87BINAH / FEBRUARY 27, 2017

88BINAH / 1 ADAR 5777

Chavy Helfgott

The nurses and doctors stared in shock as a young chassidic man

— my father — raced into the hospital room clutching a cluster of grapes. He grabbed two clean sheets off the linen cart, gasping, “My Rabbi said, my Rabbi said…” He then proceeded to squeeze the grapes onto the linen and put the grape juice-soaked linen onto my mother’s stomach and forehead.

Moments later, the doctors gasped in surprise. “The

bleeding has stopped!”It was a miracle.

My mother had just suffered a late

miscarriage, following which she began hemorrhaging heavily. The doctors could not find a way to stop the bleeding, and finally told my father that he had to sign a consent for a procedure that would make it impossible for her to have any more children — and she had only two children.

Desperate, my father raced to call the Skulener Rebbe, shlita, while they wheeled my mother to the operating room. The Rebbe instructed him to buy grapes, squeeze the juice onto some linen, and place it on her forehead and stomach.

Years later, when browsing the sefer Agra d’Pirka by the Bnei Yissaschar , my father discovered the source of this refuah. The Bnei Yissaschar quotes Harav Pinchas Koritzer, who said that grapes and wine are a segulah for all sicknesses of the blood. What is the connection? In Birchos Yaakov, it says, Literally, this is translated as, “And with the blood of grapes binds his raiment.” But Harav Pinchas Koritzer says that it’s similar to

FRUIT OF THEVINE

THEME AND VARIATIONS

89BINAH / FEBRUARY 27, 2017

90BINAH / 1 ADAR 5777

the Aramic word , which means health, thus indicating that the juice of grapes are good for illnesses involving blood.

Grapes are clearly a fruit with tremendous potency, both physically and spiritually. They play a big part in all our Yamim Tovim, but on Purim, they loom larger than life. Let’s explore grapes and their role in Yiddishkeit.

GRAPES IN JUDAISMThe grape’s physical “super-food”

status is mirrored in its spiritual status by the outsize role it plays in Yiddishkeit.

The grapevine is not grand or majestic — it looks more like a bush than a tree. But it is the only fruit about which the Torah says, “It delights G-d and man” (Shoftim 9:13).

At first glance, it seems odd that the fruit of this humble-looking plant is chosen for use in so many mitzvos. This is a good reminder that external appearance does not matter; it is our “fruits,” or actions, that have meaning.

Enjoy some Jewish grape trivia:• The grape is one of the oldest

cultivated fruit trees. In fact, according to Rabi Meir, the etz hadaas was a grapevine.

• When the Meraglim went to scout out Eretz Yisrael, they brought back samples of fruit. The enormous bunch of grapes they picked required two men on each side of a pole to carry it.

• The Navi Hoshea twice compares the Jewish people to grapes, both positively and negatively. He first says “K’anavim bamidbar matzasi Yisrael — like grapes in the desert I have found Yisrael.” But later he says, “Gefen

bokak Yisrael, pri yishaveh lo — Yisrael is a vine devoid of fruit fitting for it,” referring to the way they used their blessings and land for sin.

• Yeshayahu HaNavi makes a similar comparison, comparing Bnei Yisrael to Hashem’s vineyard: “Ki kerem Hashem … beis Yisrael — For the vineyard of Hashem is the House of Yisrael.”

• The Torah and talmidei chachamim are also compared to wine. Why? Wine is one of those rare things that improve with age. Similarly, the more a person studies Torah and the older he gets, his richer and more mature his Torah knowledge and wisdom become. Our ability to appreciate the Torah also increases as we get older.

As the Maharal of Prague said in sefer Ohr Chadash, “There is an essential connection between wine and people. The older a person becomes, the clearer his thoughts. So, too, with wine. The more it ages, the better it becomes.”

LOOK OUT FOR PESTICIDES!Unfortunately, grapes are one of the most problematic fruits in terms of pesticides. Make sure to wash them well or, if possible, buy organic grapes.

HOW DOES WINE BECOME DRY OR SWEET?What happens to all the sugar that was in the grapes? Yeast transforms the sugar into alcohol. The more alcohol there is, the less sugar. A dry wine has no residual sugar, while sweet wine has plenty of sugar left.

CHOCK-FULL OF HEALTHAs Tuvia Cohen writes in his book Designer World, grapes are to adults what mother’s milk is for babies — yes, you can survive for several weeks on a diet of grapes. In fact, you’d probably be a lot healthier after a few weeks on a grape-only diet. So, what is it about grapes that make them such a powerhouse of nutritional goodness?

They are a rich source of:Vitamin K – essential in building strong bones and plays a vital role in blood clotting;Copper – helps absorb iron and is instrumental in energy production;Resveratrol – a grape phytonutrient believed to play a role in longevity;Antioxidants – protect against cancer;Fiber, potassium and plyphenols – prevent platelet buildup in arteries. Potassium also has anti-inflammatory mechanisms that reduce blood pressure.Grapes have a high sugar content but low glycemic index, which makes them a good source of long-term energy, and their high water content plus fiber are excellent for helping with constipation and digestion in general.

