Responsa binyan tsiyon (Responsa: Building Zion)

No. 23

The Holy Community of Altona, Friday, 29 Marheshvan 5621[14 November 1860]

To my dear friend, father of my son-in-law, the distinguished rabbi, our Teacher, R. Shemaryahu Zuckerman, may his light shine.

Regarding that which his exalted Honor in Torah— may his light shine—has written, to the effect that he has been accustomed to prohibit the drinking of wine which has been touched by a Jew who desecrates the Sabbath in public because he repudiates the entire Torah; and he has proved this from the responsa of the Mabit [R. Moses Trani], which he has cited, appearing in his work Nekudat ha-kesef 14 (para. 124) where he prohibits the drinking of wine that has been touched by Karaites, because they desecrate the Festive Seasons, and are like those who desecrate the Sabbath—but that there is an authority who dissents from his view—and he accordingly seeks my opinion in this matter:

In my humble opinion, he is halakhically correct, since one who desecrates the Sabbath in public is like one who repudiates the entire Torah, and he has the status of an idol worshiper; and it is possible that even the Maharshal [R. Solomon Luria], whom he cites in Nekudat ha-kesef ad loc., who holds that Karaites do not create a prohibition for traditional Jews drinking wine touched by them, concedes that, though Karaites do not desecrate Sabbaths, they do desecrate the Festive Seasons, because they dissent from our computation of the calendar, albeit he does not hold that one who desecrates the Festive Seasons is comparable to one who desecrates Sabbaths. However, in regard to one who desecrates the Sabbath itself, who, according to all authorities, has the same status as one who repudiates the entire Torah, it is conceivable that even the Maharshal would agree that wine touched by such an individual is prohibited. One cannot legitimately argue that since the rabbinic decree prohibiting the drinking of their wine was made in order to prevent marriage with their daughters, and that the daughters of Sabbath desecrators are not prohibited to traditional Jews in marriage. This cannot be so, for if that were indeed the case, one who repudiated the Torah in favor of idolatry would not create a prohibition on our drinking it, yet, according to what is stated in Hullin (4), he does create such a prohibition; and we therefore have to say, as the Ran [Rabbenu Nissim Gerondi] writes in his novella ad loc., and as his exalted Honor in Torah—may his light shine brightly—also cites, that since such an individual is like a fully fledged gentile, he is included within the rabbinic decree, despite the fact that there is no prohibition on marriage with his daughters—and that being so, the same would apply to an apostate in respect of public desecration of the Sabbath. And so indeed has the Rashba [R. Solomon b. Adret] written in his responsa, cited by the Bet Yosef [R. Joseph Karo] (para. 119); namely, that the wine of an apostate in regard to public desecration of the Sabbath is like wine poured out in libations to idols. Now up to this point we have spoken from the strict perspective of the halakhah, as to how we are to regard one who desecrates the Sabbath in public; but insofar as the transgressors among Israel in our own era are concerned, I do not know how I ought to judge them, considering that—on account of our many sins—the “bright spot” on the skin, indicative of leprosy, has spread so extensively that, in regard to the majority of them, desecration of the Sabbath is deemed tantamount to being permissible—if indeed the law applicable to one who maintains that a particular prohibited act is permitted—namely, that they are deemed to be merely close to willful transgression, is not actually applicable in their case. There are some among them who recite the Sabbath Eve prayers and make Kiddush, and afterwards desecrate the Sabbath by performing types of work prohibited both by the law of the Torah and by that of the rabbis. Now one who desecrates the Sabbath is regarded as simply an apostate, since one who repudiates the Sabbath effectively denies the Creation and the Creator—yet this type of person, by reason of his recitation of prayers and his Kiddush, accepts these beliefs! And what about their children, who have replaced them, who have never known and never heard the laws relating to the Sabbath, who are directly comparable to the Sadducees, who were not deemed to have the status of apostates, notwithstanding their desecration of the Sabbath, on account of the fact that they had adopted the practices of their ancestors, and accordingly were like a small child taken captive amongst idolators, as is explained (section 385); and the Mabit has written to the same effect (section 37), stating: “And it is also possible that Sadducees, who have not been accustomed to living among traditional Jewry, and have been unaware of the fundamentals of the faith, and do not conduct themselves with temerity against the Sages of their generation, are not to be regarded as willful transgressors,” etc.—see above. And many of the transgressors of our generation are comparable to them, and preferable to them, in that, insofar as the Rash [R. Samson of Sens] adopted a stringent view in relation to the Karaites, to deem their wine as wine poured out to idols, that was not only on account of their desecration of the Festive Seasons—which are comparable to the Sabbath—but because they additionally denied the fundamentals of the faith, in that they circumcise but do not uncover the corona and pull the membrane down, and they have no laws in respect of bills of divorce and betrothals, as a result of which their children are bastards. But the majority of the transgressors in our own times have not committed breaches in relation to these matters, and therefore, in my humble opinion, one who adopts a stringent view in deeming the touching of wine by these transgressors as falling within the category of general gentile wine—may a blessing descend upon him. However, those adopting a lenient stance also have something of substance upon which to rely, unless it is clear to us that the person in question is aware of the laws of the Sabbath but nonetheless has the temerity to desecrate it in the presence of ten Jews assembled together—for such a person is like a fully fledged apostate, and his touching of wine makes it prohibited to drink. Such would appear to be the position, in the humble opinion of the junior and insignificant one, Jacob.