The Wine Country
In Parshat Ki Tetze, Dvarim 23:25, we read:
When you enter your fellow’s vineyard, you may eat grapes as you desire, to your satisfaction; but you may not place it in your container.
Rashi explains that one may only eat the grapes when working the field during harvest time.
The grape harvest takes place in Israel between Tu B’Av and Sukkot.
The Biblical wine country was primarily in the territory of the tribe of Yehuda. Today, there are many vineyards in that area, especially in Gush Etzion, yet there are wineries around the country including in the north and in the Negev.
Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs 7:13) describes the first flowering of the grapes:
We will get up early and go to the vineyards and see if the vine has flowered, if the grape blossoms have opened…
Yishayahu, Chapter 5 begins with the parable of the vineyard:
Yishayahu describes how his friend had a vineyard in a very fertile place. He fenced it in, cleared the stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a tower and a vat (winepress) and hoped to produce grapes. However, it brought forth bad grapes.
This resembles what happened to the Jewish people. God took care of B’nai Yisrael, brought them to the Land of Israel and watched out for them. He expected them to do good deeds but they chose to do evil.
Yishayahu was able to get the nation’s attention with the parable of the vineyard as they were familiar with the process of setting up a vineyard and a winery.
The parable gives us insight into how the vineyards and wineries worked in those days as well as how devastating it is when you don’t produce a good crop.
In Israel today, there are over 300 wineries including small boutique wineries and large commercial producers. Many offer visitor’s centers and tastings.
During the Sword of Iron War, while many of the wineries were short on staff due to the large amount of foreign workers who went home as well as the reserve soldiers who had to report for miluim, volunteers of all ages and backgrounds stepped in to help keep the wineries going.
May we see an end to this war and may the reserve soldiers who work in agriculture return to working the land.
