Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Vayikra Rabbah 12 that explores the dangers of overindulgence. It all starts with a verse from Leviticus (10:9): “Wine or intoxicating drink you shall not drink, you and your sons with you, upon your entry into the Tent of Meeting, and you will not die; an eternal statute for your generations.”
But this isn't just about priests avoiding a tipple before their duties. It's a cautionary tale, a deep dive into how unchecked desires can lead us astray. The Rabbis, in their wisdom, saw something more profound in this prohibition.
The passage begins by quoting Proverbs (23:31): “Do not look upon wine in its redness [ki yitadam].” What does ki yitadam even mean? The text cleverly interprets it as "because [ki] he will desire [yitaveh] the blood [dam] of a menstruant and the blood of a zava." A zava, for those unfamiliar, is a woman experiencing an unusual discharge. This isn't meant to be literal, of course. The idea is that fixating on wine can ignite other, less holy, desires and lead to transgressions.
It continues, "As to one who directs his eye to the cup [bakos]" (Proverbs 23:31), it says bakis is written, a euphemism! We find in Proverbs (1:14): “There will be one purse [kis] for us all." This is a veiled reference, the text suggests, to sharing a prostitute. Whoa. So, glancing at the cup can lead down a road we really don’t want to travel.
Rabbi Asi adds another layer. He says that if the wine-lover is a Torah scholar, he might even twist the law, ruling that the pure is impure and the impure pure. Intoxicating, isn’t it?
The passage doesn’t stop there. It paints a vivid picture of the downward spiral. "Do not look upon wine in its redness" (Proverbs 23:31) – because it literally causes one to turn red. The drinker focuses on the cup [kos], while the storekeeper eyes his purse [kis]. "All paths are upright [meisharim]," but ultimately, he will render his house a plain [meishera] – emptying it of all possessions. He’ll sell everything he owns just to keep drinking!
Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Redifa, quoting Rabbi Ami, emphasizes this point: ultimately, he will sell all his household utensils and drink wine with the proceeds.
Then, Rabbi Aḥa shares a sobering anecdote. A man becomes so addicted that he sells all his belongings for wine. His children, understandably desperate, get him drunk, leave him in a cemetery, and merchants passing by use the cemetery to hide goods. The drunk man awakens and finds a wineskin above his head and drinks it. The children realize that even in this state, the Creator has provided for him. The children then take turns providing him with wine each day.
The passage then shifts to (Proverbs 23:34-35): “You will be like one lying in the midst of the sea, or like one lying at the top of a mast.” The drunk is like a ship reeling in the waves, or a rooster swaying on a rope, losing all sense of balance and control. “They struck me but I was not hurt…They beat me, but I did not know.” He's exploited, overcharged, and doesn't even realize it. And even after all of this, “When I will awaken, I will continue to seek more” (Proverbs 23:35). The addiction has taken over.
Rav Huna, commenting on (Proverbs 23:29) ("To whom, woe? To whom, alas? To whom, strife? To whom, talk?"), connects these woes to those who don't engage with Torah. He then shares a story of a man who needed to drink twelve log (a liquid measurement) of wine daily. One day he only has eleven, and he searches for the final one, even in the darkness. He ends up getting beaten by watchmen who mistake him for a thief, fulfilling the prophecy of "wounds without cause" for those who linger over wine.
So, what's the ultimate consequence? “Ultimately, it bites like a serpent [and secretes [yifrosh] like a basilisk]” (Proverbs 23:32). Just as a basilisk separates between death and life, so too, wine has separated people from their potential throughout history.
Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai says that the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge that Adam ate was grapes. It brought bitterness to the world. Wine separated Noah and his descendants, leading to the curse upon Canaan. It separated Lot from his daughters, resulting in incest and illegitimacy (mamzerut).
