Translation:Shulchan Aruch/Yoreh Deah/130

Laws of Sealing Wine Contains ten Seif

It is permitted to deposit and send wine in the hands of a Gentile if it is sealed with a seal within a seal or with a key and a seal, and these words apply to clay barrels but not to wooden barrels because it is possible to extract wine from between the slats without being noticed, and certainly in bags where it is easy to extract wine from between the stitches, and they have no remedy except to place all the wooden barrels or the entire bag in a sack that has no stitching on the outside and seal the mouth of the sack.

Gloss: And there are those who permit even in a wooden barrel and do not worry that he might extract between the slats (Mordechai at the beginning of chapter A.M. and Beit Yosef in the name of S.H. and S.M.G. and Rashba and in the long version) and this is how they practice, provided that he is careful that the bung is properly sealed and that there is no tap there, but he should cut all the taps and place leather on the bung and the tap is fixed with nails and write half the letters on the leather and half on the taps so that if the Gentile raises the leather, he will not know how to return and align the leather as it was before (Mordechai in P.R. and Beit Yosef in the name of Tosafot). And if he finds a knife in the barrel that extracted wine between the slats, refer to above section 124.

If he deposited in the hands of a Gentile with one seal, it is forbidden to drink and permitted for benefit, provided that he designated a corner for him.

Gloss: And some have written that retroactively it is permissible even with one seal (Beit Yosef according to R. Tam and in the long version, rule 22) and there is no need to recognize his seal unless he sees that his seal is damaged, then it is forbidden (G.Z. there) but there is no need to check after this, and this is how they practice to be lenient, and refer to above section 118.

Our cooked wine and our wine that has been mixed with other things such as honey and oil, and also our vinegar, it is permitted to deposit in the hands of a Gentile with one seal.

How is a seal within a seal? If the barrel is sealed in a container that is not tightly closed as people usually seal it and it is plastered with mortar, this is one seal. If the container is tightly closed and plastered on top, this is a seal within a seal. Similarly, if the mouth of the bag is tied, this is one seal; if he turns the mouth of the bag inside and ties it, this is a seal within a seal. And any change that alters things that are not the way of all people is considered as one seal, and the plastering or tying is a second seal.

Two unusual knots are considered as two seals.

Two letters are considered as two seals, and the impressions, even though they contain several letters, are not considered except as one seal since they are established at the same time, and in a place where there are known forgers who know how to write, there is no written sign except for someone who recognizes the writing.

A key and one seal are considered as two seals.

If they sealed with two seals and it was returned and he did not recognize it, or if they found it torn, it is forbidden.

Gloss: This is specifically if it is seen that it was intentionally torn by a person, but in a case where it can be assumed that it was torn and damaged by itself or by an animal or a child unintentionally, it is permitted retroactively (T.H. section 205 and in the long version, rule 22). And even if it was damaged intentionally, it can be permitted if a Jew is constantly going in and out (Beit Yosef in the name of S.H. and S.M.G.).

But he does not need to return it unless he informed the Jew that it was sent to him sealed with two seals, even if he did not inform him about the nature of the seals, since the second Jew found it sealed with two seals, it is permitted. Nevertheless, it is proper to inform him of the shape of the seal so that he can follow up on it.

Gloss: However, if he wrote letters on it, he does not need to inform him because a regular Gentile is not skilled in writing letters (the Ran and the R.Y.). And if the Gentile says that the barrel was dripping and he tightened it and touched the wine, he is not trusted to prohibit it, even if a little wine is still visible from the outside, and there are estimates regarding his words (T.H. section 202).

If a Jew rented or bought a house in the courtyard of a Gentile and filled it with wine, if a Jew lives there, even though he left the wine in the courtyard and there is neither a seal nor a key on it, it is permitted, even if the Gentile also lives in that courtyard. But if there was no Jew living in that courtyard, if the Jew had the key and seal, it is permitted, and it is unnecessary to say two seals. If not, even though the wine is in that house that he rented or bought, it is forbidden if the Gentile lives in the courtyard. If he does not live in the courtyard, it is permitted unless he is found standing next to the wine.

When are these words applicable? In the case of renting or taking a house in the courtyard of a Gentile, but in the courtyard of a Jew himself, where they did not take or rent from a Gentile, even if a Gentile lives in that courtyard and there is no Jew living there, it is permitted, even though there is no key and seal in the hands of the Jew, since he has no connection to it. Even if he is found standing next to the wine, he is still considered as having been caught as a thief, and this applies during the day, but at night it is forbidden.

Gloss: This is specifically in such a case that it is forbidden at night, but in other places, as we said above in sections 128 and 129, where the Gentile is afraid, there is no difference between day and night. And here it is different because the Gentile has a connection to the courtyard, and it is assumed that they locked it at night since there is no Jew living there, and he is not afraid at all. Therefore, even during the day, if it is locked and there is no hole or crack through which one can see the wine, it is forbidden. But through a hole or crack, it is permitted during the day even if it is definitely locked, and at night it is forbidden in such a case even if it is assumed. And this is the distinction between day and night.