Monday, August 22, 2016

The Grape Juice Generation

Rav Hutner used to call his generation, the "grape juice generation". People want the easy way out and prefer grape juice over wine for kiddush and havdala in order to make things easier and sweeter for themselves. But is there a halachic problem with grape juice for kiddush etc.? A number of years ago Rav Charlap Shlita wrote a seminal article on the topic in the Beis Yitzchak no. 35]. Here is some of what he wrote [the beginning is a quote from the sefer Yad HaLevi from Rabbi Yitzchak Horowitz of Hartford, Conneticut published in 1926]:




If you use grape juice don't sweat it - you are in good company with many gedolei yisrael....