Exhibition highlights the relationship of Jews with cannabis

By Desartes

How have Jews throughout history embraced marijuana both spiritually and politically? That is a question that the Am Yisrael High: The Story of Jews and Cannabis, on display at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, reveals. 

The exhibition features images and manuscripts from ancient and modern eras, appearing alongside material from the 20th-century legalization movement. Curator Eddy Portnoy has been working since 2020 to bring a variety of posters, books, and menorah-shaped pipes to YIVO's permanent collection to show how Jewish artists and intellectuals have often taken the lead in destigmatizing the plant.

From medieval to modern times, Portnoy's research identifies Jewish communities in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe using marijuana, hashish, and hemp in textiles, oils, and incense. Several wall displays printed on canvas expose this history with excerpts from prominent artworks. 

A specific reference describes the slowness and insatiable hunger of a medieval smoker, indicating one of the earliest cases of “munchies”. Below that, Portnoy places a photo of Jewish women smoking joints around the 1920s, highlighting the anecdote with playful irreverence.

Along the back wall of the gallery, a poster drawn by former High Times illustrator Steve Marcus, made specifically for this exhibition, depicts ancient Israel with a cloud of smoke emerging from the center. Forming a 420 in its crest. The popular number associated with smoking is also the numerological translation of the word “smoke” in Hebrew, as well as the number of years of Solomon's Temple.

Another display on the wall includes excerpts from the Talmud, quotes from the Book of Exodus, and other ancient manuscripts that reference cannabis as a medicinal remedy, punctuated by a print of Eugène Delacroix's “Jewish Wedding in Morocco” (1841). Portnoy cites the 2020 discovery of charred cannabis mixed with incense in an ancient Israeli synagogue, making Delacroix's orientalist painting increasingly evocative.

Together, these artistic and literary references reveal that the use of cannabis may be much older than we imagine. However, Jewish artists and intellectuals have remained dedicated advocates, perhaps due to long-term exclusion from the commercial industry.

Since its opening, Am Yisrael High has attracted significant media attention. The exhibition opening drew a line, and artist AJ Weberman – who allegedly founded the first marijuana delivery service – distributed joints to waiting visitors outside. The exhibition runs in New York until April of this year.