Dining Rituals

 

Qumran

The common meal at Qumran held great importance as a time when the community came together for fellowship. The documents found at Qumra do not mention any sort of ritual bath before the meal; however, it is likely that they did cleanse themselves before eating because of the presence of baths at the Qumran site. Another important aspect of dining in the Qumran community was the order and hierarchy of blessing the food. It is obvious from the texts below that the Priest was at the head of the meal; he blessed the food before anyone else could bless the food.

"And when the table has been prepared for eating, and the new wine for drinking, the Priest shall be the first to stretch out his hand to bless the firstfruits of the bread and new wine." (The Community Rule)

"And [when] they shall gather for the common [tab]le, to eat and [to drink] new wine, when the common table shall be set for eating and the new wine [poured] for drinking, let no man extend his hand over the firstfruits of bread and wine before the Priest; for [it is he] who shall bless the firstfruits of bread and wine, and shall be the first [to extend] his hand over the bread. Thereafter, the Messiah of Israel shall extend his hand over the bread, [and] all the congregation of the Community [shall utter a] blessing, [each man in the order] of his dignity. It is according to this statute that they shall proceed at every me[al at which] at least ten men are gathered together." (The Messianic Rule)

 

Other certain rules about the common meal were applied to the Qumran Community. For example, no one was allowed to cook on the Sabbath, and could not pick and eat fruit and other edible things found in the fields on the Sabbath for fear of becoming impure. In addition, if a member of the community had spoken harshly to a superior, he would have to eat away from the rest of the community for one year.

"If he has spoken in anger against one of the Priests inscribed in the Book, he shall do penance for one year and shall be excluded for his soul's sake from the pure Meal of the Congregation. But if he has spoken unwittingly, he shall do penance for six months." (Community Rule)

 

 

 

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Wabash

At Wabash, dining rituals are much more relaxed. Men often eat with their individual tribes, called living units. During meals there appears to be much chaos, and purity is obviously not an important aspect of meals at Wabash. Conversation often shifts to topics such as sexual intercourse and drunken revelry during the course of the meal. However, one can still see a sense of hierarchy in several of the tribe's dining rituals. Oftentimes the elder members of the community receive their food before the others. In addition, a blessing of sorts is often giving before the meal; however, this appears to be more of a habit than something with actual meaning.

 

Below is a video clip of dining rituals at Wabash College.