Siman 183

We say at the end of the seventh chapter of Berakhot: Ten things were said regarding the kos of berakhah: rinsing and washing, raw and full, crowning and wrapping, one takes it with both hands and places it in the right and raises it a tefach from the ground, and fixes his eyes upon it. And some say he even sends it as a gift to the members of his household. Rava said: We have only four: rinsing, washing, raw and full. And it was taught in a Baraita: rinsing from within and washing from without. That is to say: not only must the kos be clean from within, but even from without. And it was taught in the Tosefta that if he wiped it well—it is fine; that is to say: we do not specifically require rinsing and washing with water, for the main thing is that it be clean. Therefore, if he wiped it well—this is sufficient. And so too, if it is clean regardless—nothing is required (Beit Yosef). And he should be careful that there are no dregs of the kos in it, that is to say: what remains from the remnants of bread that they dipped in the kos. And in the Zohar Pinhas (page 245a) it implies that one specifically requires rinsing and washing with water in every case, see there. (See the Beit Yosef who wrote in the name of the Mordekhai and the Ri that this is how the world conducts itself. And he wrote that for a clean one it is not required, see there. And I wonder that he did not bring the words of the Zohar which requires this. And look closely and you will find it easy.)

And "raw" does not mean without dilution, for this is impossible with their wines, which were strong and impossible to drink without dilution. Rather, this is its meaning: that they should place it raw from the barrel into the cup, and when he reaches the blessing "for the land and for the food" – he shall place water into it for dilution. And why at the blessing of the land? In order to make known the praise of the land, that its wines are strong and require dilution with water. And even though we recite the blessing in the diaspora, nevertheless, since he does not dilute until the blessing of the land – it is proven that his intention is for the praise of the land. And with our wines which do not require dilution – he does not need to dilute it at all. (And in the Beit Yosef he wrote that in some places they were always accustomed to dilute, for there is a matter in this according to the Kabbalah. See there that water is kindness, and comes to sweeten the wine which is red.)

And he shall put the water at the beginning of the Blessing of the Land, when he begins to say "We thank You..." (Beit Yosef). Our teacher Tam explained that "living" means "diluted and not diluted," that is to say: that also at the beginning he should dilute it a little, but during the Blessing of the Land he adds a little more water. And from the sugya of the Shas he explained thus, see there. And it is also explained from the wording of the Rambam at the end of the seventh chapter, who wrote: And once he reaches the Blessing of the Land – he puts into it a little water, see there. And in truth, it appears that also for another reason it is necessary to explain thus: for if not so, how can he begin to bless over a cup that is not full? But if we say a little water – it works well, for previously it was also as if full, except that he adds drops of water. And the first system is from the Rif, and in truth there is one who says that also the intention of the Rif is thus (Bach). Rashi, of blessed memory, explained "living" – that he should dilute it in the cup; and not that he should dilute it in another vessel and pour it into the cup of blessing, for we require that the wine, living as it is, shall come to the cup, and in it he shall dilute it with water. He further explained "living" – that he should take it out from the barrel close to the blessing, see there. And for us, who do not have barrels, each one should pour from the jug close to the blessing. And if he sends to the wine seller, who has a barrel of wine – he should send close to the blessing. And there are those who explain that "living" refers to the cup, that is to say: that the cup should be whole and not broken, for regarding vessels we say "their breaking is their death." Therefore, when it is whole it is called "living." And even if the break is at the bottom of the vessel, that is to say in the base of the vessel – it is also not proper except in a case of pressing need. And "full" is according to its plain meaning, that the cup should be full. And anyone who blesses over a full cup – they give him an inheritance without boundaries, as it is said: "And full of the blessing of Hashem, possess the sea and the south." And he inherits two worlds: this world and the world to come (Gemara ibid.). And regarding "living," it is proper to fulfill all the opinions (Tur) if possible. However, with our wines it is almost impossible, for when they put in a little water it will be completely spoiled.

"Itur": Rav Yehuda would crown it with students, for he would seat his students around him at the time of the blessing. Rav Chisda would crown it with vessels, meaning: with cups around the cup of blessing. And "ituf": Rav Papa would wrap himself and sit, Rav Ashi would spread a kerchief over his head. And they wrote that every God-fearing person should not bless with the thin cap that is on his head, but rather should place the hat on his head (Magen Avraham, subsection 5). And such is the custom. However, in the Zohar there it is explicitly stated so that he should not bless with an uncovered head, see there. And there are those who also practice wrapping with the upper garment (ibid.), but we have not seen nor heard of this custom.

