I grew up seeing wine as an emblem of pleasure, holiness and a instrument for elevating the mundane. From the weekly Kiddush (a blessing stated over a wine cup) on Shabbat to holidays like Purim, Passover and Simchat Torah, wine occupies a sacred house in Judaism.
However this month, the surgeon normal’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 may very well be grave threat even in temperate consumption. As a father of 4 and a member of a group that celebrates with wine and arduous liquor, I can’t look away from this warning.
Alcohol’s function in Judaism has at all times been distinct. In distinction to some religions, like Islam, that prohibit it, Jewish custom embraces it as a way 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 typically performed a job in communal gatherings referred to 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 gentle 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 straightforward to lose sight of this when custom feels unassailable.
Definitely sober individuals 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 resembling 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 cause.
Advisories just like the current one from the Workplace of the Surgeon Common helped slash smoking rates from 42% in 1965 to beneath 12% in the present day. 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 gentle, steerage improved — a lot as the federal government’s steerage about alcohol consumption has now improved. Such evolution exhibits successes of science, not failures.
Even when average ingesting is taken into account secure, in actuality it doesn’t at all times stay average or secure. I’ve seen non secular gatherings at which contributors sing melodies and share tales and insights over drinks. What begins as a couple of small toasts for inspiration can, for some, result in unhealthy patterns. And whereas most individuals are cautious, my Chabad group, and society generally, nonetheless normalize alcohol in regarding methods — and go away little house for questioning that normalization. The surgeon normal’s report reminds spiritual folks that we must always not cover behind the veil of custom when the growth of human data sheds new gentle.
As a father, I discover this deeply private. After I elevate a cup of wine throughout Kiddush in entrance of my kids, am I normalizing one thing dangerous? We should maintain on to the holiness of our rituals whereas mitigating their dangers.
Judaism has at all times 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 typically 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 replicate fashionable realities, whereas holding quick to our values. In matrimonial regulation, for instance, rabbis developed protecting prenuptial agreements so {that a} lady couldn’t find yourself unable to remarry if her first husband wished to forestall a divorce. Equally, the sanctity of wine and alcohol mustn’t 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, partly, from its embrace of alcohol. At farbrengens, he shunned vodka, and his disapproval was particularly robust when minors had entry and drank. His defiance planted a seed in me to honor his perception that holiness mustn’t ever come on the expense of well being or fact.
The glass should still be half full, however the energy to resolve its which means is completely ours. Let’s select correctly.
Eli Federman typically writes on the intersection of faith and society. X: @EliFederman