And perhaps most poignantly, it separated Aaron and his sons, leading to the death of his sons. Rabbi Shimon says they died because they entered the Tent of Meeting drunk. Rabbi Pinḥas compares this to a king who executes a disloyal servant found near taverns. The king then warns the new servant to stay away from those places, revealing the reason for the first servant's demise. Similarly, God forbade Aaron and his sons from drinking before entering the Tent of Meeting, revealing the cause of the tragedy that befell Aaron’s sons.
So, what’s the takeaway from this ancient text? It's not about total abstinence. It's about awareness, about recognizing the potential for even seemingly harmless pleasures to become destructive forces in our lives. It's about staying present, engaged, and mindful, so we don't find ourselves reeling like a ship lost at sea. And maybe, just maybe, it's a reminder to choose wisdom over the fleeting allure of the cup.
“Wine or intoxicating drink you shall not drink, you and your sons with you, upon your entry into the Tent of Meeting, and you will not die; an eternal statute for your generations” (Leviticus 10:9). “Wine or intoxicating drink you shall not drink.” That is what is written: “Do not look upon wine in its redness [ki yitadam]” (Proverbs 23:31). What is ki yitadam? Because [ki] he will desire [yitaveh] the blood [dam] of a menstruant and the blood of a zava.1The verse is interpreted to mean that one should not look upon wine because that could lead to overindulgence in drinking, which could create the desire to behave licentiously, even if that means transgressing severe prohibitions. “As to one who directs his eye to the cup [bakos]” (Proverbs 23:31), bakis is written, it is a euphemism, as it is written: “There will be one purse [kis] for us all” (Proverbs 1:14).2This is a euphemism for sharing a prostitute. “All paths are upright” (Proverbs 23:31); ultimately, his wife says to him: ‘I saw like a red rose,’3I saw menstrual blood. and he will not separate [from her]. Rabbi Asi said: If he is a Torah scholar, ultimately, he will rule that the pure is impure and that the impure is pure. Another matter, “do not look upon wine in its redness” (Proverbs 23:31) – it literally causes one to turn red. “As to one who directs his eye to the cup [kos]” – he directs his eye to the cup while the storekeeper direct his eye to the purse [kis]. “All paths are upright [meisharim],” ultimately he will render his house a plain [meishera].4He will empty it of all possessions. [He thinks:] What can be accomplished with this bronze vessel can be accomplished with an earthenware vessel. He will sell it and drink wine with the proceeds of its sale. Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Redifa said in the name of Rabbi Ami: Ultimately, he will sell all his household utensils and drink wine with the proceeds. Rabbi Aḥa said: There was an incident involving one who would sell his household utensils and drink wine with the proceeds. His children said: ‘This father of ours will not leave us anything.’ They gave him to drink, intoxicated him, took him out and placed him in a certain cemetery. Wine merchants were passing by the cemetery gates and they heard the sound of government troops in the city. They unloaded their cargo inside the cemetery and went to see the tumult in the city. He awoke from his slumber and saw a wineskin. He placed it above his head, untied it, and placed it in his mouth. After three days, his children said: ‘Will we not go and see what our father is doing?’ They went and they found him with that wineskin placed in his mouth. They said: ‘Even here, your Creator has not forsaken you. Since He gave it to you, we do not know what we can do to you.’ His children instituted an arrangement between them that each of them would give him to drink for one day.5They would switch off providing him with wine. “You will be like one lying in the midst of the sea, or like one lying at the top of a mast” (Proverbs 23:34) – like a ship that is reeling in the midst of the sea, falling and rising, falling and rising. “Or like one lying at the top of a mast” – like a rooster that is perched upon a rope and sways to and fro, to and fro, like a captain that is perched atop the masthead swaying to and fro, . “They struck me but I was not hurt” (Proverbs 23:35) – they strike him but he does not feel it. “They beat me, but I did