From the ruling of the Mehaber and the Rama, through the arbitration of the Taz,
the Shach and the Pitchei Teshuva, to the sealed bottle we have delivered
Subject:
שולחן ערוך יורה דעה סימן ק״ל (י׳ סעיפים)
עם נושאי הכלים: ט״ז, ש״ך, פתחי תשובה, טור, בית יוסף, רמב״ם
⚠ Level note:
This level is not “Daat HaRav”: the Shulchan Aruch HaRav
(Admur HaZaken) does not cover Yoreh De'ah, and so not Siman 130 either.
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 text 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). On Yoreh De'ah there is no Mishnah Berurah (which comments only on Orach Chaim) and no Shulchan Aruch HaRav / Daat HaRav (the Admur HaZaken did not write Yoreh De'ah). The Aruch HaShulchan is not quoted here: his text on this siman is not accessible to us, and one does not quote what one cannot verify; the same holds for the Kaf HaChaim and the Pri Chadash on this siman. And one thing must be said at the outset, because it governs everything that follows: industrial packaging appears in no seif at all. The siman supplies a criterion and counter-examples, not a catalogue of products. This level rebuilds the criterion and stops where the text stops: for a real bottle, a real carton, a real seal, a Rav must see the packaging.
דיני חתימת היין. ובו י׳ סעיפים:
מותר להפקיד ולשלוח יין ביד עובד כוכבים אם הוא חתום בחותם בתוך חותם או מפתח וחותם והני מילי בחבית של חרס אבל לא בחבית של עץ מפני שיכולין להוציא יין מבין הנסרים ולא ירגישו וכל שכן בנודות שבקל יכולים להוציא יין מבין התפירות ואין להם תקנה אלא שיכניס כל החבית של עץ או כל הנאד בשק שאין בו תפירה מבחוץ ויחתום פי השק: הגה ויש מתירין אפילו בחבית של עץ ואין חוששין שמא יוציא בין הנסרים (מרדכי ריש פרק א״מ וב״י בשם ס״ה וסמ״ג ורשב״א ובא״ו הארוך) וכן נוהגים ובלבד שיזהר שיהא המגופה נסתם כראוי וכן שלא יהיה שם ברזא רק יחתוך כל הברזות וישים עור על המגופה והברזא קבוע במסמרות ויכתוב אותיות חציין על העור וחציין על הברזות שאם יגביה העובד כוכבים העור לא ידע לחזור ולכוון העור כבתחילה (מרדכי פר״י וב״י בשם תוס׳) ואם מצא סכין בחבית שהוציא יין בין הנסרים ע״ל סי׳ קכ״ד:
The founding case. One may deposit wine with a non-Jew, and one may have him carry it, on one condition: that the vessel bear a seal within a seal (חותם בתוך חותם), or else a key and a seal. The Mehaber does not ask that anyone stand watch; he asks that the object itself make an opening visible.
And at once the limit, which is a material one. All of this holds for an earthenware jar. Not for a wooden barrel: wine can be drawn from between the staves with nothing showing — and the seal, which sits on top, will have prevented nothing. All the more so for leather skins, where wine is drawn from between the stitches. Their only remedy is to place the whole barrel or the whole skin inside a sack that has no outer seam, and to seal the mouth of the sack.
The Rama is lenient, and supplies a technique. Some permit even a wooden barrel, and we do not suspect that he will draw wine from between the staves — and so we practice. On three conditions: that the bung be properly closed; that there be no spigot — that one cut off every spigot; and that a piece of leather be laid over the bung, the spigot fixed with nails, with letters written half on the leather and half on the spigots, so that if the non-Jew lifts the leather he will not know how to line it up again. That sentence is the whole siman: a seal is not what closes, it is what cannot be closed again identically.
— Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 130:1 · Sefaria YD 130:1
« דאי משום איסוכי לא מנסכי ליה אי משום איחלופי כיון דאיכא חותם אחד לא טרח ומזייף »
— ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ז
« הַכֹּל מִשְׁתַּמֵּר בְּחוֹתָם אֶחָד, חוּץ מִן הַיַּיִן שֶׁאֵין מִשְׁתַּמֵּר בְּחוֹתָם אֶחָד »
— עבודה זרה ל״א ע״א
« מֻתָּר לְיִשְׂרָאֵל לְהַפְקִיד יֵינוֹ בִּכְלִי סָתוּם בְּיַד עַכּוּ״ם וְהוּא שֶׁיִּהְיֶה לוֹ בּוֹ שְׁנֵי סִימָנִין »
— רמב״ם הלכות מאכלות אסורות פרק י״ג הלכה ח
« ולענין הלכה כיון דבה״ג והרי״ף והרמב״ם והרשב״א סוברים שצריך חותם בתוך חותם או מפתח וחותם הכי נקטינן »
— בית יוסף יורה דעה סימן ק״ל
Siman 130 has ten seifim — that is the count announced by the heading (ובו י׳ סעיפים), and it is also the real count of the text, with no discrepancy. Its construction is clear: seifim 1 to 3 set out the rule and its three regimes; seifim 4 to 7 define technically what a seal is; seif 8 deals with the seal as found; and seifim 9 and 10 leave the vessel behind for the place.
