"From when may one drink the grandmother?"

Tractate Ayahuasca is evidence of the emerging Jewish psychedelic revolution.

Note: This is being posted before Purim because it is about mind alteration, not because it is a parody. It is not a parody.

Around a month ago I came across a Jewish text unlike any I had seen before. It was designed to look like a page of Talmud and even came with “commentaries.” I’ve seen and created many such documents, but this one was different. It was about consuming ayahuasca, a drug that also goes by the name “grandmother”—or in Hebrew, savta.

It was immediately obvious to me that this was an important document—it didn’t come with a name, so I’m going to call it Tractate Ayahuasca—but being in a combination of Hebrew and Aramaic it needed to be translated first if people were going to do more than admire its existence.

Below, you will find that translation—but first, let me explain to you why it matters.

Ayahuasca is a powerful psychedelic substance derived from South American plants. Unlike LSD or mushrooms, its consumption is tightly linked to a specific ritual in which the substance is consumed overnight through a series of drinks. This ritual is led by a shaman and will typically involve prayer and song.

Like other psychedelics, it has becoming increasingly acceptable to discuss ayahuasca use out loud, and this means that interest in the substance is growing, as well. Jews—including many observant Jews—have turned to these substances both for healing and as a way to connect to their tradition. At the same time, there are still very few Jewish leaders who are willing to talk about how such substances ought to be used in both the secular and ritual aspects of one’s life. This also means that these substance are still embedded in a culture that is far too vulnerable to both direct abuse and charismatic individuals who are leading people, off the books, during some of their most vulnerable moments. The longer this stays out of acceptable discourse the more people will get hurt and the more chance that the whole endeavor builds up a bad reputation, as it did in the 1970s.

The fact that this document is specifically about ayahuasca matters. The shamanistic elements of the ritual might seem like a turnoff, but some Jewish users have found that the ritual element has resonated with their own ritual experiences. I’ve heard secondhand of Jewish ayahuasca rituals in which the songs are substituted for niggunim. Some readers of the text below will note that the author has used ayahuasca’s multiple cups to draw parallels to the four cups of the Passover seder, another intense nighttime ritual. This document is part of a movement that is not just slapping labels on somebody else’s rituals but actively integrating them into Jewish life and thought. I don’t want to claim that it’s at the center of the movement—the center is not a document at all—but it’s something that people both inside and outside can see and appreciate.

I am still just sitting on the edge of this movement. Me, I’ve never consumed ayahuasca and I feel like there’s a bowtie growing out of my shirt just for writing about this. Still, it seems very clear to me that grassroots use of psychedelic substances is right on the cusp of bursting into mainstream Judaism. This is a energetic movement that is really wanting for leaders, and I want you to see this document as an emergent product of an aspect of Jewish culture that knows what it wants, and that is full of life. I see psychedelic Judaism as an integral part of Jewish futurism. Whether you personally partake or not, it deserves your attention.

About the document and the translation

This text was composed by Itsik Glovinski. The lion’s share of the translation was done by Ari Adler, with editing by me. There are also some turns of phrase from Zac Kamenetz, whose organization Shefa is doing trailblazing work in this area and who has been personally helpful in guiding me into this world. If you see any errors please let me know so I can correct the text.

Many of the “Rashi” comments simply involve translating from Aramaic to Hebrew. I’ve excluded these comments.

In a few places I have included hyperlinks to relevant documents and videos that are being referenced in the text. Wherever possible I have made the translation gender neutral. The original Hebrew/Aramaic document can be found below the translation.

Tractate Ayahuasca

MISHNAH: From when may one drink the savta? The diligent gather before sunset and speak their intentions, purify themselves, and then remain silent to permit the Divine Presence to be among them until it gets dark. Those who have been freed gather after the travails of the first watch [of the night], and make merry, and trust in The One Who Spoke And The World Became that the sun will yet again rise in the morning.

GEMARA: Rav said: since it says “sunset,” it teaches us that one may not drink during the day. Why? Lest one see what the eye is not permitted to see. Shmuel said: if one saw and came out unscathed, it is a good sign. What does “remain silent” mean? Rav said: it means wait. What does “wait” mean? As the rabbis taught: the early pious ones would wait an hour before drinking, in order to align their heart with heaven. Rav Yehudah said: we, at least, will align our hearts inward.