not know” (Proverbs 23:35) – they exploit him but he is unaware. He drinks five log of beer, and they say to him: You drank ten log.6They overcharge him and he cannot even argue with them. If you say: When he awakens from his slumber he will forget it,7He will move on from his preoccupation with wine. the verse states: “When I will awaken, I will continue to seek more” (Proverbs 23:35). “To whom, woe? To whom, alas? To whom, strife? To whom, talk?” (Proverbs 23:29). Rav Huna said: It is to one who does not toil in matters of Torah. “To whom, strife [midyanim]?” – to whom, litigation [dinin]? “To whom, talk” – to whom, prattle? “To whom, wounds without cause?” (Proverbs 23:29) – to whom, unprovoked injuries? [All these are:] “To those who linger over wine” (Proverbs 23:30). There was an incident involving a certain person who was accustomed to drink twelve log of wine each and every day. One day, he drank eleven log. He lay down but could not sleep. He got up in the darkness and went to the storekeeper. He said to him: ‘Sell me one log.’ He said to him: ‘I will not open for you, as it is dark and I am concerned due to the night watchmen.’ He lifted his eyes and saw a hole in the door. He said to him: ‘Give me through this hole. You will pour inside and I will drink outside.’ He did so for him and he fell asleep before the door. The watchmen passed him, they thought he was a thief, and they struck him and wounded him. They read in his regard: “To whom, wounds without cause” – to whom, unprovoked injuries? “To whom, redness of the eyes?” (Proverbs 23:29) – to whom, eyes as red as the sun? All these are “to those who linger over wine.” This is one who enters the tavern first and exits last. It is “to those who come to assess the blend” (Proverbs 23:30). To one who, when he hears that someone has good wine, follows him. What is ultimately written in his regard? “Ultimately, it bites like a serpent [and secretes [yifrosh] like a basilisk]” (Proverbs 23:32). Just as the basilisk separates between death and life,8When it bites, it causes death. so too, wine separated between Adam and Eve, as Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai said: That [fruit of the] tree from which Adam the first man ate was grapes. “Their grapes are grapes of poison [their clusters are bitter]” (Deuteronomy 32:32); these introduced bitterness to the world. Another matter, “and secretes [yifrosh] like a basilisk.” Just as the basilisk separates [mafrish] between death and life, so too, wine separated [hifrish] between Noah and his descendants regarding slavery. That is what is written: “He drank of the wine, and was drunk; and he was uncovered” (Genesis 9:21). As a result of this he said: “Cursed is Canaan [a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers]” (Genesis 9:25). Another matter, “and secretes [yifrosh] like a basilisk.” So too, wine separated [hifrish] between Lot and his daughters for mamzerut.9This is the status of a child born of incestuous or adulterous relations. That is what is written: “They gave their father wine to drink” (Genesis 19:33). As a result, “Lot’s two daughters were impregnated by their father” (Genesis 19:36). Another matter, “and secretes [yifrosh] like a basilisk.” Just as the basilisk separates [mafrish] between death and life, so too, wine separated [hifrish] between Aaron and his sons for death, as Rabbi Shimon taught: Aaron’s sons died only because they entered the Tent of Meeting intoxicated with wine. Rabbi Pinḥas said in the name of Rabbi Levi: This is analogous to a king who had a loyal servant. He found him standing at the entrance to taverns. He beheaded him quietly, and appointed another servant in his stead. We do not know for what reason he killed the first. However, from what he commanded the second, saying: ‘Do not enter the area at the entrance to the taverns,’ we know that it was for that reason that he killed the first. So too, “fire emerged from before the Lord and consumed them” (Leviticus 10:2), but we do not know why they died. However, from what he commanded Aaron, saying to him: “Wine or intoxicating drink you shall not drink” (Leviticus 10:9), we know that they died only due to the wine. That is why the verse showed affection to Aaron and directed the divine speech to him alone, as it is stated: “[The Lord spoke to Aaron saying]: “Wine or intoxicating drink you shall not drink” (Leviticus 10:8–9).