| Seif | Subject | Ruling (anchored in the text) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | depositing and sending wine | Permitted with a seal within a seal, or a key and a seal. But that holds for an earthenware jar: not for a wooden barrel, from which wine is drawn between the staves, and all the more so not for a skin, where it is drawn between the stitches — their remedy is to put the whole thing into a sack with no outer seam and seal its mouth. Rama: some permit even wood, and so we practice — provided the bung is properly closed, every spigot is cut off, and letters are written half on the leather laid over the bung and half on the spigots. |
| 2 | a single seal | Forbidden to drink, permitted for benefit — and only if he assigned the wine a corner (קרן זוית). Rama: some write that bedieved one may permit even with a single seal; one need not recognize one's own seal unless one sees that it is damaged, in which case it is forbidden — but one need not check, and the custom is to be lenient. |
| 3 | cooked wine, mixed wine, vinegar | Our mevushal wine, our wine mixed with other things (honey, oil), and our vinegar may be deposited with a non-Jew under a single seal. |
| 4 | what a seal within a seal is | A loose cover placed the way everyone closes, plus a smearing of clay, is one seal. A tight cover, with the clay above it, is a seal within a seal. Tying the mouth of a skin is one seal; turning its mouth inward and then tying it is a seal within a seal. And any departure from what everyone does counts as one seal, the smearing or the knot being the second. |
| 5 | two unusual knots | They count as two seals. |
| 6 | letters and printed stamps | Two letters count as two seals. But a printed stamp, even bearing several letters, counts only as one seal, since they are affixed all at once. And where people who can write are common, writing is a sign only for one who recognizes that writing. |
| 7 | key and seal | A key and one seal count as two seals. |
| 8 | the seal as found | If he sealed with two seals, went back over it and did not recognize it, or found it undone — forbidden. Rama: only if one sees that it was undone deliberately by a person; where it can be attributed to an accident, an animal or a child, it is permitted bedieved; and even if deliberate, there is room to permit if a Jew is constantly coming and going. The recipient need not check, unless he was told there were two seals — and it is proper to describe the shape of the seal to him. Rama: if letters were written, no notice is needed. And a non-Jew who says he touched the wine while tightening a leak is not believed to forbid it. |
| 9 | a house bought or rented in a non-Jew's courtyard | If a Jew lives in that courtyard, it is permitted even with neither seal nor key, and even if the non-Jew lives there too. If no Jew lives there: permitted if the key and seal are in Jewish hands; otherwise forbidden while the non-Jew lives in the courtyard; and if he does not live there, permitted — unless he is found standing beside the wine. |
| 10 | a Jew's own courtyard | There neither key nor seal is required, even if a non-Jew lives in that courtyard and no Jew does, and even if he is found standing beside the wine — for there he would be seized as a thief. But that is by day: at night it is forbidden. Rama: this day / night distinction holds only here, where the non-Jew has a tie to the courtyard and locks it at evening; and even by day, if he locked it and there is no hole or crack through which the wine can be seen, it is forbidden. |
« אַגָּנָא דְּפוּמָּא דְּחָבִיתָא שְׁרִיקָא וַחֲתִימָא — הָוֵי חוֹתָם בְּתוֹךְ חוֹתָם, וְאִי לָא — לָא »
— עבודה זרה ל״א ע״א
« נוֹד בְּדִיסַקַּיָּא, חֲתִימַת פִּיו לְמַטָּה — הָוֵי חוֹתָם בְּתוֹךְ חוֹתָם, פִּיו לְמַעְלָה — לָא הָוֵי חוֹתָם בְּתוֹךְ חוֹתָם »
