Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J. Mansour

Halacha requires drinking four cups of wine at the Seder, and each cup must contain at least a Rebi'it – approximately 3.2 ounces – of wine. Preferably, one should drink the entire cup, but one fulfills his obligation even if he drinks less, as long as he drinks at least the majority of the cup (Shulhan Aruch Orah Haim 472:8). The question arises, in what time-frame must one drink this amount in order to be considered to have drunk a cup of wine? Within how much time one must drink the Rebi'it (or the majority of the cup)? The Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, Spain-Egypt, 1135-1204), in several contexts, maintains that one is considered to have drunk a Rebi'it if he drinks it within the amount of time that is normally needed to drink this amount. This is, of course, a very short period of time. According to the Rambam, then, it would seem that when drinking each of the four cups, one must drink the Rebi'it all at once. The Ra'abad (Rabbi Abraham Ben David of Posquieres, 1125-1198), however, disagrees, and main