Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

August 8, 2025

The Winemaking Rabbis of Ancient Judea

Pragmatic experts in cultivating grapes.

For the talmudic sages of the Land of Israel, as for most people of the ancient Mediterranean world, wine was the primary beverage—for religious ritual, for celebratory occasions, and even for everyday consumption. Israel National News reports on a recent study, drawing on archaeological and textual evidence, that gives new insight into the rabbis’ relationship with viticulture:

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