— עבודה זרה ל״א ע״א
« אבל בלא יבישה נראה דלא הוי חותם דבקלות מאד יכול להסיר הטיט הלח ולתת אחר במקומו »
— ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ז
« דקשר שעושין בעלמא ודאי אין טורח כלל להתירה אלא ודאי קשר משונה בעינן »
— ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ח
This seif says three things, and all three bear directly on our labels. (1) Two written letters count as two seals — because reproducing them exactly costs a trouble the forger will not take. (2) But a printed stamp — הדפוסים — however loaded with letters, counts as one seal only, כיון שקובעין אותם בבת אחת: what is affixed in one act is re-affixed in one act, and the number of characters changes nothing. (3) And where writing is common, it is a sign only for one who recognizes that particular hand. The Beit Yosef supplies both sources — the Rashba in a responsum for the stamps, and the Ra'ah for the second limit:
« וכתב הרשב״א בתשובה הדפוסים אף ע״פ שיש בהם כמה אותיות לא חשיבי אלא כחותם א׳ כיון שקובעים אותם בבת אחת »
— בית יוסף יורה דעה סימן ק״ל
« וכתוב בא״ח בשם הרא״ה במקום שמצויים מומרים ונכרים שיודעים לכתוב אין כתב סימן אלא למי שמכיר הכתב »
— בית יוסף יורה דעה סימן ק״ל
« עכשיו נוהגים שלא להתיר לשלוח יין כלל בחבית של עץ מעיר לעיר אם לא ע״י נאמן ישראל שומר ביום ובלילה »
— ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק א
« כי שכיח שהעובדי כוכבים נוקבים במקדח קטן או בסכין בין הנסרים ומוציאין יין בגניבה ואין לשנות להקל כלל »
— ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק א
The Shach distinguishes carefully. Leather, letters, hoops: לרווחא דמילתא, a matter of comfort and not of obligation — « דדין זה לאו לעיכובא אלא לרווחא דמילתא אבל בדיעבד הדבר ברור דסגי בחותם א׳ אף בחבית של עץ » (ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ב). But an uncut spigot ruins everything, even after the fact: « מיהו אם לא חתך הברזות אף דיעבד אסור דהא בקל יכול להוציא הברזא ולהמשיך יין » (ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ב). A tap left on the vessel is not a defective seal: it is a second door. The Taz adds only that after the fact, if the clay has dried around the spigot, one may permit in a case of great loss: « זהו לכתחלה אבל בדיעבד אם טח בטיט ונתייבש סביב הברזא גם כן מותר בהפסד מרובה » (ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ג).
« ונ״ל הא דאין לחוש בזה שמכסה כולו בחשוקים שמא יוציא היין מבין החשוקים דהא עיקר האיסור משום שבשעת הסתימה נוגע בו »
— ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ב
« גם במהרי״ל ראיתי שמחלק בין נקב דק ובין נקב רחב קצת שבשעה שסותם העובד כוכבים את הנקב יש לחוש שנכנס מן בשר אצבעו בפנים ואוסר »
— ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ב
A textual note, for the student. In his ס״ק ג the Shach observes that the cross-reference at the end of seif 1 was printed in his edition as siman 128, and that this is a printer's error: it should read 124. Our printed text today reads 124 — the Shach's correction has entered the edition. It is a good reminder of what a cross-reference is in a transmitted text: one checks it, one does not copy it blindly.
« דאז הוה כחצרו של ישראל משום הכי מותר בהנאה »
— ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ד
The Rama adds three chained leniencies, and it is from them that practice lives. (1) « ויש שכתבו דבדיעבד יש להתיר אפילו בחותם אחד » (רמ״א יו״ד ק״ל:ב) — after the fact, a single seal permits even drinking. (2) « ואין צריך להכיר חותמו אלא אם כן רואה שחותמו מקולקל אז אסור » (רמ״א יו״ד ק״ל:ב) — one is not bound to recognize one's own seal; only a seal visibly damaged forbids. (3) And one need not even go and check: אבל אין צריך לבדוק אחר זה וכן נוהגין להקל. Note the order: the stringency is upstream, in how one seals; the leniency is downstream, in how one receives.
