Yechiel Michel Epstein

“ Section 5 When one reclines he should be positioned sideways, not leaning on his front or back, for that is not called reclining. Only leaning to the side was considered a honorable position. One should not lean to his right, only his left, for leaning to the right is dangerous, as the foodpipe is on the right of one’s body, and the windpipe on the left, and when one leans to the right the epiglottis slides off the windpipe by itself. This creates a choking hazard, as food swallowed can enter the windpipe. ”

“ Nowadays women are not found to recline in any social situation, and as a result women do not recline during the seder either.
Our teacher the Rema writes in section 4 that “all our women are considered ‘women of stature’ and therefore are required to recline. The reason why they do not is that we rely on the position of the Ravyah, who argues that in our day there is no reason to recline.” ”

“ In our communities this wine is not common.
Even the poor who are supported by charity should sell their clothing, borrow money or rent themselves out for labor to afford wine for the four cups. They should take donated wine from the charity fund, if possible. If a poor man can only obtain four cups in total for both nights he should use them all for the first seder night. The reason for this is that we now use a mathematical calendar and therefore know that the first night of Pesach is the actual night for this mitzvah (Magen Avraham in comment 14) . ”

“ Section 12 The minimum amount of wine per cup should be a ‘Reviis’, which was an amount measured after the wine was diluted (in past generations, wine was preserved as a concentrate and a small amount was diluted with water before meals) . Nowadays our wine is not concentrated and diluting has no relevance to us. ”

“ In my humble opinion it is difficult to state such a position, for why don’t men also rely on the Ravyah and refrain from reclining? Furthermore, his opinion is an individual dissent. Rather it seems more reasonable that the law rests on the Shiltos and the Rif according to their reading of Talmudic text. In any case, ‘stature’ is not a term that should be considered commonplace, and even if a woman were of stature, it is unusual for her to put on airs over this. ”

“ Know that when reclining there is no difference between people who are right or left-handed. Even though a left-handed person uses his hands in a way which is opposite those who are right-handed, internal organs are situated the same for all people. ”

“ This is the reason that the sages required leaning at the meal on pesach, for such was the practice of the all independent men in their day, to eat while reclining, on pillows and such, in a noble manner. Therefore one should prepare his place while it is yet day with all that is required to allow him to recline as one who is free.
Note that the Tur writes in the name of the Ravyah that since our countries have no custom to recline it is not a requirement (see there) . ”

“ It is also a mitzvah to give a cup to children that have reached an age where they can be educated. “Reaching the age of education” is defined as five or six years old (Chok Yaakov, comment 27) . However, if the children were not given a cup it does not prevent performing the seder (see there) . Children may be given a small cup (see Taz) , and they need not drink but a little.
Our teacher the Rema has written (in section 15) that one should not use a cup that has a narrow opening like a ‘kluk’ glass since it prevents one from drinking a ‘Reviis’ amount in one swallow. ”

“ If the cup used holds many ‘Reviis’, many people can fulfill their obligation through it according to the number of ‘Reviis’ it contains, though they would not meet the requirement if the cup only contained enough for a majority ‘Reviis’ for each person. The reason for this is that each person needs to start with the proper amount, which is a ‘Reviis’, even though they may fulfill their obligation with only drinking a majority of it. ”

“ In our communities the custom is for a mourner to recline, though not in an ostentatious way with an abundance of pillows. In regards to wearing a ‘Kittel’ there are differing opinions, and one may do as he pleases. ”