Julian Ungar-Sargon

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Daf Ditty

A wide-ranging commentary on the daily page of Talmud.

Jewish Smugglers by Alexander Rizzoni, 1860. (Courtesy of the State Russian Museum.)

Yoma 49: Drunken Kohanim

jyungar May 30, 2021

For the source text click/tap here: Yoma 49

To download, click/tap here: PDF

Wine and spirits you shall not drink, neither you nor your descendants, when you come into the Tent of Meeting… (Leviticus 10:9)

Kohanim were prohibited from entering the Temple after drinking a revi’is of an alcoholic beverage (about 4.5 ounces, plus or minus an ounce). Additionally, a rabbi – even a non-kohein – may not render a legal decision after drinking (see Talmud Eiruvin 64a).

Our Daf quotes a braisa that a drunkard is unfit to do the avodah in the Temple. Tosfos discusses the various opinions as to which beverages will one who consumes them be liable for death, and to which will there be only a transgression. He also discusses when the service is valid, and when it is not.

This leads us to a review by Alan Nadler of Yankel’s Tavern: Jews, Liquor, & Life in the Kingdom of Poland by Glenn Dynner

and the Lubavitcher Rebbe's decree regarding liquor at fabrengens.

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Julian Ungar-Sargon

This is Julian Ungar-Sargon's personal website. It contains poems, essays, and podcasts for the spiritual seeker and interdisciplinary aficionado.​