« דוקא בחותם אבל סתומות במגופה לא הוי בדיעבד כחותם אחד אלא במקום הפסד מרובה »
— ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ד
« וְכָל שֶׁאִסּוּרוֹ מִדִּבְרֵי סוֹפְרִים שֶׁהִפְקִידוֹ בְּיַד עַכּוּ״ם אֵינוֹ צָרִיךְ שְׁנֵי חוֹתָמוֹת אֶלָּא חוֹתָם אֶחָד בִּלְבַד דַּיּוֹ »
— רמב״ם הלכות מאכלות אסורות פרק י״ג הלכה י
« ומשמע דאפילו יש בכלי שום נקב שיוכל לשתות ממנו אם אינו גדול שיוכל להריק בו יין לתוך הכלים שרי »
— ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ז
This is the distinction the Tur places at the heart of the siman, and it settles the whole practical regime of delivery. When I deposit my wine with a non-Jew, I shall collect it myself: he knows I will see my seal again, so מירתת, he is afraid, and he does not tamper. When I ship it to somebody else, the man who opens it does not know my seal: the fear falls away, and two seals are needed.
« ויש מחלקין בין להפקיד בידו ובין לשלוח על ידו דודאי להפקיד בידו שרי בחותם א׳ מפני שעתיד לראות חותמו ומירתת נכרי ולא מזייף »
— טור יורה דעה סימן ק״ל
« ואפילו לפי זה אם הודיע לחבירו צורת החותם וגם הודיע לנכרי שהודיע לחבירו מירתת נכרי וסגי בחותם אחד »
— טור יורה דעה סימן ק״ל
« ודוקא אם רואים שנסתר בכוונה ע״י אדם אבל במקום שיכולים לתלות שנסתר ונתקלקל מעצמו או ע״י בהמה או תינוקת שלא בכוונה מותר בדיעבד »
— הגה יו״ד ק״ל:ח
« ואפילו אם נתקלקל בכוונה יש להתיר אם ישראל יוצא ונכנס תמיד »
— הגה יו״ד ק״ל:ח
« היינו במקום שיש לתלות שהעובד כוכבים לא הרגיש ולא ידע כלל שנסתר החותם אבל בנ״ד שהעובד כוכבים ידע שנסתר אפילו אם נאמינו שנסתר באונס הרי אח״כ היין ברשותו מונח והוי כמפקיד אצל עובד כוכבים בלי חותם »
— פתחי תשובה יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ב
« מיהו היינו דוקא בשולח עם העובד כוכבים ממקום למקום ובדרך נתקלקל אבל הפקיד אצל העובד כוכבים ויהודי המפקיד מצוי בכאן ויכול העובד כוכבים להגיד לו אמרינן מסתמא תיכף הגיד לו »
— פתחי תשובה יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ב
Read the last line of the Pitchei Teshuva before drawing any conclusion. The Noda BiYehuda himself did not wish to turn his distinction into a general permission: « ומ״מ לא החליט זה להקל רק בהפ״מ ובאופן שיסכימו עמו חכמים » (פתחי תשובה יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ב). Great loss, and the agreement of other decisors. The Pitchei Teshuva further cites the Panim Meirot in the same direction: « דזה מיירי שאין אנו יודעים בבירור שהעובד כוכבים ידע מזה אבל אם לא כן אסור » (פתחי תשובה יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ג). A parcel that arrives with its seal broken is not judged at home.
Here is the most original passage in the siman, and it is not in the Mehaber: it is in the Taz's ס״ק ז, in the course of a long analysis of the Gemara. The Taz has just granted that a bunged barrel smeared with dried clay counts as a seal, and that in a case of great loss one may rely on it. Then he stops short and distinguishes two situations that nothing in the text had distinguished.
« ונ״ל דזהו דוקא כשהחבית מונח בביתו של עובד כוכבים אבל אם מוליכו בדרך לבד ויודע שהפליג הישראל לא מועיל טיחה בטיט כלל »
— ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ז
« כי פשוט הוא שעל ידי שהעגלה מתנענעת תמיד היין הולך למעלה ומרכך הטיט ונופל וזה דבר מצוי מאוד »
— ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ז
« וע״כ נראה דבשום פנים אין היתר בהולכת יין מחמת טיחה לחוד בלי סימן אחר רק במונח אז מועיל טיחה »
— ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ז
The Taz does not say that a seal is worthless on the road. He says that a fragile seal — one that depends on a material the journey attacks — is worthless on the road. The right question before packaging meant for transport is therefore not “is it properly sealed?” but “will this seal arrive intact, and if so, will I have any way of knowing?”. The Taz further observes, against the Masat Binyamin, that fermenting wine drives the liquid up and spoils the clay — but that wine which is not fermenting rises as well, by the sheer motion of the cart: the distinction does not hold, and it is the motion that decides.
