Comments on: Wine Goes In, Secrets Come Out http://jcarrot.org/winein Jews, Food, and Contemporary Issues Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:36:01 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Justina http://jcarrot.org/winein/comment-page-1#comment-14936 Justina Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:54:02 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/?p=4111#comment-14936 I loved what you wrote. Here's a thought for you in response: To me the intrinsic sadness of Esther lies in her constant mirroring of others. Her mask reflects what people want to see in themselves and she survives that way, even saving us. Yet when she finally removes her mask as a Jew, she remains veiled as a person. We can never know Esther, but we can know ourselves. We all wear masks, but we need to be careful of living our lives completely hidden from the world. Sometimes a mask is wonderful because it allows us to observe as we become comfortable with who we are, to try new things, to get a little wild before we reveal our true faces. By not allowing people to truly know you, that growth is hindered. To wear your mask constantly cuts you off from new experiences and new connections that would enrich your life. To hide yourself past the point of emotional well-being is to live your life in fear and to deprive yourself past reason. "A life lived in fear is a life half lived." There is a palpable difference between being open to the world and to living at the edge of dangerous behavior. As with wine, we can learn to enjoy but retain an essential balance as we embrace life's celebration. I loved what you wrote. Here’s a thought for you in response:

To me the intrinsic sadness of Esther lies in her constant mirroring of others. Her mask reflects what people want to see in themselves and she survives that way, even saving us. Yet when she finally removes her mask as a Jew, she remains veiled as a person. We can never know Esther, but we can know ourselves.

We all wear masks, but we need to be careful of living our lives completely hidden from the world. Sometimes a mask is wonderful because it allows us to observe as we become comfortable with who we are, to try new things, to get a little wild before we reveal our true faces. By not allowing people to truly know you, that growth is hindered. To wear your mask constantly cuts you off from new experiences and new connections that would enrich your life. To hide yourself past the point of emotional well-being is to live your life in fear and to deprive yourself past reason. “A life lived in fear is a life half lived.” There is a palpable difference between being open to the world and to living at the edge of dangerous behavior. As with wine, we can learn to enjoy but retain an essential balance as we embrace life’s celebration.

]]> By: Matt Carl http://jcarrot.org/winein/comment-page-1#comment-14550 Matt Carl Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:03:14 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/?p=4111#comment-14550 Nina Thanks for the comment. I haven't read "Sad Cafe" but "A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud." (http://www.osu.cz/ffi/kaa/dokumenty/kolar/tree_rock_cloud.htm) was one of my favorite stories in high school. I think your point is right on target. Alcohol can sometimes bring out the worst in people and sometimes the best. By lowering inhibitions, it brings out the essence of who a person really is. In this piece, I only touched on the connections to Purim, but I think a part of what the holiday is all about is saying that we always wear masks and we get so used to them that our faces are our masks and perhaps we need masks to be our true faces. Likewise, it can take a "foreign substance" to get at the deepest, most innate part of ourselves. It's interesting that on Purim it is measured qualitatively ("drink until he can't tell the difference...") whereas on Pesach, it is quantitative (4 cups.) Hmm, maybe food for another post. Shabbat Shalom. Nina

Thanks for the comment. I haven’t read “Sad Cafe” but “A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud.” (http://www.osu.cz/ffi/kaa/doku....._cloud.htm) was one of my favorite stories in high school.

I think your point is right on target. Alcohol can sometimes bring out the worst in people and sometimes the best. By lowering inhibitions, it brings out the essence of who a person really is. In this piece, I only touched on the connections to Purim, but I think a part of what the holiday is all about is saying that we always wear masks and we get so used to them that our faces are our masks and perhaps we need masks to be our true faces. Likewise, it can take a “foreign substance” to get at the deepest, most innate part of ourselves. It’s interesting that on Purim it is measured qualitatively (”drink until he can’t tell the difference…”) whereas on Pesach, it is quantitative (4 cups.) Hmm, maybe food for another post.

Shabbat Shalom.

]]> By: Nina http://jcarrot.org/winein/comment-page-1#comment-14547 Nina Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:02:58 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/?p=4111#comment-14547 In regards to wine going in a secrets coming out - ever read Carson McCuller's Ballad of the Sad Cafe? It's one of my favorite books by one of my favorite writers, a morbid novella from the prohibition days about a love triangle between a butch, whiskey distilling, butt-kicking cafe-owning woman, her con-man, hump-backed, four-foot tall cousin and a brutal lady-killer in a tiny southern town. There's a passage at the beginning about why the townspeople love her whiskey. It compares the effects of great whiskey to words written in invisible ink, becoming legible on the page. I was blown away by the passage when I read it as a teenager, and I went right away and read it aloud to my mom. She told me a story I've always remembered about her own relationship with my dad. When they were first dating neither of them was so into commitment, and to make a long story short, he was supposed to leave the country, go to Switzerland and join a cooking school. They were drinking whiskey together one night, and my mother felt her feelings come together, and although she was a shy person, and not totally sure about this or any relationship, told him how she felt about him and that she wanted him to stay. He did, and they were married for more than 30 years, until he died. I'm all for moderation, but I'm also living proof that sometimes those beer goggles rather correct your vision. In regards to wine going in a secrets coming out – ever read Carson McCuller’s Ballad of the Sad Cafe? It’s one of my favorite books by one of my favorite writers, a morbid novella from the prohibition days about a love triangle between a butch, whiskey distilling, butt-kicking cafe-owning woman, her con-man, hump-backed, four-foot tall cousin and a brutal lady-killer in a tiny southern town. There’s a passage at the beginning about why the townspeople love her whiskey. It compares the effects of great whiskey to words written in invisible ink, becoming legible on the page. I was blown away by the passage when I read it as a teenager, and I went right away and read it aloud to my mom. She told me a story I’ve always remembered about her own relationship with my dad. When they were first dating neither of them was so into commitment, and to make a long story short, he was supposed to leave the country, go to Switzerland and join a cooking school. They were drinking whiskey together one night, and my mother felt her feelings come together, and although she was a shy person, and not totally sure about this or any relationship, told him how she felt about him and that she wanted him to stay. He did, and they were married for more than 30 years, until he died. I’m all for moderation, but I’m also living proof that sometimes those beer goggles rather correct your vision.

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