Alcohol and the Tree of Knowledge The Tree of Knowledge from which Adam ate was a grapevine. Sanhedrin 70a Reb Noson writes: Wine has two potential powers, one good and one evil. It comes from a very exalted source, as is evident in the Hebrew word for wine, yayin (ihh), which is numerically equal to 70. Wine thus corresponds to the “Seventy Facets” of Torah and to the “Seventy Elders” (“elders” indicates wisdom; see below, Chapter 34). Partaking of wine in purity and with holy joy can help one ascend to very lofty levels indeed. This is possible with the drinking of the sacramental wine of Kiddush on Shabbat and Festivals, on Purim or on the celebration of a mitzvah. But the power for evil inherent in wine and alcoholic beverages is also extremely potent. It can arouse a person’s lusts, especially the lust for immorality. The verse thus states (Proverbs 23:31), “Do not look upon wine when it is red.” Our Sages comment (Sanhedrin 70a), “For its end brings red [i.e., blood, judgments and suffering].” Alcohol abuse befuddles the mind as it enters the bloodstream. One may feel joyous when he is drunk, but this is so only because the wine “heats up” the blood, inciting one to immorality, strife and many other evils (Likutey Halakhot, Yayin Nesekh 4:1–6).
