Wine Addition - Botel

QUESTION: An aino-Yehudi who was helping at a party added a cup of non-Mevushal wine to a large bowl of punch. What is the status of the punch?

ANSWER: The Shulchan Aruch (YD 134:5) rules that stam yainom is botel (nullified) in six parts of water. Although the general rule is that bitul occurs only when there are 60 parts of kosher, wine is different because diluted wine loses its identity. The Taz (YD 114:4) writes that since wine is batel in six parts of water which is tasteless, it is certainly batel in six parts of other drinks which conflict with the taste of wine. Accordingly, in our situation, if there were more than 6 cups of punch before the non-kosher wine was added, the non-kosher wine would be batel and the punch would be permitted. However, the Shach (Nekudas Hakesef 114) disagrees with the Taz. He writes that although it is true that wine is batel in six parts of water (and not sixty), this leniency applies only to water. Regarding all other types of drinks, we require sixty parts. (Water-based drinks such as soda may be viewed as water, but juices would not.) What if the punch was made up of 6 cups of soda and 6 cups of juice? Would the punch be permitted because there is enough water to nullify the wine, or would the punch still be forbidden because the juice is not sixty times the wine? It would seem that this too would be permitted (see Shulchan Aruch YD 98:2, but see Shach 98:8). How do we rule in this dispute between the Shach and Taz? Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l (Igros Moshe YD 1:62) writes that the basic halacha follows the opinion of the Taz (that non-kosher wine is batel in all drinks in six parts). However, one who is a yerei Shamayim should be machmir for the opinion of the Shach. 

This would be the ruling for Ashkenazim. In the next Halacha Yomis, we will discuss whether a Sefardi may drink the punch.

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