« דמאי דסמכינן אקשר משונה או חותם היינו משום דלא טרח ומזייף א״נ מרתת משא״כ בזה דמוכרח הוא להתיר הקשרים ולפתוח העגלות בכל יום כדי ליקח מאכל שלו שבתוך העגלות »
— ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ח
« וְאִם הָיָה דָּר בְּחָצֵר אַחֶרֶת לֹא יֵצֵא עַד שֶׁיִּסְגֹּר הַבַּיִת וְיִהְיֶה הַמַּפְתֵּחַ וְהַחוֹתָם בְּיָדוֹ »
— רמב״ם הלכות מאכלות אסורות פרק י״ג הלכה א
« דאפילו בלא חותם כלל שרי מטעמא דכיון דאינו דר שם אינו עתיד לבא שם »
— ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק י״ב
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— ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק י״ד
The Rama carefully bounds the day / night distinction of seif 10: it does not hold in the cases of simanim 128 and 129, where the non-Jew is equally afraid by day and by night. It holds only here, because the non-Jew has a tie to the courtyard, because he locks it in the evening since no Jew lives there, and because he therefore has an excuse — « כלומר שדר שם ואית ליה לאשתמוטי על הנעילה » (ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ט״ז). And the Rama's conclusion makes even the daytime depend on visibility:
« ולכן אפילו ביום אם נעל ואין חור או סדק שיכולין לראות היין אסור אבל ע״י חור וסדק מותר ביום אפילו נעלו בודאי ובלילה אסור בכה״ג אפי׳ מסתמא »
— הגה יו״ד ק״ל:י
| Situation (a Jew's courtyard, a non-Jew living in it) | By day | By night |
|---|---|---|
| Not locked | Permitted — he would be seized as a thief | Permitted: the Taz writes that a wide open door suffices even at night, since he fears the Jew may recall his wine and come |
| Locked, but a hole or crack lets the wine be seen | Permitted, even if he certainly locked it | Forbidden |
| Locked, and nothing lets the wine be seen | Forbidden | Forbidden |
Before the table, the warning that makes it honest. None of the objects below appears in any seif. The Shulchan Aruch knows jars, skins, clay, knots and letters traced by hand; it knows nothing of the shrink capsule, the screw cap, the induction seal, or the numbered seal of a shipping container. What the siman supplies is not the answer but the criterion and its counter-examples — and here the counter-examples teach more than the criterion. The columns below set a present-day object against the tool of the siman that comes nearest to it; they state no ruling. For real packaging, the Rav must see it.
| Present-day case | Tool of the siman | Orientation (to be confirmed with a Rav) |
|---|---|---|
| Uncooked wine, original bottle, cork plus an intact shrink capsule, handed to a non-Jewish carrier | Seif 1 · seif 4 | The structure of seif 4 is this: a tight closure, and a covering above it. But nothing in the siman says that an industrial capsule is a sign in the sense of seif 4 — it is affixed in one act and in series, which is precisely the description of the דפוסים of seif 6. Do not conclude on your own. |
| A screw cap with a tamper ring that breaks on opening | Seif 4 · seif 6 · ש״ך ס״ק ח | It makes opening visible, which is the right order of ideas. But the siman's criterion is not merely the trace: it is that one will not take the trouble to redo it, and that one fears a check. A device mass-produced and available everywhere does not by itself satisfy those two conditions. |
| A hekhsher label stuck across both the cap and the neck of the bottle | הגה סעיף א׳ · seif 6 | This is precisely the Rama's device — letters half on the leather and half on the spigot, so that lifting it shows. But seif 6 is explicit: a printed thing, however loaded with letters, counts as only one sign, and writing is a sign only for one who recognizes it. A printed label is therefore not “two letters”. |
| The induction seal under the cap of a grape juice bottle | Seif 3 · seif 4 | If the contents are mevushal, or forbidden only rabbinically, seif 3 in any case requires no more than one sign. That is where the great majority of cases actually live. |
| A closed and taped carton of bottles handed to a courier | ט״ז ס״ק ח · seif 1 | The Taz teaches that putting the skin into a sack is not a seal: what seals is the knot, not the wrapper. And seif 1 recalls that the sack helps only if it has no outer seam and is sealed at its mouth. A carton is a wrapper, and not necessarily a seal. |
