Wine and Tisha B'Av

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The somber days leading to Tisha B'Av bring us face-to-face with profound loss and spiritual yearning. Why do we refrain from wine during this period of mourning? The answer lies not just in ancient texts but in the very soil of Jewish history and practice.

Wine flows through Jewish tradition as a symbol of both celebration and sanctification. When we abstain before Tisha B'Av, we're acknowledging the absence of true joy without the Temple service, where wine libations once accompanied sacred offerings. This practice varies among communities – Sephardim typically observe during the week of Tisha B'Av, Ashkenazim from Rosh Chodesh, and some Hasidic traditions from the 17th of Tammuz. As Rav Soloveitchik taught, this isn't merely about grief but about profound yearning for spiritual wholeness.

Remarkably, recent archaeological discoveries have unearthed 1,500-year-old grape seeds in the Negev Desert, revealing an ancient wine culture that thrived against impossible odds. These desert vineyards – with their ingenious irrigation systems and terraced landscapes – flourished until cultural shifts buried this knowledge beneath centuries of sand. The story of these forgotten vineyards mirrors our own cyclical narrative of loss and rediscovery.

As we approach the ninth of Av, remember that beneath the surface of mourning lies dormant hope. Like those ancient grape seeds, waiting for the right conditions to flourish again, we await the day when wine will be poured not in remembrance of loss but in celebration of redemption. Join us in this exploration of wine, memory, and the seeds of future joy.

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Episode Transcript

S. Simon Jacob (00:09):
Welcome to The Kosher Terroir.
I'm Simon Jacob, your host forthis episode from Jerusalem.
Before we get started, I askthat, wherever you are, please
take a moment and pray for thesafety of our soldiers and the
safe return of all of ourhostages.
There is a time to plant and atime to uproot what is planted.

(00:33):
Kohelet Ecclesiastes.
Welcome back to The KosherTerroir, where wine is more than
just a beverage it's history,halacha, heart and heritage.
As we enter the solemn days thatlead up to Tisha B'Av, the
ninth of Av, we find ourselvesnot just reflecting but mourning

(00:56):
.
Mourning the destruction of twotemples, Mourning exile,
mourning disconnection fromKaddish Baruch Hu, from Hashem
God.
And, intriguingly, jewishtradition calls on us to express
that mourning through our foodand drink, or rather through

(01:17):
what we refrain from eating anddrinking Meat and wine, the
celebratory pair, becomeoff-limits during the days
before Tisha B'Av.
But why?
What does wine, so oftenassociated with joy and holiness
, have to do with mourning?
If you're driving in your car,please focus on the road ahead.

(01:42):
If you're home and it's yourcustom to refrain from drinking
wine, please do so, and I lookforward again after Tisha B'Av
next week, to share and enjoywine together.
More surprisingly, what toancient grapeseeds discovered in

(02:03):
the Negev Desert by Israeliarchaeologists and halakhic
prohibitions like Orla andKilayim not mixing species have
to teach us about destructionand renewal, even in today's
vineyards.
These stories of restriction,of remembrance and of resilience

(02:24):
, to show how halakha, historyand teruah converge in one of
the most sacred and somberseasons on the Jewish calendar.

(02:45):
Why no wine or meat?
Let's begin with the halakha.
The Mishnah in Ta'anit sets thefoundation.
When the month of Av begins, wedecrease in joy.
The Shulchan, aruch or Chaimlists customs to express this,
including refraining frombuilding laundering, bathing and
from eating meat or drinkingwine.
But when exactly do we abstain?

(03:07):
Many Sephardim only abstainduring the week in which Tisha
B'Av falls, the Shavua ShechalBo Ashkenazim abstain from Rosh
Chodeshav, the beginning of themonth.
Abstained from Rosh Chodeshav,the beginning of the month.
And some Hasidim and Kabbalistsabstain even from the 17th of

(03:30):
Tammuz, marking the breach ofJerusalem's walls.
Why meat and wine?
In the Gemara in Pesachim andlater Rashi connects wine and
meat to the temple service.
Sacrifices were accompanied bywine libations and meat from
offerings.
With the loss of the temple, wesymbolically lose the joy they

(03:54):
represent.
Rav Soloveitchik famouslytaught that refraining from
these foods isn't just aboutgrief from these foods isn't
just about grief, it's aboutyearning.
By not drinking wine, weunderscore that we lack true

