M. VII. 8. On Companies joining for the Benediction at the End of a Meal. The Benediction over Wine—Whether Water should be added first

Tractate Berakoth, by , by A. Lukyn Williams, [1921], at sacred-texts.com

On Companies joining for the Benediction at the End of a Meal. The Benediction over Wine—Whether Water should be added first.

M.VII. 8 (5). If there are two companies that are eating in one house when some of them [can] see the others, behold, they join themselves together to give the invitation [to say the Benediction]. But if not, then they give the invitation each party to themselves.

They do not say the Benediction over the wine until one puts water into it. This is the opinion of R. Eliezer. ³ But the Majority say: They say the Benediction.

Footnotes

64:3 R. Eliezer. His reason was that until water was mixed with the wine there was some doubt whether it was drunk (cf. p. 45). The Majority assume it would be. The fact that our Lord spoke a Benediction over the wine at the Last Supper (Mark 14²³; Matt. 26²⁷; Luke 22¹⁷; and apparently 1 Cor. 11^23-25). This supplies no evidence that water had been already mixed with it, if He followed the opinion of the Majority.