Nobody saw anything, nobody accuses, and no contact has been established. The wine was merely left where a non-Jew could reach it unseen — and that is enough. When unwatched presence alone forbids, what removes the fear, and how far the prohibition reaches: drinking, or benefit as well
Structured review, psak tables, rapid memorisation
« עובד כוכבים שנתייחד עם היין אפילו ברשותנו אפילו שעה מועטת אסור בהנאה » (שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א).
Two words carry the whole seif, and both are concessions: אפילו ברשותנו — even in our own domain, where one thought oneself safe — and אפילו שעה מועטת — even for a moment.
| The siman | What it asks | What must be established |
|---|---|---|
| 123 to 126 — the physical regime of wine | Was there contact, shaking, mixture? | An event |
| 127 — the word of one man | Who is believed to say that the event took place? | Credibility |
| 128 — yiḥud | Could the non-Jew have acted unseen? | Nothing: the situation suffices |
Seif 1 does not lay down one rule but a rule and its exception, and the exception is defined by knowledge, not by a favourable guess.
| Who is meant | The law of yiḥud | Verdict | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| One who serves idols | « עובד כוכבים שנתייחד עם היין אפילו ברשותנו אפילו שעה מועטת אסור בהנאה » | Forbidden — benefit included | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א |
| One known to us not to serve idols | « אבל מי שנודע לנו שאינו עובד עבודת כוכבים מותר לייחד יין אצלו ברשותנו לזמן מועט » | Yiḥud is permitted | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א |
| Who that is in practice | summary: the גר תושב and the ישמעאלים, as the Tur, the Rashba and the Rambam hold | A named category, not a guessed one | ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק א |
| How far the leniency reaches | « כגון כדי שילך כדי מיל או יותר אפילו בעיר שכולה עובדי כוכבים ואפילו הודיעו שהוא מפליג » | A measured span, and two aggravations that do not block it | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א |
| The Shach's restriction upon it | « מיהו נראה דהיינו דוקא אם הוא בענין שאין לחוש שנגעו לשתות או להנאה אחרת » | It lapses where one may fear he touched in order to drink | ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק א |
| Non-Jews of חוצה לארץ — the Rama's gloss | « עובדי כוכבים שבחוצה לארץ אע״פ שאינן עובדי עבודת כוכבים מ״מ אין מייחדים יין אצלם » | Wine is not left alone with them | רמ״א יו״ד קכ״ח:א |
| The Shach on the reach of that gloss | « דאם יחדו אצלו שרי בדיעבד כמו גר תושב וישמעאלים אלא דלכתחלה מיהת אסור » | A rule at the outset, not a verdict after the fact | ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ד |
« דדוקא בזמן מועט שרי בדיעבד ודוקא במקום שאין לחוש לנגיעה ולא לשתיה להנאתו » (פתחי תשובה יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק א).
The whole of seif 1 rests on a distinction the Mehaber does not define and the Taz spells out: יחוד and הפקדה are not two words for one thing.
| The test | יחוד | הפקדה |
|---|---|---|
| The place | Our domain — ברשותנו | His own house — בביתו |
| The span | לזמן מועט — the time it takes to walk a mil, or somewhat more | לזמן מרובה — and then it is forbidden even in our own houses |
| What was handed over | Nothing: he was left there, he was not made a keeper | The wine, placed in his hands |
| With one who does not serve idols | Permitted | Forbidden |
| If he transgressed and deposited anyway | — | אסור בשתיה — and not בהנאה |
« אבל אין מפקידין אצלו יין בביתו ואפילו בבתינו אסור אם הוא לזמן מרובה » (שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א).
The Taz gives the two possible readings of that boundary, and for the word יחוד he adopts Rashi's sense: « דיחוד היינו שמייחדו עם העובד כוכבים ברשות ישראל ולא שם את העובד כוכבים שומר עליו כלל » (ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק א).
He adds why the stringency on deposit survives in our own day: « דלענין לכתחלה להפקיד אצלם מחזקינן להו כעובדי עבודת כוכבים » (ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק א).
It is not merely a matter of duration. The Shach supplies the reason, and the fear itself changes kind: in a deposit one does not fear that he will touch — one fears that he will swap.