| A shrink-wrapped pallet, or a container closed with a numbered seal | Seif 8 · טור · seif 6 | The number brings back the spring of מירתת — provided the recipient has been told the number, which is exactly the Tur's remedy. Without passing on the number there is nothing to check, and therefore nothing for the carrier to fear. |
| Bag-in-box, a bulk container, or a barrel fitted with a tap | Seif 1 (הגה) · ש״ך ס״ק ב | This is the case of the ברזא, and it is the one condition of the Rama that the Shach declares binding even after the fact. A tap left in place is not an imperfect seal: it is a second opening. |
| A bottle simply re-corked, or a vessel with a well-closing lid | ש״ך ס״ק ד | This is not “one seal”, it is no seal: סתומות במגופה לא הוי בדיעבד כחותם אחד, save in a case of great loss. The distinction between closed and sealed is here the whole question. |
| The parcel arrives, the seal is broken, and the courier explains that the carton fell | הגה סעיף ח׳ · פת״ש ס״ק ב | This is the Noda BiYehuda's case word for word. The Rama's leniency assumes the carrier did not know; here he knows and says so, so the wine travelled unsealed to his knowledge. His own leniency is opened only for a great loss and with the agreement of other decisors. A question for a Rav, without exception. |
| The seal is intact but the recipient does not know what it should have looked like | Seif 8 | The Mehaber does not ask the recipient to investigate, unless he was warned that there were two seals; and then it is enough that he find two. Describing the shape of the seal remains נכון הדבר. |
| The seal is damaged, and one cannot tell by what | הגה סעיף ח׳ · ש״ך ס״ק ה | What forbids is the mark of a hand. Damage attributable to the journey, to an animal or to a child does not forbid after the fact — and the Shach writes that even a single damaged seal stays permitted so long as one does not see that a person undid it. |
| A cellar or storeroom rented in a non-Jew's building, with no seal at all | Seif 9 · ט״ז ס״ק ה · ש״ך ס״ק ד | If a Jew lives on the premises, the seif permits even without key or seal. Otherwise the key and the seal are needed. On the key alone the Taz is lenient and the Shach refuses: an open disagreement, not to be settled by oneself. |
| A warehouse belonging to the Jew, a non-Jewish employee present, nobody living there | Seif 10 · ש״ך ס״ק י״ד | The seif permits, even if he is found beside the wine, since there he would be seized as a thief — but the Shach requires that the Jew be coming and going. A place through which nobody passes any more falls outside the seif. |
| The same warehouse, at night, with the door locked | Seif 10 (הגה) · ט״ז ס״ק י | At night it is forbidden, unless the door stands wide open. By day the crack through which one sees permits — but only for what is actually seen. |
| The wine sets out on the road with a fragile seal, or one that will have to be opened on the way | ט״ז ס״ק ז · ש״ך ס״ק ח | The two great counter-examples of the siman meet here: a seal the journey destroys does not count, and a seal the carrier must open every day counts no more. Check both points before departure, not on arrival. |
| Cooked wine (mevushal), or mixed wine, or vinegar | Seif 3 | One sign, lekhatchila. This is the regime under which most transport and distribution actually take place today — and it is why the question almost never arises in the terms of seif 1. |
Lema'asse. Before putting the question to your Rav, gather the six facts the siman calls for, in this order: which wine (cooked or not, mixed, vinegar — seif 3 decides the count of seals); which vessel (can it be opened anywhere but at the stopper? is there a tap?); which signs exactly (describe them one by one, without counting them in advance); with whom and in whose domain (transport, deposit, rented premises, your own premises); what the man holding it knows (was he told that somebody would check, and what?); and what was found on arrival (intact, damaged, and who knew). With these six the question becomes answerable — and without them no table can answer it.
