Chag HaShavuos 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- May 22
- 2 min read
Relevant Halachos for the Yom Tov of Shavuos (2)
Drinking Throughout the Night. Many people maintain the custom of staying up the whole night of Shavuos learning Torah (some learn the specific topics set up by the Mekubalim known as “Tikkun”). These people often drink hot coffee or tea throughout the night to give them energy and help them stay awake. There are a number of halachic questions regarding the berachos on these drinks, both before and after.
1) Can one beracha exempt all the drinks all night even if there might be long breaks? (תשובה: כדי שיעור עיכול) (1)
2) What is the length of a break that might cause the first beracha to expire and make it too late to say an after-beracha? (תשובה: יש אומרים ע"ב [27] דקות, וי"א ל' [03] דקות, ויש עוד דעות)
3) What are the time and volume amounts to surely necessitate or surely not necessitate an after-beracha?
(תשובה: י"א כדי אכילת פרס והוא בערך ד' [4] דקות וי"א שיעור קטן, ושיעור משקים לברכה אחרונה נחלקו אי רביעית או כזית)
Solutions. Because of the above-mentioned doubts either of the two following methods is recommended.
1) One should make an initial beracha, drink one or two cups and have in mind with his first beracha to drink now and “decide later, after the ברכה אחרונה, if he’ll drink more.” In this first “drinking session” at some point, when a hot drink cools down, some of his drinking should consist of 3 oz. in a 4-min. span (if possible in a 15-second span) and he should say "בורא נפשות" after his cup(s). If he later feels he needs to drink more, he should repeat the above.
2) If one feels that he needs to drink constantly, perhaps to keep himself awake, he should say one beracha for the whole night and try to not let any 30 minutes go by without a sip of his drink. Regarding the ברכה אחרונה, he should make sure at some point during the evening to have 3 oz. in a 4-min. span as mentioned above, and not forget the ברכה אחרונה at the end of the evening. Alternatively, he should sip small sips and not consume more than one ounce in any 4-min. span. Then, he does not need to say a ברכה אחרונה.
IMPORTANT NOTE: These halachos apply all year round to those who drink tea/coffee while they are learning.
(1) מח' אחרונים במשנה ברורה קפד:יז