If one has difficulty consuming four cups of undiluted wine at the seder, what alternative options are available?

Although many poskim permit the substitution of grape juice for the four cups of wine, for those medically permitted, it is nonetheless preferable to use actual alcoholic wine. Rav Belsky, zt”l was often asked what is the least amount of alcohol in a wine mixture for the beverage to still be categorized as wine. His response was that 3.5% alcohol is sufficient. He reasoned as follows: wine will naturally ferment to a maximum of about 14% alcohol. Therefore, one would expect that the wines that were discussed in the times of the Talmud contained about 14% alcohol. Yet the common practice in Talmudic times was to dilute the wines with three parts water to every one part wine. This would mean that the alcohol content of the wines that they drank were only one quarter the strength of their wines—about 3.5% alcohol.

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.