Lag Ba'omer Night - Lag Ba'omer 5773

Regarding music and dancing on the night of Lag B'omer. According to our Minhag to keep Sefira until Lag B'omer, music and dancing is still Assur on the night of Lag B'omer. The places where they have bonfires with music and dancing is not like the Rama. The Rama says that it is still Assur on the night of Lag B'omer. If you will ask so why do people do it? Those Chassidim who keep the Minhag Arizal and they keep the Chumros of Sefira all the way until Shavuos, for them the entire Lag B'omer is Muttar and even the night of Lag B'omer is Muttar, because they are keeping 33 days without Lag B'omer. For them music is Muttar. On the contrary, those that keep the Minhag Arizal, are not allowed to have music and dancing on Lamed Daled B'omer which means the following night. If they want to have a night celebration it must be on the night of Lag B'omer For those of us who keep Sefirah only until Lag B'omer, which is the prevalent Minhag certainly among Ashkenazim, we keep Sefirah until Lag B'omer and after that we hold that music, haircuts, and weddings are Muttar, we are prohibited from music and dancing the night of Lag B'omer. We are permitted on Sunday night. This is a mistake that many people make. They go the night of Lag B'omer to music and dancing and then they are Maikil with music and dancing after Lag B'omer as well which is a Tarti D'sasri. You have to choose one or the other.

Kiddush On A Shot Glass - Yisro 5771

20:7 (זָכוֹר אֶת-יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת, לְקַדְּשׁוֹ) I would like to speak briefly about the Mitzva of Kiddush. The Mitzva is to make Kiddush at night Min Hatorah and Midirabbanan by day as well. According to everyone the Mitzva Lichatchila is with wine or with grape juice, with wine as the preference when a person makes his Kiddush.

I once heard from Rav Shlomo Zalman Braun the author of Shearim Mitzuyanim B'Halacha who was one of the first Chassidishe Rabbanim in Flatbush. He said a person should keep all Chassidishe Minhagim except two. One of those two is the Minhag of many Chassidim to make Kiddush on Schnapps. First of all even if you make Kiddush on a Reviis of Schnapps it is not Lichatchila (preferable). Certainly if a person makes Kiddush on a 1 ounce of Schnapps is not performing the Mitzvah the way it should be done. It seems from the Shulchan Aruch that a person is not even Yotzei B’dieved.

My father A”H used to make Kiddush on Schnapps and when I got a little older I mentioned to him that it is a Shaila. He said he will ask the Debrecene Rav. The Debrecene Rav held of all the Chassidishe Minhagim. From then on he made Kiddush on wine or grape juice. He did drink Schnapps later after the fish but he made Kiddush on wine or grape juice.

I would like to share with you something that I heard from Rav Moshe. I once asked Rav Moshe about this Minhag and of course Rav Moshe held to make Kiddush on wine but I asked it to him in the following context. 

I told him that the Chassidim make Kiddush on 1 ounce cup of Schnapps and we have a complaint that it is not the Shiur. I told him that a certain Chassidishe Rav had spoken and had been Melameid Zechus on the Minhag based on the Taz in the beginning if Siman 210 S’if Aleph.

The Taz (who says that to make a Borei Nifashos one must drink a Reviis) holds that a person can make a Borei Nifashos on a smaller amount of Schnapps because Schnapps is not something that is a drink that is drunk B’rivi’is. The Taz does say that it is not in the requirement of a Reviis. He says that it is not even possible to drink a Reviis. The Mishna Berura doesn’t Pasken like the Taz but at least the Taz should be a suitable Teretz for the Minhag Haolam.

Rav Moshe told me to go home and look at the Taz completely and I will see that it is a mistake. He told me this at the end of Schacharis one day and I came back to Yeshiva and with a few friends we learned the Taz. I would like to share with you what I think Rav Moshe meant.

The Taz does say that on Schnapps less than a Reviis a person can make a Borei Nefashos. However, if one reads the Taz they see his Psak. He writes at the end that since Tosafos Shitta is that a Borei Nifashos can be made even on a Mashehu so here we can be Mitztareif Tosafos Shitta to my Sevara that a Borei Nifashos can be made on a Mashehu of Schnapps.

Tosafos Shitta that a Borei Nifashos can be made on a Mashehu, however Tosafos doesn’t hold that way by Kiddush. So that even though the Taz held this way regarding Borei Nefashos that has nothing to do with Kiddush where this is no Tziruf of Tosafos Shitta. I think that is what Rav Moshe meant. If you like Schnapps drink Schnapps but make Kiddush on a Reviis.