Demons and the Four Cups of Wine at the Passover Seder
The 25th episode of the podcast/video series is now out! Featuring Rabbi Alana Suskin, the co-founder and co-director of the Pomegranate Initiative, as well as a senior editor at JewSchool.com, we discuss the susceptibility to demons of the four cups of wine at the Passover Seder, according to the discussion of the rabbis in the […]
How Many Cups of Wine to Drink at a Mourner’s House – 10 vs 14?
The newest release in JewishDrinking.com’s podcast & video series features Rabbi David Fried discussing with our host the question of how many cups of wine are to be consumed at a mourner’s house. Rabbi Fried currently serves as part of the Judaic Studies faculty at Hebrew High School of New England and graduated from Yeshivat […]
Wine in the Book of Judith
Following-up on the previous episode of Drinking on Hanukah in which the story of Judith arises in the Shulhan Arukh, this episode features Professor Caryn Tamber-Rosenau in discussing wine in the apocryphal book of Judith. Prof. Tamber-Rosenau has written extensively on the book of Judith in her book Women in Drag: Gender and Performance in […]
“Wine in the Mishnah” Mini-Videos
For those of you interested in last week’s “Wine in the Mishnah” episode with Rabbi Dr. Avraham Walfish, I have now separated out four distinct videos for your viewing pleasure on Wine in Mishnah Berakhot, Wine in Mishnah Berakhot chapter 8, Wine in Mishnah Sanhedrin chapter 8, and Wine in Mishnah Pesahim, which are also […]
Considering Ya’akov’s innovation in Wine-Libation on a Pillar
We read of Ya’akov setting-up a מצבה stone-pillar towards the beginning of last week’s parashah (Gen. 28.18), as well as later on in the parashah (Gen. 31.51-52). In this week’s parashah, we see him doing so a third time, yet he introduces an innovation into his stone-pillar setting-up: “וַיַּצֵּב יַעֲקֹב מַצֵּבָה, בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר-דִּבֶּר אִתּוֹ–מַצֶּבֶת אָבֶן; […]
Wine in the Mishnah with Rabbi Dr. Avraham Walfish
The newest episode of our weekly podcast/video series is now available: “Wine in the Mishnah” features an overview of the term יין/wine in the Mishnah, with guest Rabbi Dr. Avraham Walfish. Rabbi Dr. Walfish’s recent book Mishnaic Tapestries – Tractate Berakhot/מרבדי משנה – פרקי ברכות: עיון ספרותי ורעיוני במשנת ברכות (which is available for purchase […]
How Frequently Does Wine Appear in the Mishnah?
How frequently does wine appear in the Mishnah (יין במשנה)? The phrase יין appears in the Mishnah more than 235 times*🍷🍷🍷 The next question you may be asking: where does it appear the most frequently? Let’s start by breaking down the occurrences of the phrase יין in the Mishnah by סדר (seder): סדר נזיקין – […]
Malkitzedek’s Bringing of Wine & Bread to Avram
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 […]
Beer, Wine, and Bal Tashchit in the Talmud with Professor Tanhum Yoreh
The newest episode of Jewish Drinking: The Show is now out! With featured guest Professor Tanhum Yoreh, Rabbi Drew Kaplan discusses Rav Pappa’s statement in the Talmud that, if one could drink beer or wine, yet chooses wine transgresses the rabbinic prohibition against wastefulness (Shabbat 140b). Having written his doctoral dissertation on bal tashchit, Professor […]
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 […]