21 Ki Tisa: Day 1 (Sunday)
12 Adar 5786.
Today's reading is Exodus 30:11 to 31:17.
This is the link to Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad.
The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled "No One is More than Half."
On 1 March 2026 at 6:35 AM EST, Jonathan writes:
There is a viewpoint held by a very small minority of scholars that the aromatic cane referred to in Exodus 30:23 is actually cannabis. I myself was convinced of this view for a time. Now I consider it highly debatable.
There are good reasons to believe that ritual cannabis use was practiced in parts of ancient Israel prior to the reforms of Hezekiah. This does not, however, mean that the holy anointing oil described in Exodus 30:23 necessarily contained cannabis as an ingredient. The linguistic evidence is controvertible.
This said, there are also good reasons to believe that cannabis use may have medical benefits for some contemporary students of the Torah. The gray area is between true medical use, on the one hand, and true intoxicant abuse, on the other.
Here is my Gemini deep dive.
Q1. What do we know about ritual cannabis use in ancient Israel?
Q2. Was hemp likely grown in ancient Israel to make rope and cloth?
Q3. Was hemp used to make fishing nets?
Q4. Is it forbidden to use cannabis for Torah study today in all branches of Judaism?
Q5. Is there any evidence of ritual cannabis use in ancient Israel after the reforms of Hezekiah? Is it possible or probable that there was little or no ritual cannabis use, including folk religious use, in the second temple period in ancient Israel?
Q6. Now that cannabis is available in New York for recreational use, is it possible that some medical use patients will simply bypass the need for a doctor's prescription and take their cannabis medication "over the counter"? What are the benefits of having a doctor's prescription?
Q7. Can we posit a continuum of true medical use, on the one hand, and true intoxicant abuse, on the other, and put recreational cannabis use in the gray area in the middle?
Q8. Yes, I am interested in comparing cannabis, caffeine, and alcohol along the same continuum from an orthodox Jewish point of view, with particular attention to the question of appropriateness as an aid to Torah study for those with a medical need.
Q9. This is very interesting because I have found through years of experimentation that alcohol always impairs my intellect, that caffeine dependence impairs my ability to focus on the Torah because it increases my stress and anxiety, and that the correct blend of cannabis allows me to study the Torah regularly and with stable focus. Is this scientifically plausible?
Q10. I am developing a rule of life for messianic vegans in a new Christian monastic order. I would like to forbid the use of alcohol in this order and caution against the risks of caffeine and cannabis but allow the use of both substances at the discretion of each monk and his clinical team. Does this sound like a reasonable balance?
Q11. Which of the seven Noahide laws most directly applies to the virtue of sobriety?
Answer thread:
Gemini's suggested language for the rule:
"Recognizing that the mind is the altar of our worship, we abstain entirely from the consumption of alcohol, which dulls the intellect and dampens the spirit. Regarding the fruits of the cannabis leaf and the coffee bean, we exercise a holy caution, mindful of their power to both assist and agitate. A monk may utilize these substances as tools for focus or healing, provided such use is guided by clinical counsel and serves to deepen—rather than distract from—their devotion to the Messiah and the study of His Torah."
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the holy opportunity to study your Torah today. We ask that you pour out your blessings on all those who precede us, join us, and follow us in this effort, and that you make us good round-the-clock examples and emissaries of the Noahide Laws.
Amen and Shalom.
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