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As discussed previously, the Maharil ("father of Ashkenazic customs") says it's okay to use mead at the Seder if someone has no wine (or presumably is deathly allergic to it), and the Ramah 483:1 concludes that any chamar medinah would be okay, if necessary.

  • The Magen Avraham and Mishna Brurah say that if wine or mead aren't available, אקרי"ץ or עפפ"יל טרנ"ק are okay (I assume Apfel Trink is a fermented apple product? Whats Kritz/Ekritz?); the Eliya Rabba adds קוו"ס או בארש"ט לאקרי"ץ. (Kvas, I assume? Is that Borsht some sort of beet product?)

Now when it comes to wine, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt"l was of the opinion that while grape juice is hagafen and usable year-round, the notion of freedom at the Seder means it has to be alcoholic; this is also the position of Rabbi Heinemann shlit"a.

So if we say that grape juice is not okay for Arba Kosos, is the requirement for the alcohol tied to the requirement for wine, at which point if someone's using chamar medinah, a non-alcoholic one would be okay; or does it generally apply to the obligation of Dalet Kosos, in which case an alcoholic chamar medinah is better/required, assuming someone can tolerate it?

(This is assuming that non-alcoholic Chamar Medinahs exist year-round...)

Noach MiFrankfurt
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Shalom
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  • I was kind of shocked going through masechet Nazir last year when this didn't come up. Seems like the natural place for such a discussion. – יהושע ק Jan 28 '24 at 17:06
  • I thought RMF held that alcoholic יין expresses חרות and is thus preferred, but that one would still fulfill their obligation with non-alcoholic יין - can you cite the source in the IM or post it here? – Deuteronomy Jan 28 '24 at 18:50

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