Havdalah on Tea

By Rabbi Chaim Chazzan

May one who doesn’t have wine or grape juice at hand, make havdalah on tea or coffee?

The Shulchan Aruch[1] paskens that although it is always best to make havdalah on wine, it is permissible to make it on ‘chamar medina’ (lit. the drink of the country). Much has been written in halachic literature[2] to identify the exact definition of ‘chamar medina’.

Some say[3] that for a beverage to be considered ‘chamar medina’, wine must be unavailable most of the year. Accordingly, in our times when wine could always be found in the stores, we couldn’t consider tea or coffee as ‘chamar medina’.

Another opinion defines ‘chamar medina’ as beverages that substitute for wine at a formal dinner, even in places where wine is available. A clearer definition given by poskim[4] is: Beverages which are drunk for the pleasure of drinking, not to quench thirst. This includes alcoholic beverages, tea and coffee, in contrast to soda and fruit juices that are a substitute for water.

While the Alter Rebbe[5] seems to accept the first opinion as the halacha, he nevertheless writes[6] that the custom is to follow the second, more lenient, opinion.

Some[7] hold that even according to the lenient opinion, other beverages can only be considered ‘chamar medina’ when grapes do not grow in that vicinity. Accordingly one couldn’t consider tea or coffee as ‘chamar medina’ in New York or Eretz Yisrael. Others dispute[8] this condition.

The accepted practice[9] is to be lenient and make havdalah on tea or coffee in extreme cases when one does not possess wine or grape juice, and they are not available through purchase or through borrowing from a neighbor. However, when wine or grape juice is available one should definitely be particular to make havdala on wine or grape juice.