« דטעמא דהפקיד אצלו אסור משום שאנו חוששין שמא החליפו בשלו ושלו ודאי אסור » (ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ג).
His own wine is forbidden with certainty; ours is forbidden only out of fear. A long deposit opens the door to substitution, which is no doubt at all but a certain prohibition in disguise. And the Shach notes that the ban on depositing does not depend on the neighbourhood: summary: it holds even in a town whose majority is Jewish (ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ב).
The siman has three outcomes rather than two, and half the misreadings start there. To forbid wine is not always to forbid it in the same measure.
| The verdict | What it means | Where it appears in the siman | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| מותר בשתייה | It may be drunk | Unbolted door; seized as a thief for entering; a powerless non-Jew in the marketplace; barrels visible through a hole in the door | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ג ; שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ד ; שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ה |
| אסור בשתיה | It may not be drunk, but benefit is allowed | The one named case: having transgressed and deposited with a non-idolater | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א |
| אסור בהנאה | Neither drinking nor benefit of any kind | Yiḥud with an idolater; barrels that could not be seen; one who is not seized as a thief, indoors and in the marketplace alike | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א ; שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ג ; שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ד ; שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ה |
Seif 2 leaves deliberate yiḥud behind and turns to chance discovery: one walks in, and he is there. And the Mehaber overturns the intuition — it is not nearness that decides, but interest.
| The situation | The Mehaber's wording | Verdict | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| He holds a loan on this very wine — אפותיקי | « עובד כוכבים שנמצא בבית שבו יין אם יש לו מלוה על אותו יין כגון שעשאו אפותיקי » | Forbidden | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
| And even had the wine borne a seal | « אסור ואפילו היה היין חתום בחותם אחד » | A single seal does not redeem the loan | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
| He holds a loan on the Jew but not on the wine, and it has fallen due | « אבל אם אין לו מלוה על היין אף על פי שיש לו מלוה על ישראל בעל היין והגיע זמן המלוה מותר » | Permitted | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
| Even standing right against the barrel, within arm's reach, with no seal at all | « ואפילו היה עומד בצד היין סמוך לו ממש בכדי פישוט ידים » | Still permitted | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
| The reason, from the Rosh | « מפני שמאחר שהוא יודע שיפסיד ישראל יינו הוא ירא ליגע » | He is afraid to touch | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
| Foam in his hand | « ואפילו נמצא בידו קצף שרגיל לעלות על פי היין מות׳ שאנו תולי׳ לומ׳ מדופני החבית לקחו ולא מפיו » | We ascribe it to the side of the barrel | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
| But whatever is found only at the mouth | « אבל דברים שאינם נמצאים אלא על פי החבית אסור » | Forbidden | רמ״א יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
| The tap in his hand | « וכן אם מצא שהעובד כוכבים תופס הברזא בידו היין אסור ולא אמרינן דהברזא מנפשיה נפל והעובד כוכבים הגביהו » | Forbidden — we do not assume it fell | רמ״א יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
The same logic governs the foam found in his hand: we ascribe to the commonplace. The Rama states the principle in four words, דתלינן תמיד בדבר הרגיל, and the gemara had already set it down on this very case.
« חמרא שרי אימר מגבה דחביתא שקלתיה ואף על גב דליכא תו אימר אתרמויי אתרמי לה » (עבודה זרה ע׳ ע״ב).
The Shach limits what is feared, and draws a consequence for our own time: « ומשמע דחיישינן שהעובד כוכבים הוציא ברזא ולא חיישינן שהכניס אצבעו לפנים ונגע בו » (ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ח).
The Taz refuses that opening, and forbids the whole barrel: « משמע כל היין שבחבית ולא מהני כאן היתר דהפסד מרובה דניצוק חיבור » (ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ג).
The Baer Hetev reports both and notes that the Nekudot HaKesef upholds the Shach. On this point the siman does not close: for halacha le-ma'aseh, ask your Rav.
Seif 3 is the harshest case of the siman, and for a precise reason: the non-Jew has wine of his own inside that house. The Taz stresses it — this is a רבותא, a deliberate sharpening of the case.
« רבותא קאמר אע״ג דיש גם לעובד כוכבים שם יין שלו או שיש לו בשותפות יין עם הישראל » (ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ד).
