Carry On My Wayward Son: Judaism and Marijuana

Once I rose above the noise and confusion/Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion

I was soaring ever higher/But I flew too high - Kansas

Limitations.

MISHNAH. (Sanhedrin Chapter 8)

'A STUBBORN AND REBELLIOUS SON': WHEN DOES HE BECOME LIABLE TO THE PENALTY OF A STUBBORN AND REBELLIOUS SON'? FROM THE TIME THAT HE PRODUCES TWO HAIRS UNTIL HE GROWS A BEARD RIGHT ROUND (BY WHICH IS MEANT THE HAIR OF THE GENITALS, NOT THAT OF THE FACE, BUT THAT THE SAGES SPOKE IN POLITE TERMS), FOR IT IS WRITTEN, IF A MAN HAVE A STUBBORN AND REBELLIOUS SON: 'A SON', BUT NOT A DAUGHTER; 'A SON', BUT NOT A FULL-GROWN MAN. WHILST A MINOR IS EXEMPT, SINCE HE DOES NOT COME WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE COMMANDMENTS.

A SON', BUT NOT A DAUGHTER. It has been taught: R. Simeon said, Logically, a daughter should come within the scope of a 'stubborn and rebellious child', since many frequent her in sin,1 but that it is a divine decree: 'a son', but not a daughter.

MISHNAH. IF HIS FATHER DESIRES [TO HAVE HIM PUNISHED], BUT NOT HIS MOTHER; OR THE REVERSE, HE IS NOT TREATED AS A 'STUBBORN A REBELLIOUS SON', UNLESS THEY BOTH DESIRE IT. R. JUDAH SAID: IF HIS MOTHER IS NOT FIT FOR HIS FATHER, HE DOES NOT BECOME A 'STUBBORN AND REBELLIOUS SON'.

GEMARA. What is meant by 'NOT FIT'? … he means not physically like his father. It has been taught likewise: R. Judah said: If his mother is not like his father in voice, appearance and stature, he does not become a rebellious son. Why so? — The Torah says, he will not obey our voice, and since they must be alike in voice, they must be also in appearance and stature.

Differing approaches.

1. With whom does the following Baraitha agree: There never has been a 'stubborn and rebellious son', and never will be. Why then was the law written? That you may study it and receive reward. — This agrees with R. Judah.

1. R. Jonathan said: 'I saw him and sat on his grave'.

Some important background.

Similarly: There never was a leprous house [to need destruction], and never will be? Then why was its law written? — That you may study it and receive reward ….Why so (that it will never be)? Because the Torah says [in reference thereto], And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it in the midst of the street thereof and shalt burn [them]. But if it contains a single mezuzah, this is impossible... R. Jonathan said: I saw it, [a condemned city] and sat upon its ruins.

Similarly: There never was a leprous house [to need destruction], and never will be. Then why was its law written? — That you may study it and receive reward. … R. Jonathan said: I saw it [a leprous house] and sat upon its ruins.

Herodotus. The Histories. Trans. George Rawlinson. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997. Pg. 334. (Originally 440 BCE, Second Temple period)

"After burial of the dead, those engaged in it have to purify themselves, which they do in the following way....they make a booth by fixing in the ground three sticks inclined towards one another...inside the booth a dish is placed upon the ground, into which they put a number of red-hot stones, and then add some hemp-seed.

Hemp grows in Scythia: it is very like flax; only that it is a much coarser and taller plant: some grows wild about the country, some is produced by cultivation: the Thracians make garments of it which closely resemble linen....

The Scythians take some of this hemp-seed, and, creeping under the felt coverings, throw it upon the red-hot stones; immediately it smokes, and gives out such a vapor as no Grecian vapor-bath can exceed; the Scyths, delighted, shout for joy....”

“One day Rabbi David, head of the Ostrow Jewish Court was shown by the Baal Shem Tov the new heavens that had been created by his thoughts while smoking. Rabbi David fell into a faint from the awe and fear that the sight inspired in him."

- Ibn Mardachya, Kosher Cannabis

"You know, it's a funny thing, Every one of the bastards that are out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish. What the Christ is the matter with the Jews, Bob? What is the matter with them? I suppose it is because most of them are psychiatrists."

—President Richard Nixon

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, 1970s, “Whether it is permissible to smoke drugs.”

It seems that some yeshiva students have begun to smoke hashish (marijuana); it is obvious that this is prohibited from multiple perspectives…

Firstly the fact that it harms the body… it also harms the mind, and one can’t understand something deeply, which impinges Torah study properly, one can’t pray properly…

Also it causes a deep passion, greater than hunger, and there are those who can’t overcome these desires; and this is a terribly important prohibition as it is stated by the rebellious son, regarding the great desire he has for eating (even if its kosher eating)… certainly all the more so one shouldn’t intentionally bring oneself to this state… and particularly as its stated by the rebellious son that his end is to rob from others…

Also that this person’s parents are deeply pained, so it’s a violation of Honor Your Father and Mother.

Also it violates And You Shall be Holy according to the interpretation of the Ramban…

Because of marijuana’s clear medical benefits, the Orthodox Union, which has rejected kosher certification requests from cigarette and e-cigarette manufacturers on health grounds, “would not have a problem certifying” medical marijuana, Elefant said.

Marijuana is a plant and therefore kosher certification is not necessary for the cannabis itself. But in New York State, where companies are vying for up to five licenses to grow and sell medical marijuana, patients will not be allowed to smoke pot, so they will have to ingest it in other ways — such as capsules, food or drinks, which will require kosher certification for Orthodox patients. http://forward.com/news/215113/medical-marijuana-may-soon-get-kosher-stamp-of-app/#ixzz3dlQC4vbe