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The Southern Israelite
Judaism and Prohibition
I he Pro and Con on the Prohibition 'Question
from a Jewish Viewpoint
By RABBI LEON SPITZ
Page 6
Prohibition right now is
ius t about the most tom-id
subject of discussion that
Americans have had in many
many months. From all sides
prohibitionists and their fa
natical supporters are being
attacked and the straw votes
itulicate that American pub
lic opinion is returning to
sanity.
in this article Rabbi Spitz
reveals what the attitude of
Judaism during the centuries
has been on prohibition and
in his numerous and author
itative quotations and refer
ences from rabbinical and
talmudic works, it appears
that if the dry zealots know
as much of the Old Testa
ment as some of their leaders
profess to know, they might
easily and effectively find a
solution to the vexatious
problem.—EDITOR.
The Prohibition Question has been
eopened with much gusto and the
Literary Digest affords weekly re
turns on a merry balloting race in
which 20,000,000 Americans have been
invited to participate. The approach
ing; Passover season—necessitating as
it does for observing Jews a certain
amount of wine for the fullfillment
f traditional practices—renders it
even more timely to bring out the es
sentially Jewish attitude on this
problem which agitates the nation—
strange as it may sound—even more
»iolently than either Bolshevism or
unemployment.
Judaism has something significant
say on Prohibition, both as to its
■taory and its practice. The Bible, the
Talmud. Rabbinic literature, the
dchan Aruch (the code) tradi
tional practice and the Rabbinic bod-
of our own time—all of these re-
some definite manner to this
on * The position of the Ameri-
an Rabbinate, is not however, either
consistent, nor unanimous. The
writer joined several years
r: a gentlemen’s agreement with
. * Rabbinical Assembly of the Jew-
leological Seminary of America
efrain from issuing certificates
acramental wine, and yet only
‘ * ar a considerable group of his
^’ues decided to endorse Pales-
wines in a laudable effort to
economic distress in the
dea our Palestinian wine-
5 .keep abreast of American
■ s * s obvious from the fact that
‘ar their exporters offer Kosh-
?rape juice and non-fermented
liquors
or the American Passover
ina . ^his action must have been
l' r . ^ b y the sanction of the
'’ynagogue of America of
Prof. Ginzberg’s recent decision that
grape-juice does fulfill the ritualistic
requirement for wine.
The Reform Rabbinate has enthu
siastically concurred in this ‘opinion,’
but the Orthodox Rabbis have held
aloof and exposed themselves to the
slanderous charge of bootlegging. It
has, however, been adequately proven
that the overwhelming majority of
the Talmudic Rabbis do not even avail
themselves of the privilege of certifi
cation and leave it to their impecu
nious sextons to supply the compar
atively slight demand for sacramen
tal wine. It is a well known fact that
a good Jewish housewdfe manages to
squeeze a little wine out of table
grapes for her household use, in full
accord with the indulgence of the
Prohibition Amendment.
And yet there is current an ingen
ious rumour about a Bronx congre
gation which offered u jobless Rabbi
one month's election option in order
to avail itself of his right to sign
sacramental certificates for its mem
bership during the Pesach season.
Naturally, the Rabbi rejected the de
spicable offer, and indeed such des
perate measures are rare and far
between.
It should be clearly understood that
a Rabbi (Conservative and Orthodox)
is required to use wine for Kiddush
on Sabbaths and holiday eves, for
Habdalah on Saturday nights and
particularly so on wedding and cir
cumcision occasions, and at the Pass-
over Seder table. This has been the
Jewish usage since time immemorial
and is part of the actual ritual as
provided for in the Prayer Book and
in the Shulchan Arukh—just as the
Catholic clergy employ wine for their
ritual. But not everyone seems to real
ize that to treat one’s guests with
wine or brandy on any occasion even
at a wedding has no relation whatso
ever to Jewish religious practices, but
that it is merely a question of hospi
tality, and serves not to earn a Mitz-
voh but to quench a normal and hu
man, but not essentially, Jewish thirst
for liquor.
Now, all of Judaism originates with
the Torah, the Bible, and it is sig
nificant that this source book of Ju
daism affords some definite reactions
to Prohibition. It should be remember
ed in this connection that in the Ori
ent generally wine is not drunk. The
‘poppy’ replaces it among Hindus and
the Chinese, and the narghilla or
black-coffee pipe among the Arabs,
who are forbidden wine by the Koran.
It may be stated however as a well
established maxim that the Bible both
countenances the imbibing of wine
and disparages intoxication. In up-
to-date American political parlance,
the Bible votes neither ‘dry’ nor ‘wet’
but for ‘modification.’