« בית שיש לישראל ועובד כוכבים יין בתוכו ונכנס העובד כוכבים וסגר הדלת אחריו במנעול מבפנים » (שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ג).
« ואם היו נקבים בדלת שישראל יכול להסתכל ולראות משם כל החביות מותרות בשתיה אפילו הן פתוחות » (שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ג).
« ואם לאו את שיכול לראות דרך שם מותר והשאר אסור בהנאה » (שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ג).
« אפילו חביות סתומות אם שהה כדי שיפתח ויגוף ותגוב » (שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ג).
The case comes from an incident in the gemara, and the division there is already the Mehaber's own: « כל דלהדי ביזעא שרי דהאי גיסא והאי גיסא אסיר » (עבודה זרה ע׳ ע״א).
| The refinement | What it adds | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The bolting must be known, not supposed | « דוקא שידוע שנעלו בפנים אבל אם אין ידוע אע״פ שיש מנעול בפנים אין אוסרים מספק » | ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ה |
| But that holds by day; night reverses the presumption | « והיינו ביום אבל בלילה אמרינן מסתמא שנעלו » | ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ה |
| The Shach says the same and extends it to the holes in the door | « 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 |
| Why even a sealed barrel does not save the case | « דיכול לישמט ולומר ישן הייתי ולכך לא פתחתי לך » | ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ו |
| And why a Jew living in the house is not enough | summary: because the non-Jew has a stake in that house | ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י |
Take away from seif 3 the non-Jew's wine and his stake in the house, and nothing is left but the Jew's wine and an intruder. The test then changes altogether — the question is no longer whether he could slip away, but whether he could be seized.
| The situation | The Mehaber's wording | Verdict | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| The door is not bolted | « בית שאין בו אלא יינו של ישראל ונמצא עובד כוכבים בתוכו אם אין הדלת נעול מותר בשתיה » | Permitted to drink | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ד |
| Why — the Rosh's reason as the Shach gives it | « אע״פ שאינו נתפס כגנב על הכניסה דמירתת שמא יבא ישראל ויראהו נוגע » | He dreads being caught | ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י״א |
| Bolted, and he is not seized as a thief | « ואם הוא נעול במפתח מבפנים אם אינו נתפס כגנב אסור בהנאה » | Forbidden, benefit included | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ד |
| Bolted, but he is seized as a thief for entering | « ואם הוא נתפס כגנב על הכניסה מותר בשתייה » | Permitted to drink | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ד |
| What the phrase means | « בכ״מ שהוזכר נתפס כגנב פירושו שאם ימצאוהו יהא נתפס כגנב » | A liability, not a sentence | ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י״ב |
| The Taz sharpens it further | « פי׳ שאם ימצאהו ישראל יהיה נתפס כדין גנב ע״פ המושל והוא אינו אלם » | A power above him is required | ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ח |
The formula comes straight from the gemara, where it settles two successive incidents: « אם נתפס עליו כגנב שרי ואי לא אסיר » (עבודה זרה ע׳ ע״א).
And in the second: « אם נתפס עליו כגנב חמרא שרי ואי לא אסור » (עבודה זרה ס״א ע״ב).
Here the Rama opens, for our own time, the widest door in the siman: « וי״א דבזמן הזה שאין העובדי כוכבים מנסכין אפילו אינו נתפס כגנב שרי » (רמ״א יו״ד קכ״ח:ד).
Yet he shuts it again at once on one side: « אא״כ יש לחוש שנגעו לשתות ממנו או להנאה אחרת » (רמ״א יו״ד קכ״ח:ד).
And on the other: « מיהו אם פי החבית רחב או שהוא בקנקן שיש לחוש שמא נגע בו דרך מתעסק חיישינן » (רמ״א יו״ד קכ״ח:ד).
The Shach adds that even in the excluded case benefit stays permitted where there is loss: « ואפ״ה שרי בהנאה במקום הפסד בזמן הזה » (ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י״ג).
The last seif steps outdoors. In the marketplace there is no door, no bolt and no hole to look through: nothing is left but the non-Jew's own dread, and that dread is measured by his standing.
« היו בשוק חביות יין ונמצא עובד כוכבים ביניהם » (שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ה).