| Question | Measure (in practice) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Uncooked wine deposited with, or sent by, a non-Jew | A seal within a seal, or a key and a seal | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:א ; עבודה זרה ל״א ע״א |
| An earthenware jar | Sealing the mouth suffices | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:א |
| A wooden barrel or a skin | Per the Mehaber, put the whole thing in a sack with no outer seam and seal the sack's mouth | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:א ; טור יו״ד ק״ל |
| The custom adopted by the Rama | A wooden barrel is permitted — bung well closed, spigots cut off, letters straddling the leather | הגה יו״ד ק״ל:א |
| Shipping city to city in wood, lekhatchila | The Bach does not permit it without a trusted Jew guarding day and night | ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק א ; ט״ז ס״ק ב |
| A barrel fully hooped, base included | There is room to permit | ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק א ; ט״ז ס״ק ב |
| Leather, letters and hoops, after the fact | Not binding — one seal suffices bedieved | ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ב |
| An uncut spigot | Forbidden even bedieved | ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ב |
| Clay dried around the spigot | Permitted bedieved in a case of great loss | ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ג |
| It is established that he did draw wine off | Forbidden | ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק א |
| A single seal | Forbidden to drink, permitted for benefit — and only if he assigned it a corner | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:ב ; רמב״ם מאכלות אסורות י״ג:ט ; ט״ז ס״ק ד |
| A single seal, bedieved | There is room to permit even for drinking | הגה יו״ד ק״ל:ב |
| Must one recognize one's seal | No — unless one sees it damaged; and one need not check | הגה יו״ד ק״ל:ב |
| Merely stopped with a bung, unsealed | Not a seal — save in a case of great loss | ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ד |
| A key alone | The Taz is lenient, the Shach refuses | ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ה ; ש״ך ס״ק ד |
| Cooked wine, mixed wine, vinegar | One seal, and that lekhatchila | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:ג ; רמב״ם מאכלות אסורות י״ג:י |
| Why one suffices there | No fear of libation, only of exchange — and the forger will not take the trouble | ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ז |
| An opening in the vessel, for mevushal | Tolerated if it is not large enough to decant through | ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ז |
| Definition of a seal | An act out of the ordinary, plus the smearing or the knot | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:ד ; רמב״ם מאכלות אסורות י״ג:ח |
| Clay still wet | Not a seal | ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ז |
| Two unusual knots | Count as two seals | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:ה |
| An ordinary knot | Counts for nothing | ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ח |
| Putting the skin into a sack | Not in itself a seal | ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ח |
| Two written letters | Count as two seals | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:ו |
| A printed stamp, however many letters | One seal | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:ו ; בית יוסף יו״ד ק״ל |
| Where writing is common | Writing is a sign only for one who recognizes it | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:ו ; בית יוסף יו״ד ק״ל |
| Key and seal | Count as two seals | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:ז |
| A seal not recognized, or found undone | Forbidden | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:ח |
| Damage attributable to an accident, an animal or a child | Permitted bedieved | הגה יו״ד ק״ל:ח |
| Deliberate damage, but a Jew constantly comes and goes | There is room to permit | הגה יו״ד ק״ל:ח |
| A single damaged seal | Permitted, so long as one does not see that a person undid it | ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ה |
| The carrier knew the seal was broken | Forbidden — from then on the wine travelled unsealed to his knowledge | פת״ש יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ב |
| A deposit, with the depositor nearby | We assume the non-Jew told him at once | פת״ש יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ב |
| The reach of that leniency | Great loss only, and with the agreement of other decisors | פת״ש יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ב–ג |
| Must one check on receipt | No, unless one was told there were two seals | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:ח |
| Describing the seal's shape to the recipient | Proper and recommended | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:ח |
| If letters were written | No notice is needed | הגה יו״ד ק״ל:ח |
| Deposit versus shipment | On deposit one seal may suffice, since he will see his seal again; on shipment it does not | טור יו״ד ק״ל ; בית יוסף יו״ד ק״ל |
| Telling the recipient, and telling the carrier so | The fear returns, and one seal suffices again | טור יו״ד ק״ל |
| The non-Jew says he touched it while tightening a leak | Not believed to forbid | הגה יו״ד ק״ל:ח |
| A clay seal on wine in transit | Worth nothing on the road; it helps only at rest | ט״ז יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ז |