Early accounts of the Scriptures
reveal, in a quite unseemly light, the
consequences of intoxication on both
Noah and Lot, and laud the Children
of Reheb whose lips never tasted the
fumes of wine. The fall of Sampson,
the Nazarite is attributed to his
breach of his boyhood vow against in
dulgence in “wine, w T omen and song,”
and haircuts. The prophet thundered
against the Drunkards of Ephraim,
who reel with drink, “Woe unto them
that are heroes to drink wine, and
men of courage to mingle strong
drink.” Indeed Isaiah would stand an
excellent chance for a fat-salary from
the Anti-Saloon League in view of his
perfectly vicious onslaught against
the night-clubs of olden-Jerusalem:
“Woe unto them that rise up early
in the morning
That they may follow strong drink
That tarry late into the night
Till wine enflames them.”
On the other hand the selfsame
Isaiah pictures wistfully, “for the
vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the
House of Israel.” The vine is distin
guished for its excellence both in the
Biblical books of Judges and Ezekiel.
Again and again Holy Writ reiterates
that “wine gladdens the heart of God
and man.” The housewife is blessed
by the Psalmist that she may be as
a fruitful vine, and in the days of
the Messiah each “will dwell under
his vine and under his fig tree.” Liba
tions of wine were poured on the al
ters in the sanctuary at Jerusalem.
The Talmud offers even more delec
table material in this connection. The
famous Rabbi Judah, the Patriarch,
was constitutionally affected by
drinking, and yet he persisted in using
wine for Kidkush, Habdalah, and the
four cups at the Seder.
It appears that the Doctors of the
Talmud were unanimous in their at
titude on the wine question. Some,
poetically inclined, compared Israel,
the Torah, Jerusalem and the Messiah
to the juice, and assured the Tsaddi-
kim that as the guests of the Messiah
they will be served from the YAYIN
HAMESHUMOR, the precious vin
tage that has been preserved since
the Six Days of Creation in the mys
terious cellars of heaven or earth.
The Rosho was usually likened to
vinegars. Certain of the Rabbis, who
were also medicos, prescribed wine as
a vitamin, “Wine is the greatest of
all medicines, when wine is lacking,
then drugs become necessary.” A
more conservative colleague said:
wdne in moderation is a health stim
ulant—in sound accord with the opin
ion of many of our present day phy
sicians. Rabbi Huna said, “Wine
helps to open the heart to reasoning.”
Samuel, the famous Talmudic phy
sician, astronomer and Royal favor
ite at the Persian Court, advised the
drinking of wine after bleeding to
restore n person’s vitality. He felt
that after a man has reached the age
of forty he should eat less and drink
more, and that wine will stimulate
the appetite, cheer the body and sat
isfy the stomach, an excellent preven
tative in case of indigestion.
To offset this, the fanciful notion
was advanced to account for the ety
mology of the terms YAYIN and
TIROSH. YAYIN the Hebrew for
‘pauper.’ The implication is that ha
bitual drinking leads to grief and
poverty. The general principle of Tal
mudic opinion emerges that drinking
in moderation was healthful, but in
excess harmful both physically and
morally. There remains, however, to
be added the explanation that in ev
ery instance where the Talmul alludes
to the use of wine, it is presumed that
diluted and unfermented wine is pre
supposed.
Purim drinking is often apologized
for by reform Kuhbis, and even Hen
ry W. Longfellow seems to have
known that it is a mitzvoh among
Jews to get gloriously drunk on Pu
rim to such a degree that one no
longer discerns between Mordecai
und Haman. Indeed, Purim jests and
wine songs were especially impro
vised, and even the Shulchan Aruch
speaks of them as traditional. Yet the
average Jews today knows from his
own experience that there is very
much more talk about drink than
actual intoxication both on Purim and
Simechat Torah, even in Chassidic
circles. The present writer has at no
time come across a single Jew who
actually became drunk for religious
reasons.
“Wets” may take comfort from the
following Talmudic statement: “After
the destruction of the Temple many
Pharisees as a sign of mourning vow
ed to abstain from eating meat and
drinking wine, but were dissuaded
from issuing a decree which the pub
lic could not observe.”
The Sages of Ancient Israel knew
human nature and were past-masters
in the art of applied ethics. Ameri
canized Rabbis have waved their right
to sacremental certificates in accord
ance wdth the Talmudic policy of
DINO DEMALCHOSOH DINO.
“The laws of the land must be re
spected.” Still one may be skeptical
as to the success of the efforts of an
overzealous Middle-western American
lady to introduce prohibition in Pal
estine. American politicians may yet
go back to Biblical and Talmudic
sources for a practical solution of the
“spirit” question that vexes the na
tion.
—Copyright 1930 by the Jewish
Telegraphic Agency, Inc.