« אם הוא עובד כוכבים חלש שאימת שופטי העיר עליו ואם ימצאוהו נוגע נתפס כגנב מותר בשתייה » (שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ה).
| What seif 5 asks | What it draws from it | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Is he חלש — without power or protection? | Then the city judges count for him | Condition met |
| Does dread of the judges weigh on him — שאימת שופטי העיר עליו? | That is what makes a נתפס כגנב outside a house | Condition met |
| Would he be seized for touching, and not for entering? | In a marketplace entering is no offence: the act alone is | Permitted to drink |
| One of the three is missing | Nothing was holding him back | Forbidden in benefit |
One mechanism runs through seifim 2 to 5 in different dress: the non-Jew dreads, and therefore does not touch. But that dread is never assumed for free — each time it demands a foothold, and the siman names which.
| What holds him back | Where | Its condition | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| He would forfeit what he counts on being paid from | Seif 2 | Holding no loan on that very wine | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
| A Jew may walk in and see him touching | Seif 4 | He must know that his touch ruins the wine | ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י״א |
| Sight may reach him through the door | Seif 3 | By day; at night the presumption reverses | ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י |
| He would be seized as a thief | Seifim 4 and 5 | A power above him, and he himself no strongman | ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ח |
| The street runs past the house | Seif 2, as the Bach holds | That Jews actually pass along it | ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ז |
The condition laid down by the Bach and reported by the Shach is the easiest to forget: « 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).
And the Shach's condition on seif 4 belongs to the same family: « והיינו דוקא כשהעובד כוכבים יודע דמגע עובדי כוכבים אסור לישראל ויפסיד יינו בכך » (ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י״א).
The siman supplies tests, not ready-made rulings. Each case below states which test of the siman is at stake, and what the siman leaves open.
| The situation | The test in the siman | What remains to be settled |
|---|---|---|
| Bottles of non-cooked kosher wine sit for an hour in a non-Jewish mover's van while he takes his break | This is יחוד and not a deposit: nothing was handed over. What remains is who he is, and whether the van is our domain or his (שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א) | How the man and the place are classified |
| A courier carries the cartons up to the flat alone while the owner waits downstairs | The question is not the span but the escape: can he be walked in on at any moment? This is the מירתת of seif 4 (ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י״א) | Whether he knows that a touch ruins the wine |
| Wine left in pledge with a non-Jewish lender | This is the named case of seif 2: a loan on that wine. A single seal changes nothing here (שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב) | Nothing in principle; everything in the facts |
| An opened bottle is left on the table while one steps out of the room | The Rama on seif 4 aims at exactly this shape: פי החבית רחב, and the fear of an absent-minded touch (רמ״א יו״ד קכ״ח:ד) | The line between a stoppered bottle and a broached one |
| A cellar whose door stays open onto a busy corridor | This is seif 4 in its simplest form — an unbolted door — with the Bach's condition as the Shach reports it: that Jews actually pass by (ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ז) | Traffic in fact, and not merely in principle |
| The same cellar, at night | The Shach and the Taz reverse the presumption once darkness falls, and sight through the door no longer avails (ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י) | What counts as “night” in a lit and frequented place |
None of these cases is settled on siman 128 alone. Cooked wine, pasteurised wine, the standing of non-Jews today, the measure of הפסד מרובה — all of that belongs to the neighbouring simanim and to the poskim, and it is the business of Level 4. What siman 128 gives, and gives in full, is the grid: who, where, how long, and what was holding him back.
For halacha le-ma'aseh, ask your Rav.