| Ropes that must be untied every day | Not a seal, however unusual they are | ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק ח |
| Premises rented from a non-Jew, a Jew living there | Permitted with neither key nor seal | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:ט ; ש״ך ס״ק י |
| The Jew leaves announcing that he is going away | The guard lapses | ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק י |
| No Jew living there | Key and seal in Jewish hands | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:ט ; רמב״ם מאכלות אסורות י״ג:א |
| The non-Jew does not live in the courtyard | Permitted even with no seal at all | ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק י״ב |
| He is found standing beside the wine, in premises he rented or sold | Forbidden — a residue of connection remains to him | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:ט ; ט״ז ס״ק ט ; ש״ך ס״ק י״ג |
| A courtyard belonging to the Jew | Permitted with neither key nor seal, even if he is found beside the wine | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:י |
| But no Jew comes and goes at all | Forbidden | ש״ך יו״ד ק״ל ס״ק י״ד |
| The Jew's courtyard, at night | Forbidden — unless the door stands wide open | שו״ע יו״ד ק״ל:י ; ט״ז ס״ק י |
| By day, locked and nothing to be seen | Forbidden | הגה יו״ד ק״ל:י |
| By day, a hole or a crack | Permitted, for what is seen | הגה יו״ד ק״ל:י ; ש״ך ס״ק י״ז |
| Does the day / night distinction hold everywhere | No — only here, because of the non-Jew's tie to the courtyard | הגה יו״ד ק״ל:י ; ש״ך ס״ק ט״ז |
| Posek | Decisive contribution (anchored in the corpus) |
|---|---|
| Mehaber (י׳ סעיפים) | s.1: two signs, and the material limit of the vessel; s.2: a single seal — drinking forbidden, benefit permitted, and the assigned corner; s.3: the one-seal regime for mevushal, mixed wine and vinegar; s.4 to 7: the technical definition of a sign — cover and clay, knot and inverted mouth, unusual knots, letters and printed stamps, key and seal; s.8: the seal as found and the duty to inform; s.9-10: the place, legal title, and day against night. |
| Rama (הגה on s.1, s.2, s.8, s.10) | s.1: the custom permits a wooden barrel under three material conditions — bung, spigots cut off, letters straddling the leather; s.2: bedieved one seal suffices, one need neither recognize one's seal nor check; s.8: only the mark of a hand forbids, not an accident; the Jew who comes and goes; letters dispense with notice; the non-Jew is not believed to forbid; s.10: the day / night distinction and its reasons, and the crack through which one sees. |
| Taz (טורי זהב, י׳ ס״ק) | ס״ק א: if the drawing off is established, forbidden; ס״ק ב: why hooping suffices — the contact at closing — and the Maharil's distinction between a fine and a wider hole; ס״ק ג: clay dried around the spigot, bedieved, in a case of great loss; ס״ק ד: the assigned corner counts as a Jewish courtyard, hence benefit is permitted; ס״ק ה: a key alone would suffice; ס״ק ז: wet clay is no seal, and above all the great chiddush — on the road the smearing counts for nothing; ס״ק ח: the knot must be unusual, and the sack is no seal; ס״ק ט: why the seller or landlord is no thief; ס״ק י: a wide open door is permitted even at night. |
| Shach (שפתי כהן, י״ז ס״ק) | ס״ק א: the Bach — do not ship in wood without a Jewish guard — and the remedy of hooping, all of it lekhatchila; ס״ק ב: leather and letters do not block, the spigot does; ס״ק ג: the non-Jews of our time, and the permission in a case of loss; ס״ק ד: a closure is not a seal, nor is a key alone; ס״ק ה: a seal damaged without a human hand stays permitted; ס״ק ו-ז: the reference to siman 118, the twofold fear, and the opening one cannot decant through; ס״ק ח: the convoy ropes, a decisive counter-example; ס״ק י: the guard lapses on the announcement of departure; ס״ק י״ב: without the non-Jew in the courtyard no seal is required; ס״ק י״ג: the landlord's residue of connection; ס״ק י״ד: the Jew must come and go; ס״ק ט״ז-י״ז: the excuse of locking at night, and the exact extent of what the crack permits. |
| Pitchei Teshuva (ג׳ ס״ק) | ס״ק א: the responsa on cutting off the spigots; ס״ק ב: the Noda BiYehuda and the overturned cart — the seal broken and known to the carrier, the distinction between transport and deposit, and the closing reservation (great loss and the agreement of the sages); ס״ק ג: the Panim Meirot, in the same direction. |
| Tur and Beit Yosef | The distinction between deposit and shipment and the role of מירתת; the remedy of the crossed notice to the recipient and to the carrier; the Rosh's remark on the custom of two seals; and the Beit Yosef's ruling in favour of the Behag, the Rif, the Rambam and the Rashba. It is also the Beit Yosef who supplies the two sources of seif 6 — the Rashba for printed stamps, the Ra'ah for recognized writing. |
| Rambam (הלכות מאכלות אסורות פרק י״ג) | הלכה א: the rented house, the key and the seal; הלכה ח: the definition of the two signs, copied almost word for word by the Mehaber; הלכה ט: a single seal — drinking forbidden, benefit permitted, assigned corner; הלכה י: whatever is forbidden only rabbinically makes do with one seal. |
| Gemara (עבודה זרה ל״א) | ל״א ע״א: wine alone is not kept by a single seal, the alternative version that debates even a seal within a seal, and Rava's definition — the smeared cover, the tightened basket, the skin inverted in the saddlebag; ל״א ע״ב: the baraita of one who sends a jar, the recognition of the seal, and the מירתת of a man who fears they will ruin his livelihood. |
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