The Jewish Drinking Show

Introduction
Having previously welcomed Rabbi Dr. Phil Lieberman to The Jewish Drinking Show for the geonic terms for alcoholic beverages, we welcome him back for the 160th episode of the show to discuss wine, drinking, and drunkenness in Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed.

Biography of Guest
Rabbi Dr. Lieberman is a social, economic, and legal historian of the Jews of the medieval Islamic world. He holds a BA (with distinction in economics) from the University of Washington, a MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics, a MA in Talmud and Rabbinic Ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary, a MA and PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University, and Semikha from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah.

He is Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and Law, Associate Professor and Chair of Classical and Mediterranean Studies, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, and Affiliated Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and History, at Vanderbilt University. Phil is currently on military leave and serves as Associate Professor in the Department of History at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.  Phil also serves the US Navy Reserve as a chaplain and was mobilized to Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, where he served as Command Chaplain. He was promoted to the rank of Captain in August 2023 and is the ranking Jewish chaplain in the Department of the Navy.

His 2014 book, The Business of Identity: Jews, Muslims, and Economic Life in Medieval Egypt (Stanford University Press) was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. His latest book is The Fate of the Jews in the Early Islamic Middle East (2022).  In the first half of 2024, his translation with Lenn Goodman (also of Vanderbilt) of Maimonides’ 12th century philosophical classic The Guide to the Perplexed was published by Stanford University Press.

Phil lives with his wife, the amazing Dr. Yedida Eisenstat, his four children, and a wild Portuguese Water Dog named Argos in Nashville.

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l'chaim!

Introduction
One text that gets mentioned in conversations I have with fellow whiskey-drinkers is the responsum or responsa of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. Commonly referred to as Rav Moshe, he was an important 20th century rabbi with a significant impact on the practices of Orthodox Jews, in general, and American Orthodox Jews, in particular. In a trilogy of three responsa, with questions posed to him by Rabbi Pinchas Teitz, Rav Moshe responds to him regarding the kashrut (kosher-ness) of blended whiskies that might have some wine in them. Primarily responding to his queries in one responsum, he also answers follow-up questions by Rabbi Teitz. In the 159th episode of The Jewish Drinking Show, Rabbi Dov Linzer guides us through the salient points of this trilogy (Iggeros Moshe, YD 62-64), primarily focussing on this first responsum (Iggeros Moshe YD 62).

Biography of Guest
Rabbi Linzer is the President and Rosh HaYeshiva of YCT Rabbinical School. Having served as YCT’s Rosh HaYeshiva for over 20 years, Rabbi Linzer became its President in 2019 and assumed both the institutional and Torah-based leadership of YCT. In his capacity as a mentor, Rabbi Linzer provides religious guidance to the yeshiva’s students and the over 150 YCT-ordained rabbis who are serving in the field. An acclaimed Torah and halakha scholar, Rabbi Linzer has been a leading rabbinic voice in the Modern Orthodox community for over 25 years. 

He has published over 100 teshuvot (responsa) and scholarly Torah articles, and hosts a number of highly popular Torah podcasts, including Iggros Moshe: A to Z, the 42nd episode of which he discussed our episode's topic - blended whiskey in Rabbi Moshe Feinstein's teshuvot.  He is co-author, together with Abigail Pogrebin, of It Takes Two To Torah: An Orthodox Rabbi and Reform Journalist Discuss and Debate Their Way Through the Five Books of Moses and will soon be coming out with The Rosh Yeshiva Responds, a collection of his scholarly, halakhic teshuvot to the yeshiva’s hundreds of rabbis in-the-field.

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l'chaim!

Introduction
The newest episode of The Jewish Drinking Show explores a common Jewish drinking expression - l'chaim/l'ḥayyim! Based off of his article “L-Ḥayyim”, Ḥakirah 31 (2022): 345-355, Rabbi Dr. Zvi Ron returns to the show (having previously appeared on the show to discuss spilling out drops of wine at the Passover Seder) to discuss saying לחיים! (Sources are available here.)

Bio of Guest
Rabbi Dr. Zvi Ron received semikha from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate and a PhD in Jewish Theology from Spertus University. He served as rabbi of Keneseth Beth Israel Synagogue for ten years in Richmond, Virginia. Along with his wife, Sharon, they moved back to Israel in 2004 with their four children and live in Neve Daniel, Gush Etzion. He teaches at a number of yeshivot and seminaries in Jerusalem. He is the author of two books on Tanakh in Hebrew: ספר קטן וגדול (Rossi Publications, 2006) and ספר העיקר חסר (Mossad HaRav Kook, 2017) about the variable spellings of words in Tanakh. Rabbi Ron also has authored dozens of articles in numerous publications. His newest book, Jewish Customs: Exploring Common and Uncommon Minhagim, was just published this year (Koren, 2024).  He is editor of the Jewish Bible Quarterly and was a contestant on The Weakest Link (you can see parts two and three of his appearance (part one was removed for copyright reasons)).

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l'chaim!

In the 157th episode of The Jewish Drinking Show, we visit Amichai Luria, the winemaker for Shiloh Winery to hear about the winery🍷

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l'chaim!

The 156th episode of The Jewish Drinking Show features Nadav Jesselson, co-founder and general manager of Anava Vineyards, speaks on Israel's first "vineyard as a service". 