| Seif | Subject | The essentials |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | יחוד and הפקדה | A non-Jew left alone with the wine — even in our own domain, even for a brief while — renders it forbidden in benefit as well. But one who is known to us not to serve idols: wine may be left alone with him in our domain and for a short time — the time it takes to walk a mil or somewhat more — and this even in a wholly non-Jewish town, and even if he was told that the Jew is going far off. But one does not deposit wine with him in his house; and even in our houses it is forbidden if it is for a long time; and if one transgressed and deposited, the wine is forbidden to drink. Rama: non-Jews abroad, though they do not serve idols, are likewise not left alone with wine. |
| 2 | Found in a house where there is wine | If he holds a loan on that very wine — say he made it an אפותיקי — it is forbidden, even had the wine borne a seal. But if he holds no loan on the wine, even though he holds a loan on the Jewish owner and it has fallen due, it is permitted — even if he stood against the wine, right beside it, within arm's reach, and even with no seal at all, since knowing that the Jew would lose his wine he is afraid to touch. And even if the foam that usually rises to the surface was found in his hand, it is permitted: we ascribe it to the side of the barrel and not to its mouth. Rama: but whatever is found only at the mouth is forbidden; likewise if he was found holding the tap, the wine is forbidden, and we do not say the tap fell of itself — for we always ascribe to what is usual. |
| 3 | The house where Jew and non-Jew both have wine | The non-Jew goes in and bolts the door behind him from within, so that a Jew wishing to enter could not do so without his consent: the wine is forbidden. And if there were holes in the door through which the Jew can look and see all the barrels, all are permitted to drink, open ones included. If not, what he can see is permitted and the rest forbidden in benefit — sealed barrels included, if he stayed long enough to open, make a new bung and let it dry. And this even if a Jew was living in that house. |
| 4 | The house holding only the Jew's wine | A non-Jew is found inside. If the door is not bolted: permitted to drink. If it is locked with a key from within: if he is not seized as a thief, it is forbidden in benefit; and if he is seized as a thief for entering, it is permitted to drink. Rama: and some say that nowadays, when non-Jews pour no libations, it is permitted even where he is not seized as a thief, unless there is reason to fear that he touched it to drink from it or for some other benefit; yet if the mouth of the barrel is wide, or it is in a קנקן where one may fear he touched it inadvertently, we do take that into account. |
| 5 | The barrels in the marketplace | There were barrels of wine in the marketplace and a non-Jew was found among them. If he is a powerless non-Jew upon whom the dread of the city judges weighs, and were they to find him touching he would be seized as a thief: permitted to drink. If not: forbidden in benefit. And the Mehaber refers to siman 129 for further laws of this matter. |
| Question | Reflex answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| An idolater was left alone with the wine for a moment, in our own place? | Forbidden, benefit included | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א |
| And if he is known to us not to serve idols? | Yiḥud is permitted, with us and for a short time | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א |
| How short is “a short time”? | The time it takes to walk a mil, or somewhat more | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א |
| May wine be deposited with him in his house? | No — neither in his house, nor for long in ours | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א |
| One transgressed and deposited — to what degree? | Forbidden to drink only | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:א |
| He is found standing against the barrel, with no seal? | Permitted — nearness settles nothing | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
| He holds a pledge on that wine? | Forbidden, even under a seal | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
| Foam in his hand? | Permitted: ascribed to the side of the barrel | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
| The tap in his hand? | Forbidden: ascribed to what is usual | רמ״א יו״ד קכ״ח:ב |
| He bolted from within, in a house where he has wine? | Forbidden | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ג |
| But holes in the door show all the barrels? | All permitted to drink, open ones included | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ג |
| And those that could not be seen? | Forbidden in benefit, sealed ones included | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ג |
| Is the bolting presumed, or must it be known? | It must be known — but at night the presumption reverses | ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ה ; ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י |
| A house with only the Jew's wine, door open? | Permitted to drink | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ד |
| The same house, bolted, and he is not seizable as a thief? | Forbidden in benefit | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ד |
| What does נתפס כגנב mean? | That were he found, he would be seized as a thief | ש״ך יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק י״ב ; ט״ז יו״ד קכ״ח ס״ק ח |
| What does the Rama say for our own time? | Some permit even without נתפס כגנב — barring fear that he touched to drink | רמ״א יו״ד קכ״ח:ד |
| In the marketplace, what does everything rest on? | On the dread of the city judges weighing upon him | שו״ע יו״ד קכ״ח:ה |
| Level | Content | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 🌱 Level 1 — Base | The text of all 5 seifim, translation, step-by-step explanation | Overall understanding |
| ⚡ Level 2 — Lamdan | The definition of יחוד and how it differs from הפקדה, the nature of מירתת, and the split between the Shach and the Taz over the ברזא | In-depth study |
| ✨ Level 3 — Synthesis | Two master grids, the ladder of the three verdicts, golden rules, a mnemonic, pitfalls, practical cases and a recap of the seifim | Practical mastery and review |
| 📜 Level 4 — Halacha le-ma'aseh | Practical ruling according to the ש״ך, the ט״ז, the פתחי תשובה and the poskim | Contemporary application |
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