It was taught: Why do those who have been freed make merry? Rabbi Yehudah says: they make merry because they are terrified. And Rabbi Meir says: they make merry because they trust their creator. A heavenly voice rang out and said: these and those are the words of the Living God! And whoever does not worry at all needs to be investigated, for they may be mentally unstable.

“The sun will yet again rise in the morning.” This is obvious! Rava said: we, when sober, remember well that the sun rises in the morning, but when journeying in the darkness within the darkness [we do not]. When the ancient pains emerge, and the demons inside dance, and the shadows of the soul come out, and a man screams inside, “from where will my aid come?” —it helps. Furthermore, one’s reward is proportional to one’s suffering, so the more a person descends into the deep pit, that much more do they merit to arise to a high peak.

Rabbah bar bar Ḥana expounded: Once I was walking in the forest and I saw vessels from my father’s house. I continued walking and I saw my father’s house and I went inside. Inside, I saw that the earlier ones were not like angels, and we are not like donkeys. Rather, we are all damaged people. And I knew my task in my father’s house in this world.

MISHNAH: They pour for the person the first cup [of ayahuasca]. The school of Shammai says, [those partaking] should stay silent, but the House of Hillel permits. Nonetheless, the school of Shammai allows [making noise] by shaking branches and leaves, since they are not musical instruments. After pouring them the second cup all agree that songs and instruments are permitted. They pour them the third cup: they bless: “Our God who created us in God’s honor and made us people of truth, and planted within us eternal life.”

GEMARA: What does “permits” mean? Shmuel says: They permit singing and playing instruments. The original pious people even allow a drum. Abaye said: when we were before Rabbah he would sometimes play instruments abundantly during the first cup and sometimes would stay silent, in accordance with the school of Shammai. When we asked him why he did this, he said to us, “I sit and drink in silence, and I always want to know whether to play or be silent. The world answers me, sometimes telling me to play and sometimes telling me to stay silent, as it is written: ‘everything in its place.’”

The master said, “they pour for the person.” May one pour for oneself? It was taught: an ignoramus should not pour themselves, lest they not have proper intention, but an experienced person [ḥaver] can pour for themselves without concern. Resh Lakish asked Rabbi Yochanan: if a person is aware of what are doing and has formed their desired intention, why should they not pour for themself? He said to him: you will understand when you get older.

“After pouring them the second cup, all agree that songs and instruments are permitted.” They posed a contradiction: Rabbi Yose son of Dormaskit testified concerning Rabbi Eliezer son of Hyrcanus that the latter would forbid singing and playing instruments through the night. Furthermore, he would say, “What is troubling you, School of Hillel?” [This story] is not a difficulty: in this case he informed him from the beginning that he is [forbidding singing], and he intends to do this, for it is a higher-quality mitzvah for a person to stay silent and contemplate their soul, since commandments were not given for pleasure.

“And made us people of truth:” Rav Huna said: May the Merciful One save whoever does not feel that this is a world of falsehood. We, who see a glimpse of a world of truth, need to give great thanks for the story of our lives, and those of our fathers, and those who created the savta. Rav Hisda said: the main point is the life of truth. Woe to one who drinks and does not learn and returns to their life as before. Rabbi Zeira said to him: I trust that one who drinks is one who seeks truth. In the depths of the heart, something is healed.

Rabbah bar bar Ḥana expounded: Once I was walking in the forest and I heard the singing voice of an old woman. I turned towards the sound and heard that it was a song containing an aspect of the World to Come. I sought her out and found her in a clearing of the forest. I saw that she was rising from the earth, dressed in red, her age unknowable, her veil adorned with an aspect of the World to Come, her eyes blacker than black. I stopped. I was afraid to look into her eyes, and I heard her singing the life of the world and humanity and the generation that is leaving and the generation that is to come and of the ephemeral world. With much affection is her faith; with much affection.

