Why We Make a L’Chaim on Alcohol and Spirits and Not on Apple Juice
When Noach finally gets out the teivah he plants a vineyard and drinks from its wine, and as a punishment for doing this, the Torah refers to Noach as an Ish HaAdamah, a man of the land. Therefore, I would like to share with you a vort related to drinking wine.
I once heard a beautiful insight from Reb Avraham Fried as to why we specifically make a l’chaim on alcohol and spirits? Why don’t we generally make a l’chaim on juice – grape juice or apple juice?
It is because when you put alcohol into the freezer – into difficult surroundings and circumstances – the alcohol stays true to itself. It never freezes. Similarly, when we as Jews face trying times, we remain strong and spirited that we will make it through, and hope and believe that Hashem will grant us the inner prowess to do so. In that sense, we make a l’chaim. It is a l’chaim to the strength and commitment embedded within the spirit of the Jew, within the very fiber and fabric of Am Yisroel. We, no matter what comes our way, stay true to ourselves.