(04:15):
simcha.
We await the day when wine willagain be poured in holy vessels
and meat will again come fromsacrifices of peace.
Recently, israeli archaeologistsuncovered grape pips seeds in
Avdat, an ancient Nabataean andlater Byzantine outpost in the
Negev.
The seeds date back 1,500 years, suggesting not only wine

(04:40):
production but a thriving desertviticulture.
It's hard to overstate thesignificance.
These were people growinggrapes and making wine in the
desert.
They carved out terraces,channeled water through clever
irrigation and cultivated vinesunder a brutal sun.
Shivta, halutsa and Nitsanaentire settlements supported the

(05:05):
wine industry.
Professor Guy Baroz of theUniversity of Haifa called it a
desert wine culture, a culturebuilt with the sweat of
ingenuity and perhaps with faith, because to plant grapes in the
desert is to believe in thepossibility of a harvest not yet

(05:27):
seen.
So what happened?
The wine economy vanished afterMuslim conquest, when the
consumption of wine fell out ofreligious and cultural favor,
the vineyards were lost, theknowledge was buried, and only
now, literally, are weunearthing it.
The halakhic thread continues inthe vineyard.

(05:49):
The Torah tells us in Vayikrathat fruit from newly planted
trees are forbidden for thefirst three years.
This is Orla.
Grapes are included.
What does this teach?
That it's not just agriculturalpatience, it's spiritual timing

(06:10):
.
You don't rush, holiness.
The first three years are atype of sanctified restraint.
Only in the fourth year is thefruit permitted, and even then,
in the times of the temple, itwas brought to Jerusalem as
Netarevai.
In a world where we want quickreturns, orla says wait, let

(06:37):
things root, let them deepen,let them be worthy.
In Devarim we are warned youshall not sow your vineyard with
two kinds of seed.
This is kilayim, theprohibition against mixing
species.
It's deeply symbolic.

(06:59):
Each species, halakha teaches,has a role.
Mixing grapevines with othercrops blurs boundaries.
Rav Kook saw in Kilayim amessage about preserving
identity, about respectingdistinctions in a world that too
easily muddles them Today.

(07:20):
Even modern viticulturists mustnavigate this.
Israeli kosher vineyards mustbe planted with careful
separation, not just forhalachic reasons, but to uphold
a deeper value integrity ofcreation.
Let me share a story.
A few years ago a young Israeliwinemaker stood at his new

(07:44):
vineyard in the Judean hills.
He had planted vines butcouldn't yet harvest, as it was
still Orla.
A secular friend asked him whywait?
No one will know.
The winemaker answered thisvineyard is my temple, these
grapes are my offerings andhalakha is my priest.

(08:07):
What a powerful image.
In the absence of the BeitHaMikdash, the vineyard becomes
a mikdash ma'at, a smallsanctuary, and every choice,
even when no one is looking,becomes a prayer.
Today, we explored the halakhiccustoms around abstaining from

(08:29):
wine and meat during the daysbefore Tisha B'Av, reflecting
loss and spiritual longing.
The ancient vineyards of theNegev, rediscovered beneath
centuries of sand.
A story of resilience andforgotten wine culture.
The laws of Orla and Kilayim,which embedded sacred boundaries

(08:52):
and patience into the very soilof Jewish agriculture.
Together they form a mosaic ofdiscipline, devotion and hope.
As we approach the ninth of Av,we remember not only what we've
lost, but what might be rebuilt.
Vineyards may lie fallow, thetemple may be destroyed, but

(09:19):
beneath the dust, seeds remain,and just like those ancient pips
, seeds discovered at Avdat.
All it takes is care, halakhaand time, and something
long-dormant may once again bearfruit.
May we merit to drink soon fromthe wine of redemption, pouring

(09:44):
not in mourning but in joy.
This has been The Kosher Terroir.
I'm your host, Simon Jacob, anduntil next time, l'chaim, even
as we wait to say it fully, thisis Simon Jacob, again your host

(10:10):
of today's episode of TheKosher Terroir.
I have a personal request.
No matter where you are orwhere you live, please take a
moment to pray for our soldiers'safety and the safe and rapid
return of our hostages.
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(10:32):
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