Following Avram’s involvement in the war between the four kings vs the five kings, when Avram rescued Lot (Gen. 14:14-16), we read of the king of S’dom coming out to meet Avram (Gen. 14:17). However, before the king of S’dom speaks with Avram (Gen. 14:21-24), there is a brief narrative interruption where Malkitzedek, the king […]
What Did Noah Begin Doing with a Vineyard Upon Disembarking From the Ark?
In the course of the first story of drinking in the entirety of the Bible, we see Noah disembarking from the ark and doing something with regard to a vineyard: וַיָּ֥חֶל נֹ֖חַ אִ֣ישׁ הָֽאֲדָמָ֑ה וַיִּטַּ֖ע כָּֽרֶם Noah, man of the soil, [something] to plant a vineyard. It’s unclear how to translate the word ויחל here, […]
Exploring Noah’s Getting Drunk: What Did Ham Do To Noah?
In the very first instance of drinking wine in the Bible (Gen. 9), we read of Noah drinking, getting drunk, and then his son, Ham, doing something to him. What did Ham do to Noah? In this episode of Jewish Drinking: The Show, I (Rabbi Drew Kaplan) discuss this Noah-Ham incident with Professor John Bergsma, a […]
Drinking in the Book of Ecclesiastes: A Conversation with Rabbi Daniel Epstein
With the Shabbat of Sukkot coming up this weekend when the book of Ecclesiastes (ספר קהלת) is traditionally read, I invited Rabbi Daniel Epstein for a conversation on drinking in the book of Ecclesiastes for the newest video and podcast episode for JewishDrinking: Podcast Episode: Video:
An Initial Consideration of the Drinking Events in Megillat Esther
Over this recent Purim, I was curious to keep track of the drinking parties, since I knew there were multiple such events, but hadn’t quite remembered what each of them were. While tracking them, though, I was fascinated to not only have a sense of what they were, but maybe also somewhat of a pattern. […]