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What are the major rabbinic opinions today concerning the suitability of substituting another beverage for wine (or grape juice) for kiddush and other "cups of blessing," e.g., havdalah or Passover seder's four cups? Can one use another beverage even if wine is available? If one finds something distasteful, does that disqualify it from use?

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  • related judaism.stackexchange.com/q/8670/759
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented May 15, 2014 at 20:27
  • related judaism.stackexchange.com/q/2180/759
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented May 15, 2014 at 20:35
  • As mentioned in Shalom's answer, there's a difference between the nighttime kiddush and the daytime kiddush in this regard.
    – Fred
    Commented May 19, 2014 at 22:25
  • Pesach, the four cups need to be wine, not even grape juice, absent a really compelling reason. So I learned, and see here: judaism.stackexchange.com/a/70786/1516
    – SAH
    Commented Mar 31, 2017 at 19:38
  • IMHO habhdalah, qiddush, and arba kosoth are sufficiently large topics unto themselves with different unique analyses such that this question should be closed as in need of focus.
    – Deuteronomy
    Commented Jun 17 at 13:58

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Friday night -- either wine, or challah.

Shabbos morning kiddush, as well as havdalah -- better with wine. Acceptable with any "beverage of the land." (How do you balance "better" vs. "acceptable"? AYLOR.) Beer definitely works as "beverage of the land." Hard liquor -- there's a discussion about how much you'd have to drink. Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef quotes some sephardic opinions that the beverage must be fermentable -- I assume apple juice would still count? Otherwise (at least for Ashkenazim) I've generally heard coffee, tea, milk, apple juice, orange juice. Many poskim allow soda (though the diet versions might be pushing it); Rav Moshe Feinstein didn't. "But they serve it at all the fancy weddings!", someone asked him. "Still no", he replied.

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  • judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/12069/…
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented May 16, 2014 at 3:38
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    According to whom is this opinion?
    – Tatpurusha
    Commented May 16, 2014 at 5:05
  • I have seen discussions as to whether or not beer is still chaar medinah. Some hold that it no longer qualifies. Soda is called "flavored water" so it is like drinking water. Some say tea or coffee are also "flavored water"
    – sabbahillel
    Commented Aug 7, 2014 at 2:16
  • I've seen someone use milk (havdala) but heard from a different source it wasn't allowed
    – SAH
    Commented Mar 31, 2017 at 19:37

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