Rava's Use of Prov. 23.31

ByRabbi Drew Kaplan

משלי כ״ג:ל״א

אַל־תֵּ֥רֶא יַיִן֮ כִּ֪י יִתְאַ֫דָּ֥ם כִּֽי־יִתֵּ֣ן בכיס [בַּכּ֣וֹס] עֵינ֑וֹ יִ֝תְהַלֵּ֗ךְ בְּמֵישָׁרִֽים׃

Proverbs 23:31

Do not ogle that red wine As it lends its color to the cup, As it flows on smoothly;

While this collection of texts focusses on Rava's use of Prov. 23.31, there are two previous rabbis who reference it:

יומא ע״ד ב:ט״ז

(משלי כג, לא) כי יתן בכוס עינו יתהלך במישרים ר' אמי ור' אסי

חד אמר כל הנותן עינו בכוסו עריות כולן דומות עליו כמישור

וחד אמר כל הנותן עינו בכוסו כל העולם כולו דומה עליו כמישור

Yoma 74b:16

“Do not look upon the wine when it is red, when it gives its color in the cup, when it glides down smoothly [bemeisharim]” (Proverbs 23:31). Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi disagreed.

One said: Whoever casts his eye on his cup, i.e., is habitually drunk, all the prohibitions of those with whom relations are forbidden seem to him like level [mishor] ground. He is unaware of the pitfalls of sin and continues walking along a twisted and dangerous path.

And one said: Whoever casts his eye on his cup, the whole world seems to him like level [mishor] ground. Not only is such a person unconcerned by forbidden sexual relations, but all other prohibitions, e.g., monetary prohibitions, also seem permitted in his eyes.

סנהדרין ע׳ א:י״ג

א"ר יצחק מאי דכתיב (משלי כג, לא) אל תרא יין כי יתאדם אל תרא יין שמאדים פניהם של רשעים בעוה"ז ומלבין פניהם לעוה"ב

Sanhedrin 70a:13

Rabbi Yitzḥak says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Look not upon wine when it is red” (Proverbs 23:31)? Look not upon wine that reddens the faces of the wicked in this world when they drink it, and whitens their faces, i.e., embarrasses them, in the World-to-Come.

With these three earlier rabbinic opinions about this verse having been articulated, Rava uses this verse in the following four statements:

בבא בתרא צ״ז ב:י׳

בעא מיניה רב כהנא חמוה דרב משרשיא מרבא חמר חווריין מהו אמר ליה (משלי כג, לא) אל תרא יין כי יתאדם:

Bava Batra 97b:10

Rav Kahana, father-in-law of Rav Mesharshiyya, asked Rava: With regard to using white wine for libations and for the sanctification of the Shabbat day, what is the halakha? He said to him in response that the verse states: “Do not look upon the wine when it is red, when it gives its color in the cup, when it glides down smoothly” (Proverbs 23:31), which indicates that red wine is considered to be of a superior quality.

פסחים ק״ח ב:ז׳

רבי יהודה אומר צריך שיהא בו טעם ומראה אמר רבא מאי טעמא דרבי יהודה דכתיב אל תרא יין כי יתאדם

Pesachim 108b:7

The baraita stated that Rabbi Yehuda says the cup from which one drinks must have the taste and appearance of wine. Rava said: What is the reason for the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda? As it is written: “Look not upon wine when it is red” (Proverbs 23:31). This verse proves that the appearance of wine and not only its taste is important.

In these first two statements, Rava's use of the verse pertains to ritual use of wine and utilizes this verse for the necessitating red wine for kiddush on Shabbat [and holidays] and red wine at the Seder

מנחות פ״ז א:ח׳

אלא אמר רבא היינו טעמא דרבי דכתיב (משלי כג, לא) אל תרא יין כי יתאדם:

Menachot 87a:8

Rather, Rava said: This is the reasoning of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: As it is written in the verse exhorting a person not to be enticed by fine wines: “Look not upon the wine when it is red” (Proverbs 23:31). Evidently, the redness of wine is indicative of its quality. After a year, wine begins to lose its redness and so it should not be used, ab initio. Nevertheless, it is still of a sufficient quality to be acceptable, after the fact.

This statement of Rava's is used to try to explain why wine a year or older should not be brought in ritual libations, regarding the material nature of the wine

סנהדרין ע׳ א:י״ג

רבא אמר אל תרא יין כי יתאדם אל תרא יין שאחריתו דם

Sanhedrin 70a:13

Rava says that this is how the verse should be understood: “Look not upon wine that reddens [yitaddam]” means: Look not upon wine, as it leads to bloodshed [dam], indicating that one who drinks wine will end up committing an act of killing or will be killed because of it.

This use of the verse is Rava's only moralizing statement regarding this verse, while the other three uses speak more to the physical nature of the wine and its use in ritual performance.