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l'chaim!

Intro
Having heard about Rosh Chodesh Clubs, I was curious to learn more about them, as well as to speak with the creator of this initiative, Yossie Horwitz, who is the guest on the 155th episode of The Jewish Drinking Show.

Biography of Guest
Growing up in a tee-totaling household in Jerusalem, Yossie Horwitz didn’t have much early exposure to wine. That all changed one Passover night when he tasted his first quality dry red wine. A lifelong passion was stoked and by the time he was 30 and living in New York City, he was penning a weekly email blast to family and friends sharing his varied recommendations. Today, “Yossie’s Corkboard” goes out to more than 11,000 subscribers around the world and covers the ever-expanding world of kosher wine. Tasting more than 4,000 different kosher wines each year keeps this deal-making attorney-by day quite busy. In addition to his website, you can also view his wine happenings on Instagram.

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l'chaim!

While we know about drinking four cups of wine at the Passover Seder, what about drinking between these four cups of wine? The newest episode of The Jewish Drinking Show focusses on exactly this topic. This episode is also the seventh "Drinks and Discussion"-style episode, featuring a texts-based discussion led by Rabbi Drew.

Sources
The sources for this episode are available here.

“Drinks and Discussion”-style Episodes

• Drinking During the Nine Days – Episode #40
• Drinking During the Ten Days of Repentance: An Introduction – Episode #44
• A Significant Rabbinic Discussion on Wine & Drinking: Eruvin 64-65 – Episode #47
• Drinking In/Out of Sukkot – Episode #142
• Drinking During Mourning – Episode #150
• The Purim Katan Episode – Episode #151
• Drinking Between Glasses of Wine at the Passover Seder - Episode #154 (this episode)

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Thank you for listening!

If you have any questions, suggestions, or more, feel free to reach out at [email protected]

l'chaim!

Introduction
Having previously published an episode on the origin of dropping out wine during the Passover Seder a few years ago, the newest episode of The Jewish Drinking Show explores a relatively recent explanation of this practice which sharply departs from its medieval explanations. Based off of his article "Spilling Wine While Reciting the Plagues to Diminish Our Joy?", TheTorah.com (6 April 2020), which is a briefer version of “Our Own Joy is Lessened and Incomplete: The History of an Interpretation of Sixteen Drops of Wine at the Seder,” Ḥakirah 19 (2015): 237–256, Rabbi Dr. Zvi Ron joins the show to discuss this history of this new explanation.

Bio of Guest
Rabbi Dr. Zvi Ron received semikha from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate and a PhD in Jewish Theology from Spertus University. He served as rabbi of Keneseth Beth Israel Synagogue for ten years in Richmond, Virginia. Along with his wife, Sharon, they moved back to Israel in 2004 with their four children and live in Neve Daniel, Gush Etzion. He teaches at a number of yeshivot and seminaries in Jerusalem. He is the author of two books on Tanakh in Hebrew: ספר קטן וגדול (Rossi Publications, 2006) and ספר העיקר חסר (Mossad HaRav Kook, 2017) about the variable spellings of words in Tanakh. Rabbi Ron also has authored dozens of articles in numerous publications. He is editor of the Jewish Bible Quarterly and was a contestant on The Weakest Link.

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If you have any questions, suggestions, or more, feel free to reach out at [email protected]

l'chaim!

Intro
Having discussed rabbis’ normative writings previously on The Jewish Drinking Show throughout numerous centuries, I’m excited to welcome back Rabbi David Fried to discuss significant rabbinic normative writings in the 18th-19th centuries on this matter. If you're curious to check out previous episodes featuring Rabbi Fried on Purim-drinking, they are available here:

• Medieval Jewish Legal Authorities (Rishonim) on Purim-Drunkenness - ep. #61
• 16th-17th Century Rabbis on Purim-Drinking (Early Aharonim) - ep. #94
• 18th-19th Century Rabbis on Purim-Drinking (Later Aharonim) - ep. #127

Biography of Guest
Rabbi Fried teaches Judaic Studies at the Upper School of The Ramaz School. He is also an editor and frequent contributor at The Lehrhaus. He lives in New Jersey with his wife Molly and their two sons, Elchanan and Saadia. He earned his rabbinic ordination from YCT Rabbinical School.

Discussion Sources
Here are the sources we used for the material under discussion.

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l'chaim!

 With the 14th of the first Adar coming up in just a few days, how is this day to be celebrated? After all, it is still kind of like Purim. Indeed, it has become known as Purim Katan - the little Purim. The newest episode of The Jewish Drinking Show focusses on exactly this topic. This episode is also the sixth "Drinks and Discussion"-style episode, featuring a texts-based discussion led by Rabbi Drew. 

Sources
The sources for this episode are available here.

“Drinks and Discussion”-style Episodes

• Drinking During the Nine Days – Episode #40
• Drinking During the Ten Days of Repentance: An Introduction – Episode #44
• A Significant Rabbinic Discussion on Wine & Drinking: Eruvin 64-65 – Episode #47
• Drinking In/Out of Sukkot – Episode #142
• Drinking During Mourning – Episode #150
• The Purim Katan Episode – Episode #151

Support the show

Thank you for listening!

If you have any questions, suggestions, or more, feel free to reach out at [email protected]

l'chaim!