Can I Drink a Beer or Liquor Manufactured by a Monastery?

pay attention to the label on Benedictine Regarding Benedictine there are two types one which is b & b which should be avoided and one which is the plain Benedictine which is fine Reply

Benedictine Liquor In the mid-1950's I attended a Farbrengin in N.Y. I was a teenager then; a student in the Montreal Yeshiva. If memory serves, it was the occasion of Yud (10th of the Hebrew month of) Shevat; the day commemorating the passing of the 6th Rebbe. At that time it was held on Nostrand Avenue. A distinguished gentleman approached the podium and handed the Rebbe a bottle; which appeared to contain liquor, and the Rebbe accepted it; with a smile. An older man standing next to me said that the person in question, attends every Farbrengin, and always brings the Rebbe a bottle of Benidictine as a gift. I do not remember if the Rebbe opened it, then and there.However I have seen "frum" people wish each other over Benedictine.


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Benedictine I was once interested in Benedictine, as it was listed as an ingredient for a recipe. It's not too hard to find in liquor stores. However, when I looked it up on the Web, most sources stated that its ingredients are kept secret, that it's a "centuries-old tradition." Not knowing exactly what's inside it would make me concerned that there may be small quantities of grape distillate, such as cognac. Even though such content is probably negligible and bitul, I personally would want to steer clear of any hazards. Reply

kosher scotch is there a list of chabad approved scotch? Reply

kosher beer isn't all beer kosher? Reply

a Christian scratches her head... On the off chance this will be seen, I'll ask: Rabbi, while your distinction is most apt, what is the actual difference whether the monastery was a 'church'? Is there a prohibition against buying something made available by a church, or that benefits it?

I was lucky to grow up in a town with excellent interfaith interactivity. The church and synagogue were neighbors and functioned as such in many ways. I remember xeroxing prayers for them when their copier was broken, and the rabbi helping us after a storm in which we suffered damage. All of that is informal, I know.

But we always chipped in if our friends' temple was doing some sort of fundraising, and our friends did the same when my parish was doing so. I never heard of a caution of the sort described.

Did I miss something? If we acted in ignorance, I am convinced we were enriched in our faith by lending support in this way. What is amiss with Jews and Christians supporting each others' good work? Reply

beer from a monastery with all due respect, Rabbi I have to disagree with your definition of a mnaastery. Yes there are dorms in one but the inhabitants are priests and monks who are sometimes contemplative and cloistered but many times, in the case of the Benedictines let's say, they are missionaries. it was monks of the Dominican and Jesuit orders, all "monastic" who were our greatest persecutors. "Herr Luther" also was one, of the Augustinian order. He was ordered out when he committed heresy.
I don't know if this will change your opinion regarding purchasing products that are produced in such places but I just wanted you to be clear that a monastery is not simply a place the faithful go for a period of time or that it is somehow separate from what we see as a church. Every monastery contains a church and some of the most impressive church buildings in Europe are connected with monasteries.
In the non-cloistered orders, the public may worship at such places at least at certain times of the year. I grew up near one in NJ and the public could attend every service.
BTW I grew up as a crypto-Jew but don't know why. Reply