Why does Rav Poppa not feature in this sugya? In Mesechas Shabbos (140b) he was the one who said that if someone is able to drink beer and drinks wine is 'oiver ba'al tashchis' (Maharsha, Rav Poppa said this for his own benefit as he was a beer merchant?
Sholem, UK
Rav Poppa in Shabbos 140b was referring to the best drink all week long; not for Kidush and Havdalah of Shabbos. For Kidush and Havdalah Rav Poppa agrees that wine is preferable. Rashbam here DH Chamar Medinah writes that it is only if there is no wine in town that one can make Kidush or Havdalah on beer. It seems that where Rav Poppa lived, wine was not so difficult to obtain because if beer was more common than wine he would not have had to say "if someone is able to drink beer....".
[By the way, the Rashash Shabbos 140b disagrees with the Maharsha]
Behatzlochah Rabah
Dovid Bloom
Follow-up reply:
I just found in Berachos 44b that Rava said to Rav Poppa that wine was not abundant in Rav Poppa's place of abode. What i wrote above does not fit so well with that. However, I argue that even though wine was not abundant there, there was still enough to make Kidush and Havdolah on.
Dovid Bloom
Thank you for your answer
I heard from Harav (Dayan) Avrohom Direnfeld over 40 years ago, a novel explanation of the Maharsha. He explained that Rav Pappa could have chosen to become a wine merchant, which was probably far more lucrative as it was used for Kiddush and Havdola, but as his saying was" not to drink wine when one could drink beer", he adopted the trade of a beer merchant. This is what the Maharsha means 'letoivas atzmoh' to support his saying!