Grapes that are placed in a vat or bowl of wine and during Shabbos the grapes burst and spew forth their juice. Is one permitted to partake of that wine on Shabbos?

The Shulchan Aruch [1] teaches us that juice that seeped forth from grapes on Shabbos is forbidden to drink, as a g’zeira, for fear that one will purposely squeeze grapes for their juice. This holds true even if the grapes are set aside for eating and not for squeezing.

In our case it would seem that surely the juice is forbidden to drink as one’s intention was that the grapes spew forth their juice, so what is the question?

The answer is that one is permitted to drink the juice because it is not considered as having come into being at all.

Why is the grape juice permitted, do we not say that??? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ?????

That is a very good question and the answer is based on two different concepts, as follows:

The halacha is that an egg laid on Shabbos or Yom Tov is forbidden to eat. The gemora in Beitza tells us that this is true even if that particular egg rolls in amongst 1000 eggs that are permitted to eat, and when that happens, since one cannot surely say that the egg he wishes to eat is not the forbidden egg, all the eggs are forbidden to eat until after Shabbos or Yom Tov. This concept is called ??? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ????, which means that even though normally a forbidden egg would be annulled when amongst at least two other ‘kosher’ eggs, or at least amongst 60 eggs, in this case since all the eggs will be 100% ‘kosher’ after Shabbos or Yom Tov, it is forbidden to partake of any egg until after Shabbos.

Ordinarily we would have to apply that concept in our case as well but since the grape juice that spewed forth on Shabbos was unnoticeable and never stood out on its own, it is annulled or ??? immediately. [2] If however the grapes were on a slope and the juice burst forth and slid down the slope into the vat of grape juice or wine, the wine would be forbidden to drink until after Shabbos, because after all the juice stood out on its own.

Is one permitted to place the grapes in the wine l’chatchila on Shabbos with the intention that the juice will seep into the wine?

Yes one may, just as it is permitted to put ice into drink with the intention that it melts and cools the drink. [3]

What is the halacha with regards to squeezing grapes or other fruit onto salad or fish?

The gemora Shabbos brings a machlokes between Rav and R’ Yochanan, where Rav says that one is permitted to squeeze grapes onto food and R’ Yochanan prohibits it.

The reasoning behind Rav is that squeezing grapes for a beverage is prohibited on Shabbos because one is procuring a beverage from within a food item, which is similar to the producing of the wheat kernel from within its husk – the melacha of ??. When squeezing juice onto food one does not procure a beverage, on the contrary, the juice was part of food and has entered or merged with another food.

R’ Yochanan, on the other hand, simply says that one has separated the juice from the food regardless of its destination.

Most Rishonim rule in accordance with Rav and rule that one may squeeze grapes and other fruits onto food on Shabbos. R’ Chananel rules in accordance with R’ Yochanan and prohibits, on account of a biblical prohibition, squeezing grapes onto food, and other fruit on account of a rabbinical prohibition.

What is the halacha?

The Shulchan Aruch rules in accordance with the majority of the Rishonim and permits squeezing all fruit onto food but then quotes R’ Chananel saying that when one squeezes for the juice it is forbidden. This implies that he indeed reckons with the opinion of R’ Chananel.

The Mishna Berura therefore says that although the halacha is that one may squeeze fruit onto food on Shabbos, nevertheless one who refrains from doing so ??? ???? ???? – shall receive a blessing, and it is a good thing to refrain at least from squeezing grapes onto food. [4]