How To Drink Four Cups Without Getting drunk?

שתה ארבעה כוסות אלו מיין שאינו מזוג יצא ידי ארבעה כוסות ולא יצא ידי חירות

 

 

The amount of wine that one should drink during the Seder of Pesah is “four full cups”, one might think that the intention is to finish the Seder drunk … Why? Because if you, for example drink four full normal glasses ( 8 to 12 oz.) of wine of an average alcohol level , you would be considered intoxicated by law. 

 

We know that in the Pesah’s Seder we should feel happy and grateful to HaShem for our freedom, but do we need to get drunk too? 

 

To clarify this important point we must learn a bit about the history of wine drinking, going back 2,000 years ago, when the guidelines of the Seder were formulated by our Sages.

 

First, the wine cups used in antiquity were different from the wine glasses we use nowadays. In the picture above (70cc= 2.36 oz.) we can see the drastic change in the size of the wine glasses, from the 17th century to today. Similar to what is seen in this chart, the Sages of the Talmud mentioned that the size of the wine glasses to be use for the recitation of the blessings of the Seder (and all other blessings and religious ceremonies) should be no less than a rebi’it. That is only 3.00 oz. (or 86 ml. according to most opinions), which obviously is a substantially smaller quantity than the average of a cup in our times.  

 

Maimonides (MT, Hamets uMatsa 7: 9) explains that the wine we drink during the Seder must be mazug, diluted with water. And to the great surprise of the modern reader, the amount of water that the Sages of the Talmud and Maimonides recommend is: 3/4 water, 1/4 wine (sic.). The Sages explained that in order for the wine to represent an expression of freedom and nobility, it must be taken in a pleasant, healthy and moderate way (שתיה ערבה). Maimonides clarifies that if at the Seder one drinks four glasses of “pure” wine, that is, wine with no water, although one has fulfilled the obligation of drinking the four glasses, one has failed to fulfill the obligation of herut, that is, to behave during the night of the Seder as free and noble individuals. Additionally , and as Maimonides also mentions it, in total, the four glasses must contain a minimum of … rebi’it, 3.00 oz of pure wine,  and the rest should be water. This may sound a little weird, since for us diluted wine is considered to be of a lower quality. In antiquity, however, pure wine (יין חי) was considered undrinkable, or a drink unsuitable for noble and educated people.

 

A friend who listened to this class  M.B. (and expert in wines!), referred me to a Wikipedia article (“krater”) where you can see that in the famous symposiums Greeks also used to drink wine mixed with 3/4 water, exactly like what the Hakhamim of the Talmud explained!The consumption of ákratos (undiluted) wine was considered “a serious error of judgment” in ancient Greece, enough to characterize the drinker as a drunkard or someone who lacked moderation and principles. The ancient Greek writers prescribed that a mixing ratio of 1: 3 (wine to water) was optimal.

This article also explains the possible reason why wine did not lose its essence and flavor when mixed with so much water. I quote: Since such mixtures would produce an unpalatable and watery drink if applied to most wines made in the modern style, this practice of the ancients has led to speculation that ancient wines might have been vinified to a high alcoholic degree and sugar content, e.g. by using dehydrated grapes, and could withstand dilution with water better. Such wines would have also withstood time and the vagaries of transportation much better.

Rashi and Maimonides similarly explained that wine in the times of the Talmud was much stronger than today.

 

The usual practice today, therefore, is a bit different. First, the minimum size of the glass of wine has not been modified, it’s still 3 oz. But for the mixing of wine with water, Rabbi Obadya Yosef z “l and other contemporary rabbis explain that we should not add so much water to the wine because our modern day wine will be losing its flavor. Rabbi Yosef, for example, indicates that we need more than half of the glass to be wine, so that the taste and essence (in some cases “color”) of the wine still prevails. The maximum quantity of water obviously can vary, depending on the type and quality of the wine used. Personally, I have noticed that if I mix a medium quality wine (which is not made with added water), with up to a third of water, this proportion satisfies the two essential requirements: 1. It tempers the wine, as required, and 2. It preserves the flavor, color, etc. of the wine .