Shabbos - Havdalah Wine Consumption Requirement

QUESTION: I was a guest at someone’s home and noticed that the one who said Havdalah only took a small sip of wine. It seemed that he drank much less than a melo lugmav (a cheekful, approximately 1.7 oz.). Do I need to recite Havdalah again, or would that be a bracha levatala (an unnecessary blessing)?

ANSWER: Mishnah Berurah (296:9) writes that if one did not drink a melo lugmav during Havdalah, one did not fulfill the mitzvah. Accordingly, it would seem that one is obligated to repeat havdalah. However, the Shulchan Aruch Ha’Rav (190:4) writes that there are opinions that hold that melo lugmav is only mandatory for Kiddush. Other situations that require a cup of wine, such as Havdalah (provided the recitation was on a kos that holds a full revi’is of wine), one is only required to drink a sip. This is based on Rashi (Eiruvin 40b s.v. leisvei) who writes that the requirement to drink the wine of Havdalah is only out of respect for the mitzvah. Kaf Hachaim (296:16) writes that bedi’eved if one did not drink a melo lugmav, they should not repeat Havdalah, because safek brachos l’hakeil (when there is a doubt we do not repeat brachos). Teshuvos V’Hanhagos (4:70) and Sefer Yalkut Yosef (Hilchos Havdalah) both follow this lenient ruling and agree that one should not repeat Havdalah.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.