By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times

Attn Readers: Rabbi Hoffman’s newest Volume of Not Your Usual Halacha (#8) is now available on amazon.com.

Many people have argued about Dunkin Coffee versus Starbucks. It is a battle between the two brands. Some like Starbucks because it is stronger. Others like Dunkin’s because it is sweeter.
There is a war between their business models too. Dunkin stores are mostly franchises. Starbucks are mostly corporate owned. Who is winning the war? Starbucks has 22,519 stores – Dunkin only 11,500. Starbucks made 16.8 billion dollars last year, Dunkin only 828.9 million.

But this war is not between the two brands. It is between the Shul Gabbaim and both of the brands. This is because of late, many people have been bringing their coffee not only into shul but into davening itself.

They say brachos and have the first intra-davening sip. Before Boruch sh’amar is the second sip. The third sip comes at ashrei. The cup of Joe is half gone by birchas Krias Shma. If it is a latte, then it is half gone only by Ezras Avosainu.

What is the halacha here? Is this permitted? What about if a person is weak or simply cannot function without coffee – would it be permitted for him?

THE FOUR CUPS OF WINE ON PESACH

Perhaps we can find the answer to our question with another question. How come we make four blessings over wine at the Pesach seder? Why are the four cups not covered with one bracha?
Rav Amram Gaon (800? to 875) answers this question in his siddur, and one of his answers is as follows: “Similarly, a group of people celebrating who were seated and established drinking over wine, and got up to pray and prayed. They subsequently returned to drink – they must recite a Borei Pri HaGafen. Why must they do so? They did not remove themselves from that place?

Rather, since they arose to pray and they may not drink during prayer – it is considered like they interrupted and they must recite the blessing [again]. So too, here. Since he recited the Hagaddah and he may not drink during the hagaddah, it is as if he has interrupted and he must recite the blessing. Because of these reasons each of the cups necessitates its own blessing”
One can see clearly from Rav Amram gaon’s words that not only is it forbidden to drink during the Shmoneh Esreh, but even during the other parts of davening. There is no substantive difference between the Hagaddah and davening, and the fact that Rav Amram Gaon compares the two indicates clearly that drinking coffee during Davening is forbidden.

EATING BEFORE DAVENING

There is also a halacha that it is forbidden to eat before davening. This is based upon a Gemorah in Brachos (10b) and is codified in Shulchan Aruch (89:3). It is considered haughty to take care of one’s own needs before tending to our obligations toward Hashem. A drink is permitted, according to the Mishna Brurah (89:22). Nowadays, it is even permitted to add sugar and milk to one’s coffee, but breakfast before davening, is forbidden unless one is weak or sic k(See Minchas Yitzchok Vol. IV #28).

This entire discussion, however, is only for eating and drinking before davening – but no one ever even contemplated the issue during Davening. That is why, the issue is not even touched upon in the Poskim despite the fact that coffee has been around for many centuries.

THE ISSUE OF DOING IT IN SHUL

There is another issue and that is eating and drinking in shul. The Shulchan Aruch 151:1 writes:

“Our shuls and Batei Midrashim, we are not to conduct ourselves within them light-headed activity such as laughter and humor and extraneous conversation. Nor do we eat and drink in them..”
The Sefer Yereim (Amud HaKorbanos page 386) brings two explanations for the prohibition of eating or drinking in a shul. One reason is on account of Moreh Mikdash – having the proper awe and reverence for the House of Hashem. The second reason is on account of Me’ilah b’hekdesh – the misuse of Hekdesh. The Bais HaKnesses is singled out as a special place devoted exclusively to Hashem. Eating and drinking inside the shul would be a negation of this. Although some shuls are built with the permission to eat and drink at a Kiddush afterward, in no way did they originally have in mind that one may eat during actual prayers.

It is clear from the verses in Vayikra 26:31 that shuls are considered a Mikdash. It is for this reason that shuls are exempt from the Mitzvah of Mezuzah (See Rambam hilchos Tefillah 6:6).
Of course, if a person is truly sick and requires the coffee in order to become healed – then he may drink and eat as necessary. However, there is another issue. People who observe him are unaware that he is sick, and there may also be a Maris Ayin issue where people might think that such behavior is, in fact permitted for healthy people as well.

CHILLUL HASHEM

Finally, there is one last issue and that is the concept of Chillul Hashem. Gentiles are quite careful neither to eat nor drink while in a church. Is it not a grave desecration of Hashem’s Name that we, the Jewish people, drink while standing in prayer before the King of all kings? Lest the reader question this last point, Rav Dovid Tzvi Hoffman zt”l (in his Melamed l’Ho’il Orech Chaim Siman 15) cites this very same issue in regard to smoking within a shul. He brings up the idea that gentiles do not smoke in their churches. How then can we do so ourselves?

It is clear from all of the above that we should stop this practice immediately. Whether the coffee is from Starbucks, Dunkin, home-brewed or from any other place – the shul should not be a coffee house. We must also keep in mind that America, indeed, the world runs not on Dunkin’ but on Tefillah. It is, as it states in Pirkei Avos, one of the three pillars that hold up the world. In the merit of our davening and treating our shuls and our Tefilos with the greatest of respect – may we merit Moshiach Tzidkeinu bimheira b’yameinu, amain!

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