While Jews imagining their East European past are unlikely to think of their ancestors eating and drinking alongside Christians in Jewish-owned establishments, the most famous Jew in Polish literature is a tavernkeeper. Because of Polish landowners’ desire to lease their rights to distill liquor to Jews, and itinerant Jewish merchants’ need for kosher food, nearly half of 18th-century Polish Jews were involved in the liquor or tavern-keeping business in some way. Glenn Dynner, in conversation with Nachi Weinstein, explains how the history of the Jewish tavern exposes much about the nature of East European society, anti-Semitism, and even the development of Jewish law.
Read more on Seforim Chatter: https://seforimchatter.buzzsprout.com/1218638/9933915-with-prof-glenn-dynner-discussing-jewish-tavernkeepers-the-liquor-trade-in-the-kingdom-of-poland