To Life! L’Chayim!
Why do Jews proclaim this blessing when raising our glasses to toast festive occasions?
There are several suggestions, and one of them has to do with a violent image that shows up throughout the Hebrew Bible, with a special mention in today’s psalm.
The poet who wrote this chapter wonders how to handle the existence of real challenges and enemies, and in the midst of a national crisis wants to know what will the divine do to make sure the nation survives and wins its never-ending battles.
The answer: With a cup full of vengeance, raised high as a way to punish, possibly poison, those foreign nations who wish harm to the poet’s people.
And they will have to drink it all down:
כִּ֤י כ֪וֹס בְּֽיַד־יְהֹוָ֡ה וְיַ֤יִן חָמַ֨ר ׀ מָ֥לֵא מֶסֶךְ֮ וַיַּגֵּ֢ר מִ֫זֶּ֥ה אַךְ־שְׁ֭מָרֶיהָ יִמְצ֣וּ יִשְׁתּ֑וּ כֹּ֝֗ל רִשְׁעֵי־אָֽרֶץ׃
“There is a cup in YHWH’s hand
with foaming wine fully mixed;
from this YHWH pours;
all the wicked of the earth drink,
draining it to the very dregs.”
Ps. 75:9
Vengeance and violence are not new features of the Hebrew canon or most other world cultures. And it is, tragically, familiar to us these days, fueled by fury and suspicion of the other - whoever the other is.
The mention of this cup of rage is not unique to today’s chapter, either.
We’ve encountered it in the words of the prophet Jeremiah, in despair on the eve of Jerusalem’s demise, and more recently in psalm 11 - “Upon the wicked God will cause to rain coals; Fire and brimstone and burning wind shall be the portion of their cup.”
Where does the concept of a cup of curses come from? And what does it have to do with how we bless our wine today?
One theory, not accepted by all historians, brings evidence from the Babylonian Talmud, in Tractate Sanhedrin, discusses the specific details of public executions. We don’t have solid data but it is assumed that some 2,000 years ago, Jewish courts of law were able to sentence some people to death and occasionally, if rarely, did.
One ancient regulation was that before the condemned were executed, they’d be given a last gesture - a final cup of wine. This may have been an act of mercy, as a form of sedative to dull the pain. The drinking ritual became associated with a proclamation - drink to your death - or to your life.
The proclamation had to do with the judicial procedure. When the judges on a case that may merit capital punishment would present their conclusion - they would commence with a formulaic question to the other members of the court, in Aramaic: ‘Savri Maranan’ — Have the judges reached a conclusion? And the court would respond:’ If to death then to death - if to life - then to life.’ Then the sentence would be declared, and the cup would be poured if that was the case.
With time, capital punishment was banished from Jewish courts of law, but the traditional toast -- to life! — was adapted and became a staple of Judaic ritual vocabulary, performed when we gather for sabbaths or festivals, weddings or other celebrations. The Kiddush prayer over the wine includes the Aramaic introduction - Savri Maranan.
Whatever the origin of this custom, we are still left with cups of blessing and life - and the biblical image of a cup of curses reserved for those who threaten our lives.
Choosing life and the sanctity of living is a choice we each get to make in ways big and small.
When we say L’chayim what we wish for is a life of blessing and joy, with reasons to lift up what makes us appreciate every moment and gesture, a little more. Joy, like hope, is a choice.
And what about the cup of wrath? The image of the cup that will be given to the enemies so that they will drink, die, and let us live in peace — is the shadow side of the cup of blessing that we’d all rather always drink from.
Our cup always contains both blessings and curses, what is or isn’t affirming our highest values and choices.
Death or life may not always be in our hands - ours or that of others. But it’s on us to ask ourselves the same questions that Asaph the poet asks in today’s poem — is our attitude affirming life or death? What will help us and others live with love, trust, peace, and quench the thirst of the world for blessing, with less violence and fear?
Tomorrow is a fast day - the day on which we begin the three weeks of sorrow, in recollection of national calamities and losses, as well as internal strife and discord. We raise a cup tonight to days of healing, friendly feasts and meaningful fasts that will help us grieve, and grow, and choose life over death, peace over war, again and again.
L’chayim. Let there be life.
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