I grew up seeing wine as an emblem of pleasure, holiness and a device for elevating the mundane. From the weekly Kiddush (a blessing mentioned over a wine cup) on Shabbat to holidays like Purim, Passover and Simchat Torah, wine occupies a sacred area in Judaism.
However this month, the surgeon common’s advisory on alcohol’s hyperlink to most cancers has shaken me. It jogged my memory that even cherished traditions carry dangers we should confront.
The advisory states that alcohol consumption, even in average quantities, is linked to a number of cancers, together with breast, liver and esophageal most cancers. For years, the narrative was that alcohol was dangerous solely in extra. Now we’re advised that there might be grave threat even in temperate consumption. As a father of 4 and a member of a neighborhood that celebrates with wine and laborious liquor, I can’t look away from this warning.
Alcohol’s function in Judaism has all the time been distinct. In distinction to some religions, like Islam, that prohibit it, Jewish custom embraces it as a method of fostering pleasure, connection and spirituality. The Talmud teaches, “There isn’t any pleasure with out wine,” and the paranormal Zohar suggests that wine can reveal hidden truths.
For Chabad Hasidim, during which pleasure is paramount, alcohol has usually performed a job in communal gatherings known as farbrengens. Recognizing its risks, the motion’s chief, the Rebbe, explicitly forbade extreme ingesting in 1962.
However even the embrace of average alcohol in holy contexts calls for scrutiny in mild of what scientists at the moment are discovering. Most cancers doesn’t care about intention. A glass of wine lifted throughout Kiddush to sanctify the Sabbath carries the identical dangers as one raised in a bar. And whereas the Torah commands us to guard our well being, it’s simple to lose sight of this when custom feels unassailable.
Actually sober folks in Jewish communities have discovered methods round alcohol consumption, and the remainder of us may look to their management. Jewish regulation even explicitly permits grape juice for use instead of wine for rituals equivalent to Kiddush and the 4 cups on the Passover seder. Utilizing grape juice preserves the holiness with out the well being dangers of alcohol.
Christian communities face related considerations with Communion wine, which represents the blood of Christ. Many Protestant church buildings offer grape juice as a substitute of wine, addressing well being dangers and accommodating individuals who keep away from alcohol for another purpose.
Advisories just like the current one from the Workplace of the Surgeon Basic helped slash smoking rates from 42% in 1965 to below 12% at the moment. And though previous advisories on low-fat diets underestimated the risks of sugar and refined carbohydrates, and early COVID-19 masks guidance failed to deal with asymptomatic transmission, in every case, as extra information got here to mild, steering improved — a lot as the federal government’s steering about alcohol consumption has now improved. Such evolution reveals successes of science, not failures.
Even when average ingesting is taken into account secure, in actuality it doesn’t all the time stay average or secure. I’ve seen religious gatherings at which contributors sing melodies and share tales and insights over drinks. What begins as just a few small toasts for inspiration can, for some, result in unhealthy patterns. And whereas most individuals are cautious, my Chabad neighborhood, and society basically, nonetheless normalize alcohol in regarding methods — and go away little area for questioning that normalization. The surgeon common’s report reminds non secular folks that we must always not cover behind the veil of custom when the growth of human data sheds new mild.
As a father, I discover this deeply private. Once I elevate a cup of wine throughout Kiddush in entrance of my youngsters, am I normalizing one thing dangerous? We should maintain on to the holiness of our rituals whereas mitigating their dangers.
Judaism has all the time embraced that steadiness. The Talmud warns towards drunkenness, and Maimonides teaches that true pleasure comes from knowledge and steadiness, not overindulgence.
Maybe it’s time to increase the dialog. What if we made Kiddush extra usually with nonalcoholic choices like grape juice? What if we toast “L’chaim” over mocktails as a substitute of cocktails?
Judaism is an historical and thriving religion, and one key to this endurance has been a willingness to adapt conventional practices to mirror trendy realities, whereas holding quick to our values. In matrimonial regulation, for instance, rabbis developed protecting prenuptial agreements so {that a} girl couldn’t find yourself unable to remarry if her first husband wished to forestall a divorce. Equally, the sanctity of wine and alcohol must not ever overshadow the sanctity of life.
I admit, I carry a way of vindication when reflecting on my late father, whose criticism of Hasidic Judaism stemmed, partially, from its embrace of alcohol. At farbrengens, he shunned vodka, and his disapproval was particularly sturdy when minors had entry and drank. His defiance planted a seed in me to honor his perception that holiness must not ever come on the expense of well being or reality.
The glass should be half full, however the energy to resolve its that means is fully ours. Let’s select properly.
Eli Federman usually writes on the intersection of faith and society. X: @EliFederman
