A “glayz’l schnapps” describes the simple but vital component of a ritual that transcends cultures and continents, socio-economic strata, and occasionally even forgives that most significant of divides: the bourbon/scotch debate.
Imbibing alcohol can take the proverbial edge off and its dangers are well known to all, but there is something unique about schnapps. The Hebrew word “sheichar” has the numerical value of 520. Distill that (see what I did there?) to what is known as “mispar katan” or its smallest sum, and the 5+2+0 nets 7. “Yayin” too can be broken down to the sum of its parts (10+10+50=70 and 7+0=) which is 7. Our rabbis teach that when wine enters, secrets come out and sod (secret) also has the deconstructed numerical value of 7! (60+6+4=70 and then… ya know…).
Seven is a number that represents wholeness: there are 7 days in a week and 7 years in the shemitta cycle, Rosh Hashana is in the 7th month, a baby boy receives his bris after 7 days, etc. Chazal tell us that when one imbibes wine, a concept of equal numerical significance is product of that wine: Sod come out. But those secrets have been there all along and something about the l’chaims or the “sheichar” has allowed less inhibition and maybe just a little more truth. The schnapps ritual isn’t just a means to an end. One shot of whiskey won’t do that. Perhaps the weekly (or is it daily?) schnapps ritual is a reminder that underneath the responsibilities, stresses, and even blessings of the daily grind, is the latent potential of a life less lived but always present.
