Simcha of Drinking Wine
Question
Dear Rabbi,
I saw that you (or another rabbi) wrote that one can only obtain simcha on the holiday from wine and not from grape juice. So how about if a person does not like wine and does not enjoy drinking it. But he does enjoy drinking non-alcoholic grape juice and is really happy when doing so?
Answers
There is no obligation to drink wine on Yom Tov. Our Sages are teaching us that wine is a vehicle to reach a level of simcha but for a person who cannot drink wine for whatever reason, they are not going to be forced to drink something that they do not like. What is for sure is that no one is going to have their simcha enhanced by drinking wine if they cannot stomach wine.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team