object that could come only from the bottle is no longer attributed to chance. The Taz extends the prohibition to the entire contents; the Shach re-describes the contact and is lenient where there is a loss. A real gap between them — a question for a Rav. |
| A trace, a drop or froth is found in his hand or on the table | Seif 2 · עבודה זרה ע׳ ע״ב | A rule of attribution: where the trace could come from the outside of the vessel or from chance, we tie it there and the wine is permitted. Where it could come only from inside, we no longer do. |
| A non-Jew is found in a room he locked from the inside | Seif 3 · seif 4 · ט״ז ס״ק ה | First one must establish that he did bolt it — the Taz refuses to forbid on the mere presence of a lock. Only then: did he have a title to be there (seif 3) or not (seif 4)? And at night the presumption is reversed. |
| Cases of wine on a loading dock, in an open warehouse or a delivery area | Seif 5 · ט״ז ס״ק ח | This is seif 5: no door and no seal, only the law of the place. The criterion is touching rather than entering, and the negative conclusion forbids for benefit — so it is no default leniency. |
| Cooked wine in every situation above | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ג:ג | The fear of a touch has nothing to bite on, and the scenes of the siman lose their driving force. What remains, for a long deposit, is the separate question of substitution — and the question of fact: is this wine cooked in the sense of siman 123? |
Lema'asse. Before putting the question, gather the facts the siman requires, in this order: which wine (cooked or not); which vessel (sealed, stoppered, open, wide-mouthed, fitted with a tap); how long; where (our premises or his, open to passers-by or shut); who (has he a title to be there, a lien, an interest); what he stood to risk (would he be seized, did he know he was ruining the wine); and what was found (nothing, a trace, an object). With those seven, the question becomes askable. Without them no table can answer — and with them, it is your Rav who answers.
| Question | Measure (in practice) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Left alone with the wine, the man serves idols | Forbidden for benefit, even on our premises, even briefly | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א ; טור יו״ד סימן קכ״ח |
| He serves no idols, on our premises, for a short while | Permitted | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א ; ש״ך ס״ק א |
| Measure of “a short while” | כדי שילך כדי מיל — the length of a mil is disputed: a question for a Rav | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א |
| Even where he was told the Jew is going far | Still permitted, in that case | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א |
| Deposit at his house | Forbidden | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א |
| A long deposit, even on our premises | Forbidden; even in a mostly Jewish town | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א ; ש״ך ס״ק ב |
| One transgressed and deposited | Forbidden to drink; the Bach, as reported by the Shach, forbids benefit too | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א ; ש״ך ס״ק ג |
| Populations outside Eretz Yisrael | Lechatchila, wine is not left alone with them | הגה יו״ד קכ״ח:א ; ב״י בשם הרשב״א |
| After the fact, in that case | The Rashba and the Ateret Zahav forbid; the Shach permits | ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ד |
| Conditions of that after-the-fact permission | A short time and a vessel not easily reached | פת״ש יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק א |
| A barrel with a protruding tap, easily pulled | All the wine forbidden, even after the fact, even for a brief yiḥud | פת״ש יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק א |
| A lien on the wine itself (apotiki, pledge) | Forbidden, even under a seal | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
| A claim on the owner only | Permitted, even within arm's reach and with no seal | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
| Condition of mirtat | He must know that his touch ruins the wine | ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י״א |
| Second condition of mirtat | A place open to passers-by — otherwise he fears nobody | ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ז |
| Froth found in his hand | Permitted — attributed to the side of the barrel | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב ; עבודה זרה ע׳ ע״ב |
| A thing found only at the mouth | Forbidden | הגה יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
| The tap held in his hand | Forbidden; the Taz extends it to the whole barrel, the Shach is lenient where there is a loss | הגה יו״ד קכ״ח:ב ; ט״ז ס״ק ג ; ש״ך ס״ק ח |
| Both keep wine there, and he bolted from inside | Forbidden | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ג ; עבודה זרה ע׳ ע״א |
| Holes allowing all the barrels to be seen | All permitted to drink, even open ones | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ג |
| Partial holes | What is visible is permitted; the rest forbidden for benefit | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ג |
| Sealed barrels outside the field of vision | Forbidden where he had time כדי שיפתח ויגוף ותגוב | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ג ; עבודה זרה ס״ט ע״ב |
| Why a seal is not enough | He can slip away and say he was asleep | ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ו |
| Must one know that he bolted it? | Yes — we do not forbid on a doubt | ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ה |
| At night | We presume he bolted it; the holes no longer help | ט״ז ס״ק ה ; ש״ך ס״ק י |
