Conclusion

In a famous passage, the fifth-century B.C.E. Greek historian Herodotus says of the Persians:

. . . it is their custom to deliberate about the gravest matters when they are drunk; and what they approve in their counsels is proposed to them the next day by the master of the house where they deliberate, when they are now sober and if being sober they still approve it, they act thereon, but if not, they cast it aside. And when they have taken counsel about a matter when sober, they decide upon it when they are drunk. (Godley 1999, 173–75, Persian Wars 1.133)

While the Rabbis would disapprove of deliberating weighty matters while intoxicated (as discussed in chapters 2, 6, and 9), they would agree that drinking plays a central role in one’s individual, communal, and theological life.

Throughout this book, I have argued that exploration of rabbinic texts about drinks and drinking can serve to introduce key themes in rabbinic literature. Beverages appear everywhere from biblical interpretation to medical opinions. Glasses are raised at weddings, at funerals, at Sabbath feasts, and at everyday meals. Rabbis visit taverns and the homes of colleagues, where ordinary and extraordinary events unfold. Tales are told and people explode. Wine and beer most often fill the rabbinic cup, though other beverages, such as water and milk (from both human and non-human animals), appear as well. I have neither investigated every rabbinic theme nor every aspect of every theme and/or beverage explored herein. My goal has not only been to introduce rabbinic themes, but also to demonstrate the joy encountered in the mental workout of swimming in the sea of Talmud. In short, I aim not only to wet your whistle but also to whet your appetite. As with drinking wine before Passover (see chapter 6), I hope that you are hungry to consume more.

In light of this hope, and in addition to the resources noted in chapter 1 and in the “Suggested Readings” at the end of each chapter, I want to take a moment to recommend that readers who are thirsty for more rabbinic literature should begin by imbibing more rabbinic texts. Knowledge of Hebrew and Aramaic is useful, needless to say, but there are numerous accessible English translations, including the Artscroll, Koren, Soncino, and Steinsaltz editions of the Babylonian Talmud and other rabbinic texts. As a teacher, I often require affordable source books such as Schiffman 1998, Rubenstein 2002, and Solomon 2009. For those who wish to read online, I highly recommend www.sefaria.org, which provides not only English translations and the original Hebrew and/or Aramaic texts of classical rabbinic documents, but a growing collection of source sheets prepared by educators, thus allowing readers to learn a variety of texts, topics, and themes.

At the conclusion of every Babylonian Talmud tractate in the modern standard printed edition, the following formula appears:

We shall return to you [Name of the Last Chapter]; and Tractate [Name] is concluded.

After completing the study of a tractate, there is a tradition of reciting a ritual liturgy (Aramaic hadran; meaning: “We shall return”) and then offering a festive meal (known in Hebrew as a siyum; meaning: “completion”). As we might expect, after “drink[ing] their words with thirst” (m. Avot 1:4), students not only eat, but drink, on these festive occasions. So I invite my readers to partake of this tradition. Pour yourself a drink and celebrate. But then sober up and return to read once again.

Conclusion

SUGGESTED READINGS