Wine's Purpose: Connecting to Self in Times of Loss

Full Summary

This shiur examines the Gemara (גמרא) in Sanhedrin 70b which states that wine was created only to comfort mourners (l'nachem aveilim). Rabbi Zweig begins by questioning this assertion, noting that wine serves many positive mitzvah (מצוה) purposes - Kiddush, Yom Tov celebrations, and other religious observances. He also raises a chronological difficulty: if wine was created on the third day of creation before any sin occurred, how could it have been created specifically for comforting mourners when there was no death or mourning yet? The shiur develops an innovative interpretation centered on the concept of da'as (knowledge/awareness). Drawing on the Targum Yerushalmi's explanation that "bereishis bara" means God created with His "rosh" (head/wisdom), Rabbi Zweig suggests that wine's primary function is to connect a person to their inner self - their da'as. This explains why wine might have been the Eitz HaDa'as (Tree of Knowledge), as all three opinions of what constituted that tree (grapes, wheat, figs) are from the shivat haminim that represent connection to one's essence. The analysis explains that wine can connect a person to two aspects of themselves: either to their physical nature (afar and dam - dust and blood) or to their spiritual essence (neshamah). When the Gemara states "sofo dam" (its end is blood), it doesn't mean wine leads to death, but rather that overindulgence connects one excessively to their physical nature. This explains Noach's behavior after the flood - having witnessed the world's destruction and feeling responsible for the failure, he sought to connect with his physical essence to alleviate his sense of spiritual responsibility. The concept of "l'nachem aveilim" is reinterpreted not just as comforting mourners of the dead, but as addressing any sense of loss or failure. Even in a world without sin, there would be spiritual challenges and the pressure to grow, creating potential for disappointment when one doesn't achieve their full potential. Wine serves to reconnect people to themselves during such difficult moments. The shiur connects this to the gematria of yayin (wine) equaling 13 vavs found in the section about Noach's drinking. The vav represents "woe" (vai), expressing loss. Wine addresses our sense of loss by helping us reconnect to our core self. This also explains havdalah - as Shabbos (שבת) ends and we feel the loss of its holiness, wine helps us reconnect to ourselves for the coming week. The analysis concludes that wine's ultimate purpose is to ground us in self-awareness during times of spiritual or emotional challenge.