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Parshas Shoftim 5785

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עבודה זרה דף סו:

"ריחא לאו מילתא היא"


The Gemara brings a מחלוקת between אביי and רבא if a בת תיהא of a barrel filled with יין נסך may be used. This was a hole made in the cover of a wine barrel through which a wine tester smelled the wine in the barrel to ascertain its quality. אביי says it is אסור for a ישראל to smell the יין נסך in the barrel of a גוי, because ריחא מילתא היא i.e.; smelling a דבר אסור is like drinking it [תוס']. רבא says a yid may use the בת תיהא of a barrel of יין נסך because ריחא לאו מילתא. Other ראשונים explain that בת תיהא was a tube and the tester sucked wine into the tube and inhaled it through his mouth without the wine entering his mouth. [ד"ה אביי] תוס' explains: אביי holds using בת תיהא is אסור not because ריח is הנאה, but rather since ריח מלתא it is like ingesting it, so smelling this יין נסך is tantamount to drinking it which isאסור. Rava holds that since the aroma is coming through a small puncture, it is very strong and is מקלקל and מזיק him, so this outweighs everything else. But רבא would be מודה if one just poured the יין נסך allowing the aroma to dissipate and not be מקלקל, this would be אסור to smell because that would be a הנאה.

The [יו"ד ס' קח,ה'] שו"ע says: it is מותר to inhale יין נסך בפיו. The רמ"א says this may be done as long as he doesn’t taste it even if he doesn’t swallow it. The ש"ך explains: because all איסורי אכילה (even if they are not (אסור בהנאה, may not be tasted.

The [לעיל דף יב:] מתני' says: ביום אידם, one may not enter the shop of a עכו"ם that is decorated. The Gemara explains: we are referring to a shop that is decorated with roses and myrtle (הדסים וורדים). Our concern is that these roses and myrtle were spread out in front of a ע"ז and are therefore אסור בהנאה. So we do not permit a yid to enter the store, as he will end up smelling their fragrance. [ד"ה אלא] תוס' asks: why are these roses different then the case of a בת תיהא where we say it is מותר because ריחא לאו מילתא? Here, too, we should say ריחא לאו מילתא and allow the yid to enter the store even if he will ultimately smell the flowers which are אסור בהנאה. תוס' answers: if the עיקר of an item is for smelling than we say ריחא מילתא. So since the עיקר of יין is not for ריח, in that case we say לאו מילתא.

The Mishnah[נדה נא:] says: anything that requires a ברכה לאחריו, requires a ברכה לפניו. However, there are items that require a ברכה לפניו but do not require a ברכה לאחריו. The Gemara says ריח is an example of something that needs a ברכה לפניו but not a ברכה אחרונה. Rashi explains, this is because the הנאה in minor. The [ברכות מג:] גמ' asks: why should ריח even require a ברכה לפניו? After all, nothing tangible is being ingested? The Gemara answers that the pasuk says: "כל הנשמה תהלל י-ה". This alludes to a fragrant smell that only the נשמה derives pleasure from, but not the גוף. The ערוך השולחן [רטז,א'] says: since the pleasure of ריח is a רוחניות one, it is called ריח. The [שם] מגן אברהם brings the כל בו who says we don’t make a ברכה אחרונה on ריח because after smelling the fragrance nothing remains, in contrast to eating where one is satiated afterwards. The [רכ"ה ס"ק טז'] משנ"ב says: we are not נוהג to make a שהחיינו on a pleasant fragrance even if it is not available all year.

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