Sheva Brachot (Part 3)
A husband and wife are one soul, separated only through their descent to this world.
When they are married, they are reunited again.
Zohar HaKadosh
The first of the Sheva Brachot is: Blessed are you, Hashem, our
Much emphasis is placed on wine in Judaism. As we have discussed in previous articles, wine is drunk every Shabbat and every Yom Tov, used for both Kiddush and Havdalah; Seder Night -- one of the holiest and sublime nights of the year -- revolves around four cups of wine. And we haven’t even mentioned Purim! Wine is an integral part of the Jewish life-cycle as well: Chuppah, Brit Milah, and Pidyon HaBen [redemption of the first-born son] all require wine as an essential component of the ceremony.
Which is all somewhat perplexing, as wine is to ‘blame’ for many of the negative narratives found in the Torah:
Rabbi Yehuda, in identifying the Tree of Knowledge as a grapevine, states (Brachot 40a): “There is nothing that brings [as much] grief upon mankind as does wine.” The Midrash (Tanchuma, Parshat Noach) famously describes the way that overindulging in wine, glass by glass, transforms a person from a human being into someone who behaves like an animal – without their even realizing what is happening to them.
It’s a little like the fellow who goes into a bar, orders five glasses of wine and drinks them down. He orders four more glasses and drinks them as well; he then orders three glasses, then two, and finally one. After drinking the last glass of wine, he says to the bartender: “I don’t get it. The less wine I drink, the drunker I get!”
Drunkenness is so anathema to proper living that Rabbi Yeshayah Horowitz writes (Shnei Luchot Habrit,
Sha’ar Ha’otiyot, Kedushah): “A person needs to beware of overindulging in drink. For drunkenness harms a person’s body, destroys his mind, and causes all the woes in the world. We find this by Noach that drunkenness caused him harm and shame, and it was the reason for his children to be cursed…This teaches us that no good comes out of wine, and so too with all other intoxicating beverages.”
In effect, wine and its overindulgence represent nature controlling mankind as opposed to mankind controlling nature.
And yet, as mentioned, the most significant moments in Judaism are nearly always commemorated with wine. As King David poetically articulates, “Wine brings joy to the hearts of men” (Tehillim 104:15). Rabbi David Kimche explains that wine, when drunk judiciously, gladdens the heart and uplifts a person and it can enhance a person’s intellect, as well. And, as we are all aware, when wine is overindulged it has the opposite effect and brings in its wake destruction and strife.
In fact, so profound is the potential positive effect of wine on our spiritual beings that Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira teaches (Pesachim 109a), “Ein simcha eleh b’yayin” – that the mitzvah to rejoice cannot be [totally] fulfilled without wine!
So, which is it? Is wine the primary source of all wailing in the world as it states in Brachot? Or, is wine, as per Pesachim, the source of true joy? The answer is that it is both. When used in moderation wine can bring us to a state of happiness and serenity. And when overused wine becomes the source of grief and devastation. Like everything else in this physical world that we inhabit, it is not the wine that is the source of joy or wailing. Rather, it is what we do with it. The results of drinking wine will be defined through our behavior! When used to enhance our Avodat Hashem wine is one of the most sublime mediums to draw us closer to our Father in Heaven. That is why there were wine libations offered up in the Holy Temple every day. And the same wine, when abused, is something so negative that it has the power to decimate what were once deep and meaningful relationships, leaving nothing but misery in its tracks.
Perhaps that is a reason why the first blessing recited under the chuppah is over a cup of wine. To remind the Chattan and Kallah that in the same way that wine has the potential to increase Hashem’s Majesty in this world or to diminish it, so, too, their marriage can be the source of unparalleled nachat for Hashem or, chalilah, it can be an immeasurable source of disappointment.
To be continued…