“Rashi”

The savta. “Ayahuasca” in the vernacular. This is a medicine that comes from the Amazon, across the sea. Its translation is “vine of the spirits.” The diligent. The serious ones, who come to do the work. Meditations. The old custom was to gather for the journey with an intention, and this is a good custom. What the eye is not permitted to see. I do not know what it means, I am afraid to try. Wait. “Meditation” in the vernacular. Need to be investigated, for he may be mentally unstable. If they do not have expertise and are not even slightly fearful it is a sign to check lest they be mentally unstable, and you should not give it to them. When the ancient pains emerge. When the old pain within finally comes out. And a man screams inside, “from where will my aid come?” And the man screams in his heart. It helps. This helps them to remember that the sun will rise. Once I was walking in the forest. Namely, he drank the medicine of the forest and went on a journey. I went inside. That he agreed to delve into issues in his life concerning his father’s house, and it is not a small thing. They pour for the person the first cup. This is our practice here in the holy city of Pardes Hanna and Gelilot, that we drink three cups and no more. Allow. Later on it explains it in the Gemara.  The shaking of branches and the leaves. Bundles of branches and leaves, like what our forefathers would prepare from what they found in the forest. They bundle them, and their sounds are the sounds of the forest whose virtue is awakening the soul. People of truth. People who live truth. Huni Kuin in the vernacular. Their name is like kumi, as it is written (Lamentation 2:19), “Rise (kumi) and sing in the night at the beginning of the watches; pour your heart out like water, etc.” Ḥaver. Someone who has already filled their belly with the medicine and pours it for others. What is troubling you, School of Hillel. Even though Rabbi Eliezer son of Hyrcanus agrees that from the letter of the law singing and musical instruments are permissible, he is not content with them, because it brings enjoyment to people and distracts them from their intention. Commandments were not given for pleasure. We came to work and not to indulge ourselves. Whoever does not feel that it is a world of falsehood. Whoever lives only within the religious or Western matrix, heaven forbid. Need to give great thanks for the story of our lives, and those of our fathers, and those who created the savta. The main point of the medicine is a truthful life. Woe to one who drinks and does not learn and returns to their life as before. Woe to one who drinks the medicine and does not learn, and goes back to his old life as if nothing happened. I trust that one who drinks is one who seeks truth. In the depths of the heart, something is healed. And I trust in the universe, that whoever drinks is someone who seeks truth, and in the depths of the heart something heals. Old woman. Some say she is the savta, and this is correct. Adorned. Like the form of a fractal in the vernacular. With much affection is her faith. She taught him great affection. For eternal life. For the life of humanity. For the outgoing generation. And for the coming generation. And for the land. And for oneself.

“Tosafot”

The savta. As Rashi explained, this is ayahuasca in the vernacular. Rabbeinu Tam said that it is called savta, since we learn from it lessons for life, just like we learned from our grandmothers, peace be upon them. This is why its name across the sea is abuelita in the vernacular, which is grandmother in their language. Furthermore, Rabbi Shlomo [Artzi] wrote in a poem: Ayahuasca, I know this, suddenly, Ayahuasca, suddenly, now, suddenly, today, etc., like the song. And it is a drink that one drinks, and its taste is a bit difficult for the body.

Make merry. Some manuscripts have “laugh,” but it does not seem correct, for this is not the lady in the sky with diamonds but the savta.

School of Shammai. Ri said that they are the students of the tribe of … in the Holy Land, that the pedants and the Yekkes are like the best of our grandmothers in Ashkenaz, because they reason that the more the area is strengthened the more confidence there is to devote oneself and become more free and undergo a deeper change. And the School of Hillel teaches about devoting oneself at every moment that the universe gives us, and the practice of devoting oneself is from there.

Forbid singing and playing instruments through the night. Like the practice of the ten tribes in the thick forest that is in the medicine’s native land. For it is unlike the practice of the mothers in Poland, who would be silent alone in the dark and contemplate others’ souls. Rather, those would drink the medicine and sit with themselves in darkness and contemplate their own souls.

The main point is the life of truth. Rabbeinu Tam says: that which Rashi explained, the life of truth means what gives us enjoyment in life, based on a constructed god whose seal is not truth. We only drink in order to live truth and not the veils. And the main thing is not the journey, but the life of truth when you leave and enter and lie down and arise.

***

More notes:

• If you’re looking for a fun read about one of Judaism’s most subversive objects, you may want to revisit The Strange and Violent History of the Ordinary Grogger, published in the Forward back in 2016.

• This post was not “Purim Torah” but if you want a fix take a look at my article about AI ushering in an age of Purim Torah.