In Judaism, there is debate that
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
may have been used ritually in ancient Judaism, and the use of cannabis continues to be a controversial topic in modern Judaism.
Theories on ancient use
It has been generally held by academics specializing in the archaeology and paleobotany of
Ancient Israel
The history of ancient Israel and Judah begins in the Southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. "Israel" as a people or tribal confederation (see Israelites) appears for the first time in the Merneptah Stele, an inscri ...
, and those specializing in the lexicography of the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' John Allegro
John Marco Allegro (17 February 1923 – 17 February 1988) was an English archaeologist and Dead Sea Scrolls scholar. He was a populariser of the Dead Sea Scrolls through his books and radio broadcasts. He was the editor of some of the most fam ...
in relation to
Qumran
Qumran ( he, קומראן; ar, خربة قمران ') is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli ...
, 1970) have been "widely dismissed as erroneous". However, in 2020, it was announced that cannabis residue had been found on the Israelite sanctuary altar at
Tel Arad
Tel Arad ( he, תל ערד), in Arabic Tell 'Arad (تل عراد), is an archaeological tell, or mound, located west of the Dead Sea, about west of the modern Israeli city of Arad in an area surrounded by mountain ridges which is known as the ...
, suggesting that cannabis was a part of some Israelite rituals at the time.
The primary advocate of a religious use of cannabis plant in early Judaism was
Sula Benet (1967), who claimed that the plant ''keneh bosem קְנֵה-בֹשֶׂם'' mentioned five times in the Hebrew Bible, and used in the
holy anointing oil
The holy anointing oil ( he, שמן המשחה, , "oil of anointing") formed an integral part of the ordination of the priesthood and the High Priest as well as in the consecration of the articles of the Tabernacle (Exodus 30:26) and subsequent ...
of the Book of Exodus, was in fact cannabis, although lexicons of Hebrew and dictionaries of plants of the Bible such as by
Michael Zohary
Michael Zohary ( he, מיכאל זהרי) (born 9 April 1898 in Bóbrka, Galicia (Austria-Hungary); died 16 April 1983 in Israel) was a pioneering Israeli botanist.
Biography
Michael Schein (later Zohary) was born into a Jewish family in Bóbrk ...
(1985),
Hans Arne Jensen
Hans Arne Jensen is a Danish people, Danish botanist, agronomist, and writer.
Jensen earned a PhD at Agricultural University in Copenhagen, and then worked for 40 years for the Ministry of Agriculture, Plant Directorate, at the Danish state seed t ...
(2004) and
James A. Duke (2010) and others identify the plant in question as either ''
Acorus calamus
''Acorus calamus'' (also called sweet flag, sway or muskrat root, among many common names) is a species of flowering plant with psychoactive chemicals. It is a tall wetland monocot of the family Acoraceae, in the genus '' Acorus.'' Although ...
'' or ''
Cymbopogon citratus
''Cymbopogon citratus'', commonly known as West Indian lemon grass or simply lemon grass, is a tropical plant native to Maritime Southeast Asia and introduced to many tropical regions.
''Cymbopogon citratus'' is often sold in stem form. While i ...
''.
According to those theories that hold that cannabis was present in Ancient Israelite society, a variant of
hashish is held to have been present.
Modern era
In the United States, the Jewish population is over-represented among the recreational cannabis using population. The reasons for this are thought to be their urban pattern of residence, the disproportionate association of Jewish residents in the academic milieu of the city as well as its avant-garde movements, and that Jewish families are thought to be less authoritarian and more tolerant toward "intellectual experimentation".
In Canada, especially in Toronto, differences between Jews and Christians with regard to attitudes toward cannabis usage were detected in the high school population, in which surveys show that more than twice as many Jewish students have used cannabis as Catholic ones.
In a 1973 opinion, Orthodox rabbi
Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein ( he, משה פײַנשטיין; Lithuanian pronunciation: ''Moshe Faynshteyn''; en, Moses Feinstein; March 3, 1895 – March 23, 1986) was an American Orthodox rabbi, scholar, and ''posek'' (authority on ''halakha''—J ...
stated that cannabis was not permitted under Jewish law, due to its harmful effects.
In 2013, Orthodox rabbi
Efraim Zalmanovich Efraim Zalmonovich is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi known for declaring medical cannabis to be kosher in 2013. Zalmanovich is rabbi of Mazkeret Batia, Israel.
Cannabis ruling
In 2013, Zalmonovich issued a halahkic ruling that consuming recreational c ...
stated that medical, but not recreational, cannabis is permitted.
In 2016, Belarusian-Israeli rabbi
Chaim Kanievsky
Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky ( he, שמריהו יוסף חיים קַניֶבסקִי; January 8, 1928 – March 18, 2022) was an Israeli Haredi rabbi and '' posek''. He was a leading authority in Haredi Jewish society on legal and ethical ...
declared that medicinal cannabis was
kosher for Passover
''Chametz'' (also ''chometz'', ', ''ḥameṣ'', ''ḥameç'' and other spellings transliterated from he, חָמֵץ / חמץ; ) are foods with leavening agents that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to halakha, Jews ma ...
. In January 2016, the
Orthodox Union certified some medical cannabis products made by Vireo as kosher, their first medical cannabis certification.
In the United States, the Jewish Social Policy Action Network in Philadelphia and Rabbi Eric Cytrin of Temple Beth El in Harrisburg, have supported medical legalization efforts for
cannabis in Pennsylvania
Cannabis in Pennsylvania is illegal for recreational use, but possession of small amounts is decriminalized in several of the state's largest cities. Medical use was legalized in 2016 through a bill passed by the state legislature.
Medical use ...
.
Kashrut
If smoked, under normal circumstances there is no reason cannabis would not be kosher, although some rabbis apply this only to
medical cannabis, not
recreational usage.
On
Shabbat and holidays, smoking cannabis would be forbidden because lighting fires are prohibited. If cannabis is "eaten", as
cannabis edible
A cannabis edible, also known as a cannabis-infused food or simply an edible, is a food product (either homemade or produced commercially) that contains decarboxylated cannabinoids (cannabinoid acids converted to their orally bioactive form) ...
s are, there may be small insects inside which are not kosher, so it is recommended to only use brands that are certified as kosher.
[ For cannabis grown in Israel, the plants must observe Shmittah, but this does not apply to cannabis from elsewhere.][
]
References
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