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. […]
![“והשתיה כדת”: Considering Rabbi Meir’s Reading [Megillah 12a]](http://jewishdrinking.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/drinkin.jpg)
“והשתיה כדת”: Considering Rabbi Meir’s Reading [Megillah 12a]
Recently, someone pointed out to me a curious drinking text related to Purim (Megillah 12a): והשתיה כדת – מאי כדת אמר רבי יוחנן משום רבי מאיר כדת של תורה מה דת של תורה אכילה מרובה משתיה אף סעודתו של אותו רשע אכילה מרובה משתיה “And the drinking was according to law” (Esther 1.8) – What […]
![Drinking on Purim [Megillah 7b]](http://jewishdrinking.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/beer-glasses.jpg)
Drinking on Purim [Megillah 7b]
Introduction One of the more familiar aspects of Purim practices is getting drunk, with Purim being one of the most drinking-heavy days on the Jewish calendar. While neither the Mishnah nor Tosefta mentions any such practice (focussing mostly on reading of Megillat Esther and secondarily on providing financial assistance to the poor), a couple of texts […]
Purim Drinking II: Which Beverage(s) to Drink?
Having begun a discussion of drinking on Purim, (and what got me re-interested in this topic), I wanted to do an initial post on which beverage one should drink in order to intoxicate oneself on Purim. Curiously, in neither Rabbi Jacob, son of Asher‘s Four Divisions1 nor in Rabbi Joseph Karo‘s Set Table2 is any specific beverage mentioned in order to intoxicate, […]
Purim Drinking I: Prolegomenon
With Purim occurring two months from today, my mind turned over shabbat towards one of the most well-known aspects of the festival: drinking. The amusing thing about drinking being a(n in)famous aspect of the holiday is that it was not initially a main part of the festival – it was not a Tannaitic element (the primary ones were reading the megillah, […]