OLDEST-KNOWN WINE CELLARJust four years ago, a 3,700-year-old royal Canaanite wine cellar was discovered in Tel Kabri in northern Eretz Yisrael. Analyzing the contents of the jars found in the cellar of the ancient palace, archeologists found tartaric acid, a key component in grapes. They also found traces of other compounds, such as honey, mint and other herbs, suggesting that ancient wine-makers infused their wines with flavors, as is done today. However, unlike todays’ smooth-tasting liquids, these wines were probably more like cough syrup, with a sweet, strong and medicinal taste.

91BINAH / FEBRUARY 27, 2017

92BINAH / 1 ADAR 5777

What’s the most basic drink? Water, of course.

But not always. In ancient Israel, it was sometimes difficult to find natural springs. Cisterns were cut into bedrock to collect rain, but these were often contaminated and not suitable for drinking.

So what did people drink? Wine! It was the most commonly consumed beverage in those days.

Because it takes several years after planting for a vineyard to begin producing quality grapes, vineyards symbolized prosperity and permanence. As it says often in Tanach referring to times of peace and prosperity, “Ish tachas gafno — Each man beneath his vineyard. Only stable societies were able to successfully manage vineyards.

ANCIENT VINEYARDSAside from oil, wine was the biggest

agricultural produce in Eretz Yisrael in the times of the Tanach. Grapes, grape clusters and vines were frequently featured on coins and jars in those days. In fact, it is written that Dovid Hamelech had so many vineyards and such a large wine cellar that he had two court

officials to direct them. One oversaw the vineyards, while the other was in charge of the cellar. This is the first record of a sommelier (wine steward.) Many coins commemorating the victories of the Chashmona’im and Bar Kochva were inscribed with images of grapes.

Winemaking reached its peak in the time of the second Beis Hamikdash, when it was a major export and the mainstay of the economy. The landscape of Eretz Yisrael is scattered with the ruins of countless ancient winepresses from this era. But it all ended abruptly when the Jews were exiled by the Romans. After the Arab conquest in the year 600, most remaining vineyards were completely uprooted due to the Muslim prohibition on alcohol.

WINEMAKING IN ERETZ YISRAEL TODAY

The modern Israeli wine industry was founded by Baron Edmond James de Rothschild. In 1882, a hundred Romanian immigrants founded the village of Tzammarim, but they had a very rough start. Those who didn’t return to Romania either perished from malaria or nearly starved to death when they failed to establish successful farms in the rocky soil.

The settlement seemed doomed until Baron Rothschild swooped in to save the village, which he renamed Zichron Yaakov in memory of his father. Acting on the suggestion that the soil was ideal for grape growing, the Baron sent his own viticulturists to plant vineyards there. Although he was involved in other settlements, such as Rishon Letzion, Rothschild’s most famous — and most massive — investment was the Carmel Winery, which he founded in Zichron Yaakov in 1892, with a staggering 11 million francs.

Today, Carmel Winery is the largest winery in Eretz Yisrael, producing 15 million bottles of wine a year. But it enjoys the company of many other wineries, from the Negev up to the Golan.

HOW IS WINE MADE?Wine is the fermented juice of the grape. The grapes are crushed between two cylinders set far enough apart that they do not crush the seeds. The first juice makes the finest wines. The juice is then poured into huge vats, where it is kept until it ferments as desired. After this, the wine is put into casks until it is ready for drinking. It is at this point that the wine acquires its own particular flavor and aroma.

The winepress (gat) was normally a limestone basin cut into rock, situated close to the vineyard. A wooden structure often

surrounded and covered the press to provide shade. Grapes would be carried in baskets and laid on the floor of the winepress. As is well known, the grapes were squeezed by treading on them with bare feet. Why was this the chosen method? Because feet provide enough pressure to extract the juice without crushing the grape seeds, which would impart a bitter flavor to the wine. Of course, nobody wanted to slip on grape peels and juice. Ropes were attached to the roof so the treaders had something to hold onto during the crushing process.The juice produced would flow down a channel from the pressing area into a deeper hole known as the yekev (winery.) To keep out unwanted sediment, twigs or thorns would be placed above the yekev to act as a basic filter. Inside the yekev the wine would begin to ferment, with the depth of the hole and the surrounding stone keeping the temperature stable. Three to five days later, fermentation was complete

and the wine was ready. It was then channeled to an even deeper pit, where the wine was poured into a kind of pottery container known as “amphorae” in Greek. The containers had two large handles and a pointed bottom, and they were sealed with pine resin which was stamped with information about the vintage, vineyard, wine type and color.

First century wine-pressing trough in the Old City.

WINEMAKING IN ANCIENT TIMESVINEYARDS AND WINEPRESSES

YAYIN NESECHWe are forbidden to drink wine together with non-Jews, or even to drink wine that was touched by a

non-Jew. Why? It is a preventative measure against socializing and mixing with them.The story is told of Rav Yechiel of Paris, one of the Baalei Hatosafos, who was invited by the king of

France to a special banquet. The king poured him a cup of wine, which Rabi Yechiel did not drink. Yet when the king dipped his fingers in a bowl of water before starting the meal, Rabi Yechiel drank some of that water and said, “You see, Your Majesty, my religion forbids me to drink the wine which you touched, but it does not forbid me to drink the water in which you washed your hands.”