| A Jew lives in the house | Does not save it, where the non-Jew has a title there himself | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ג ; ש״ך ס״ק י |
| Only the Jew has wine there, door not bolted | Permitted to drink | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ד |
| Bolted, and he would not be seized | Forbidden for benefit | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ד |
| Bolted, and he would be seized for entering | Permitted to drink | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ד ; עבודה זרה ס״א ע״ב |
| Sense of “seized as a thief” | Conditional: were they to find him he would be seized — under the law of the place, and he is no strongman | ש״ך ס״ק י״ב ; ט״ז ס״ק ח |
| Seized for entering or for touching | A dispute among Rishonim; the Mehaber writes “for entering” | ט״ז ס״ק ט ; תוספות עבודה זרה ס״א ע״ב |
| Nowadays, where he would not be seized as a thief | Permitted — the fear of nissuch is no longer on the file | הגה יו״ד קכ״ח:ד |
| Exception to that permission | Where there is reason to fear he touched it to drink or for another benefit | הגה יו״ד קכ״ח:ד ; ש״ך ס״ק א |
| A wide mouth, or a vessel exposing it to absent-minded contact | We do worry | הגה יו״ד קכ״ח:ד |
| Despite that fear, where there is a loss | Benefit remains permitted nowadays | ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י״ג |
| Barrels in the market, a weak man under the law of the place | Permitted to drink | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ה |
| Barrels in the market, the man is powerful or beyond reach | Forbidden for benefit | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ה ; ט״ז ס״ק ח |
| Cooked wine touched by a non-Jew | Permitted — the fear of a touch has nothing to bite on | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ג:ג |
| Cooked wine deposited with a non-Jew | One seal is enough | רמב״ם הלכות מאכלות אסורות פרק י״ג הלכה י |
| The rest of these laws | The Rama, closing the siman, points to siman 129; the seals, to siman 130 | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ה |
| Posek | Decisive contribution (anchored in the corpus) |
|---|---|
| Mehaber (ה׳ סעיפים) | s.1: the rule of yiḥud and that of deposit, the clause “on our premises”, the measure of a mil, and the after-the-fact case forbidden to drink; s.2: a lien on the wine, mirtat, the froth; s.3: the inner bolt, the holes in the door, the time needed to open and refit the bung, and the clause “even if a Jew was living there”; s.4: the three positions of the door and נתפס כגנב; s.5: the street, the weakness of the man and the law of the place. |
| Rama (הגה on s.1, s.2, s.4) | s.1: populations outside Eretz Yisrael, in the name of the Rashba as reported by the Beit Yosef. s.2: a thing found only at the mouth; the tap held in hand; and the general principle — we always attribute to what is ordinary. s.4: the great gloss of our era — no need for נתפס כגנב, unless there is reason to fear a touch for drinking or for another benefit; and the clause about a wide mouth and absent-minded contact. |
| Taz (טורי זהב, ט׳ ס״ק) | note 1: the two readings of the difference between yiḥud and deposit (duration / place), and why non-Jews are treated as idolaters for a deposit lechatchila; note 3: the tap forbids the whole barrel, and hefsed merubeh does not apply; note 5: one must know that he bolted it, and the nocturnal reversal; note 6: he can slip away and say he was asleep; note 7: the measure of time referred to siman 129; note 8: the concrete definition of נתפס כגנב; note 9: the dispute between the Ri and Rashi on entering and touching. |
| Shach (שפתי כהן, י״ג ס״ק) | note 1: who “one who serves no idols” is, the reason for the exemption, and its limit — it does not cover the fear of a sip; note 2: a deposit is forbidden even in a mostly Jewish town; note 3: the fear behind a deposit is substitution, and the Bach forbids benefit too; note 4: the great discussion of the after-the-fact case, and the proof from seif 4; note 6: a single seal and the cross-reference to siman 130; note 7: the Bach — a place open to passers-by is required; note 8: the tap is an indirect touch without intent, treated leniently where there is a loss; note 10: the nocturnal presumption and the uselessness of the holes at night; note 11: mirtat presupposes knowledge; note 12: what נתפס כגנב means; note 13: benefit remains permitted where there is a loss. |
| Pitchei Teshuva (note 1) | On the Rama's gloss to seif 1: the Tzemach Tzedek sets two conditions on the after-the-fact permission — a short time and the absence of any fear of touching or sipping — and then the converse case, a barrel with a protruding tap, where all is forbidden even after the fact and even for a brief yiḥud. It is the source most directly transposable to our bottles. |
| Rambam (הלכות מאכלות אסורות פרק י״ג) | halakha 1: the driving force of the siman before its time — one who fears that someone may walk in on him suddenly does not touch; halakha 2: he went out without shutting the door, or left the key in a non-Jew's hand; halakha 5: a public place, with Jews coming and going; halakha 10: cooked wine is content with one seal. |
| Gemara and Rishonim | עבודה זרה ס״א ע״ב: the walled town and the criterion of נתפס כגנב; עבודה זרה ס״ט ע״ב: open and sealed barrels, and the measure of time; עבודה זרה ע׳ ע״א: the hole in the door, the inn, and the man who can slip away; עבודה זרה ע׳ ע״ב: froth in the hand; Tosafot there: being seized for entering outweighs being seized for touching; Tur and Beit Yosef: the frame of the siman and the position of the Rashba. |
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