Rav Moshe's Teshuvot on Whiskey, featuring Rabbi Dov Linzer [The Jewish Drinking Show Episode 159]

The Jewish Drinking Show

Introduction
One text that gets mentioned in conversations I have with fellow whiskey-drinkers is the responsum or responsa of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. Commonly referred to as Rav Moshe, he was an important 20th century rabbi with a significant impact on the practices of Orthodox Jews, in general, and American Orthodox Jews, in particular. In a trilogy of three responsa, with questions posed to him by Rabbi Pinchas Teitz, Rav Moshe responds to him regarding the kashrut (kosher-ness) of blended whiskies that might have some wine in them. Primarily responding to his queries in one responsum, he also answers follow-up questions by Rabbi Teitz. In the 159th episode of The Jewish Drinking Show, Rabbi Dov Linzer guides us through the salient points of this trilogy (Iggeros Moshe, YD 62-64), primarily focussing on this first responsum (Iggeros Moshe YD 62).

Biography of Guest
Rabbi Linzer is the President and Rosh HaYeshiva of YCT Rabbinical School. Having served as YCT’s Rosh HaYeshiva for over 20 years, Rabbi Linzer became its President in 2019 and assumed both the institutional and Torah-based leadership of YCT. In his capacity as a mentor, Rabbi Linzer provides religious guidance to the yeshiva’s students and the over 150 YCT-ordained rabbis who are serving in the field. An acclaimed Torah and halakha scholar, Rabbi Linzer has been a leading rabbinic voice in the Modern Orthodox community for over 25 years.

He has published over 100 teshuvot (responsa) and scholarly Torah articles, and hosts a number of highly popular Torah podcasts, including Iggros Moshe: A to Z, the 42nd episode of which he discussed our episode's topic - blended whiskey in Rabbi Moshe Feinstein's teshuvot. He is co-author, together with Abigail Pogrebin, of It Takes Two To Torah: An Orthodox Rabbi and Reform Journalist Discuss and Debate Their Way Through the Five Books of Moses and will soon be coming out with The Rosh Yeshiva Responds, a collection of his scholarly, halakhic teshuvot to the yeshiva’s hundreds of rabbis in-the-field.

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