And he receives it with both his hands in order to show the belovedness of the mitzvah, that he receives it with all his strength. And when he begins to bless, he takes it in his right hand, so that it should not appear upon him like a burden. And the right is primary, and he should not assist with the left; even to hold his right hand with his left hand is not proper, unless it is impossible for him in another manner. And if the one blessing is left-handed – he holds it in his right, which is the left of every other person. And it is forbidden to take the cup with gloves, for this is a disgrace to the cup, as if he does not want to hold it with his own hand. Therefore, if he is wearing gloves – he must remove them at the time of Birkat HaMazon when he blesses over the cup. And there is one who wrote that it is proper that the cup should be placed on the palm of the hand, and the fingers should surround the cup upright, and he should not place it upon the fingers (ibid. in the name of the Shelah). And there are those who require specifically upon the fingers (the HaGra"z in the name of Nagid U'Metzaveh). And our teacher, the Rema, in section 4 ruled that specifically for the left to touch the cup is forbidden, but he may place it under his right hand to assist the right. And he raises it from the ground a tefach if he is sitting upon the ground. And if he is sitting at the table – he raises it from the table a tefach, as it is written: "I will lift the cup of salvations..."; and so that it will be visible to all those reclining and they will look at it (Tur). And he places his eyes upon it so that he does not divert his attention. And our teacher, the Rema, wrote that therefore one should not take for a cup of blessing a vessel whose mouth is narrow, which they call a "glug-glass," to bless over it, for he cannot look at the wine. And there are those who took issue with him, that the intention is to look at the cup and not at the wine (Taz subsection 4, and Magen Avraham subsection 7). And there is another reason: because it is a mitzvah to drink the cup of blessing at one time, and with a narrow vessel it is impossible (Darkhei Moshe). And they took issue also with this, for the main point is that it should not enter his innards little by little and not his throat, and he can pour into his throat little by little and not swallow until he pours the majority of it (ibid.). And in the Zohar there it implies explicitly that the looking is at the wine that is in the cup, see there. And he sends it to his wife so that she may drink from it, even if she is not eating with him at the table.

And behold, Rava said: We have only four. And so it is explained from the Rambam at the end of the fourth chapter, see there. But the Tur wrote in the name of the Geonim that all ten things are required, since we find Rav Papa and Rav Ashi, who were later, performed the wrapping; we do not rule like Rava in this. And we perform all of them except for crowning (Tur). And know that even according to the one who holds that Birkat HaMazon does not require a cup, nevertheless, when one blesses over the cup, one must observe these things, for so the Rambam ruled there, see there.

The one who blesses, immediately upon receiving the cup of blessing in his hand – it is forbidden for him to speak, so that he does not divert his attention from the cup. It is also proper for those reclining not to speak then, but according to the law there is no prohibition upon them to speak except from when the one who blesses began to bless. And it is not necessary to state that during the time he is blessing, for then they are obligated to incline their ears and listen, and if they did not hear or if they spoke idle chatter they do not fulfill their obligation; rather, even between one blessing and another when the one who blesses is silent – they should not speak. And if they spoke then – they do not need to return and bless. And even the one who blesses himself, if he spoke between one blessing and another – he does not need to return and bless. But if he interrupted with speech in the middle of the blessing – he must return and bless. And if he interrupted with silence, even if he delayed long enough to finish the entire thing – they do not need to return to the beginning. And see what I wrote in siman 65. And know that all this is according to their custom, according to the fundamental law that everyone is silent and fulfills their obligation through the blessing of the one who blesses. But we bless each one for himself, and only finish the blessing before the one who blesses so that they may answer "amen," because we cannot rely on the hearing, as I wrote in siman 59. And also our teacher, the Beit Yosef, wrote in section 7: It is a proper thing that each of those reclining should say in a whisper with the one who blesses each and every blessing, even the conclusions. And he should hasten to finish before the one who blesses so that he may answer "amen." Thus far his words. And there are those who practice that until "Who feeds everything" they fulfill their obligation through the blessing of the one who blesses, for this is the essence of the blessing of zimun. And such is the primary ruling (Magen Avraham, subsection 12). Nevertheless, we have not practiced so. And they wrote that one does not give the cup of blessing except to one with a good eye (seventh chapter of Sotah), who hates ill-gotten gain and performs acts of kindness with his money (Rashi), as it is said: "He that hath a good eye shall be blessed" – do not read "shall be blessed" but rather "shall bless" (Gemara). And if there is no such man, the greatest among them shall bless.

Birkat hamazon is only said while sitting: whether one ate while walking in the house, or whether one ate while sitting, or whether one ate while reclining – one should only bless while sitting, so that he can concentrate well. And also, he should not bless while reclining, as this is a way of pride; rather, he should sit in awe. And it is not specifically the one who blesses, for the same law applies to all those reclining: they should not sit with lightheadedness but rather in awe. And post facto, even if they blessed while walking – they have fulfilled their obligation, but they have not performed the mitzvah in the optimal manner. And only when he was walking on the way and eating – he blesses while walking ab initio, and he does not need to sit because his mind is not settled, and he will come to be disturbed. And it is forbidden to bless birkat hamazon while he is engaged in his work, and it will be explained in siman 191. And some say that also the "Me'ein Shalosh" blessing must be said while sitting even though the blessing is rabbinic. And there is support from the Torah to sit at the time of birkat hamazon, as it is written: "And you shall eat and be satisfied and bless" – "Sit [shev] time ['et] and bless" (Tosafot at the end of the chapter "Elu Devarim"). And regarding the matter of interrupting in the middle of a paragraph or between paragraphs, some say its law is like prayer, and it is forbidden to interrupt in any case except because of danger, and it is more stringent than Kriyat Shema. And the reason is not understood why it should be more stringent than Kriyat Shema. And it is clear that "HaTov VeHaMeitiv" is not included in this, as it is rabbinic. (And the HaGarz gave a slight reason, and it is not sufficient, see there. And it appears that even to hint with his eyes is forbidden during birkat hamazon, since we compare it to prayer.)