Bava Batra 96b (צו:) — the Talmud in English

And Shmuel said:

Even if it soured during the first three days, it is in the buyer’s domain, because

wine leaps onto the shoulders of its owner

[The wine leaps onto the shoulders of its owners]. That is to say, it is the fortune of the owner of the wine, and his sins, that cause the wine to sour. And the seller can say to the buyer: “It was your fortune that caused the wine to sour!”

Rav Yosef performed an act,

he issued a practical halakhic ruling

in accordance with Rav, with regard to beer,

with regard to beer that soured within three days.

And in accordance with Shmuel with regard to wine,

with regard to wine that soured within three days. In the case of wine, it was the buyer’s fortune that caused it to sour.

And the halakha is in accordance with Shmuel.

The Sages taught: Whether beer

made from

dates,

or beer

made from

barley,

or wine lees

onto which water is placed and left until the water absorbs the flavor of the lees—and this is called “temed”—

one recites over them: “by Whose word everything came to be.”

Others say: With regard to lees that contain the flavor of wine, one recites over them: “Who creates the fruit of the vine.”

Rabba and Rav Yosef both say: The halakha is not in accordance with the Others.

Rather, even when they contain the flavor of wine, one recites over the lees: “by Whose word everything came to be.”

Rava said: Everyone agrees that if one put in three measures and four emerged,

if the temed was so strong that for every three cups of water that he placed on the lees, an additional cup of the wine absorbed in the lees was added, so that four cups of temed were produced, then even the tanna kamma agrees that

it is wine,

and the status of this temed is that of wine, so one recites over it “Who creates the fruit of the vine.”

And the Gemara explains:

Rava follows his own reasoning.

For Rava said: Any wine

wine

that cannot bear

that is not supplemented with

one

part of wine to

three

parts of

water—

it is not wine.

It is not wine because it is too strong to be fit for drinking as it is, until water three times its volume is added to it.

Here, too, Rava maintains that if the water is three times the amount of wine contained in the lees, it is fully-fledged wine.

Rava continues:

If three were put in and three emerged,

if one put three cups of water on the lees and nothing was added, but the same three cups remained, even the Others agree

it is nothing.

It has no status of wine, and even if it contains the flavor of wine, since nothing was added to it from the lees, it is considered water, and one recites over it “by Whose word everything came to be.”

The dispute

between the tanna kamma and the Others is

when three were put in and three and a half emerged,

when half a cup was added for every three cups of water that one placed on the lees.

For the Rabbis hold: Three entered, and three emerged.

The same three cups of water that he placed on the lees emerged again.

Half remains,

the additional half cup, which is wine that emerged from the lees.

And half in six half-cups of water

half a cup of wine in relation to six half-cups of water—

it is nothing.

Since it contains one-seventh wine, it is not called wine.

But the Others hold: Three entered, and two and a half emerged.

Of the three cups of water that he placed on the lees, only two and a half emerged again, while half a cup of water was absorbed into the lees, and in its place half a cup of wine emerged from the lees, since wine tends to float upward.

A cup remains.

It follows that a full cup of wine emerged from the lees.

And a cup in two and a half,

a cup of wine in relation to two and a half cups of water—

superior wine

fully-fledged wine

it is.

For it is more than one-quarter wine, which we said earlier is considered wine according to everyone.

And we challenge Rava:

But when more than its measure emerges, do they disagree!?

Is there anyone who maintains that when the quantity of temed is greater than the quantity of water placed on the lees, its status is that of wine?