Los Angeles herald., 1905-05-06
Written for The Herald by Rabbi A.
w. Edelman

LOS ANGELES, May 4-(huitor
HERALD: Since the appearance Of my
last article entitled, 'Tsraels Passover
$685." in The Herald Of April 20, in
which 1 said, 1.-THE rabbis Of the Tai
mud have enjoined upon every Israel
lite to drink four cups of wine on the
first two evenings of the passover
service" 1 have been asked by very
learned Christian divine If 1 would give
to the Los Angeles press my opinion
whether the word "yayin" (wine) mem
toned in the Bible and the four cups
of wine drunk on the Jewish passover
service mean fermented or unfermented
wine?
1 would therefore kindly ask to make
use of your valuable columns for
answering the above named questions
by saying that morally any persons
may drink any and all strong wines,
be they ever so Intoxicating, as long
as they do not abuse Gods gift Qor so
is wine called in the Bible).
Holy scripture nowhere makes any
distinction between fermented and un-
fermented wine. Literally, the Hebrew
means both fermented and unferment-
ed wine, but the word 'yayin" men
toned in the Bible, even in the New
Testament, invariably means ferment-
ed wine, wine of most intoxicating ma
ture. Regarding the four cups of wine
drunk on the Jewish passover service,
the rabbis of the Talmud were of the
opinion that for all religious and even
for semi-rellgious occasions, fermented
wine (yayin chaj), strong wine must
be used, and only when fermented
wine was not to be had "yayin migito,"
wine fresh from the press was allowed
(Talmud, treatise Pesachim 10S, b..
Hence, all those who can afford to in
dulge in the luxury and stand it's
beverage, use not only the ordinary
fermented, but the finest, the oldest
and most expensive wine, and those
who can neither afford nor stand it's
intoxication drink the unfermented
wine.
1t is related that a certain rabbi
said to a questioner: believe me, my
dear friend that L never taste wine
but for the 'Kiddush (the sanctifica-
tion of the Sabbath and festivaD, and
for 'Habdallah' (the close of the Sab
bath and festivaD, and for the four
cups of the passover evening service,
and then my head aches me from
Passover to Pentecost."
Bible Wine Fermented
To prove my assertion that the word
"yayin" (wine) in the Bible in all cases
means fermented wine 1 will call the
attention of the reader to the places
where they are mentioned. We read for
the first time, that Noah planted a
vineyard; that he drank of the ''yayin"
(wine) and he became drunk Genesis,
tx, 2D. And in Samuel I, XIV, Sc, we
"yayin' (wine), and he became very
drunk. The prophet Isaiah (chapter
V, KID says: "Woe unto them that
rise up early in the morning that they
may follow strong drink; that continue
until night, till 'yayin' (wine) in
flame them; that the drunkards of
Ephraim are struck down by 'yayin'
(wine); that the people have greatly
erred through 'yayin' (wine), and are
very much out of their way; even the
priest and the prophet have also erred
through 'yayin' (wine)." Qbid 2S:1 and
~ The Prophet Jeremiah, 1873, says:
IT am like drunken man, like a per-
son whom 'yayin' (wine) has greatly
Proverbs, xiii, 29:3O, asked: "Who hath
woe? who hath sorrow? who hath
contention? who hath wounds without
cause? who hath redness of eyes?
They that tarry long at the 'yayin
(wine)."
These and many more quotations
plainly show that "yayin" means fer
mented and strong wine. But, al
though "yayin" is intoxicating, it is
nevertheless spoken of as blessing of
God. In Genesis (xiv:10 we read that
"Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought
forth bread and ''yayin" (wine), and
said: blessed be Abraham to the
most high God, the possessor of heaven
and earth" Isaac blessed Jacob. that
God may give him Of the dew of
heaven, of the fatness of the earth. and
with plenty of corn and 'yayin'
(wine)." Qbid, xxvii:2S) And Jacob
blessed Judah, that his eyes may be
red by 'yayin' (wine)." Qbid, Xix 12.)
In Amos Gx:1D God promises to Israel
that she will live in a country where
they shall plant their vineyards and
drink their 'yayin' (wine)." Nay, more.
The drinking of "yayin" (wine) was not
only never prohibited, but strictly rec
commended to the Israelite upon every
Sabbath and festival, as we'll as upon
all festive occasions. For thus we
read In Deuteronomy (xiv:26-D: "And
thou shalt lay out your money for
whatsoever thy soul longeth after, for
oxen, for sheep, for 'yayin' (wine), and
other strong drink; and thou shalt eat
and drink before the Lord your God.