Curse Of The Fig Tree

In Mark 11, we read a story where Jesus cursed a fig tree. And it is one of the harder  events in Jesus ministry to understand. Why did He curse the fig tree? What is the symbolism of cursing that fig tree?

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Olive, Vine, Fig

Before we get to the text, let's look at the history and context. Three trees are often mentioned together in the Bible, the olive, the fig, and the vine (yes I know the vine is not a tree). And they are cited as blessings, very much associated with Israel.

Dt 8:7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of streams of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines, fig trees, and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey;

Mic 4:4 But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.

The Olive and the Vine

In reading Romans 11:11-24, I think it safe to conclude that the olive represents God's relationship with the nation Israel. Paul talks about grafting in wild olive branches into a cultivated olive tree, meaning Gentiles grafted into Israel.

Rom 11:17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,

And in reading John 15:1, I think it safe to conclude that the vine represents a personal relationship between Jesus and each believer. Fruit is a byproduct of “abiding in Jesus”.

Jn 15:1 I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine dresser.  5 I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

The Fig

Adam and Eve

But the fig is harder to figure out. The first mention of the fig is in Gen 3:7 where Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves to make an apron to cover their nakedness, then acted like it was normal. One Jewish tradition says that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the fig tree - Chabad [1]. The fig leaf came to mean “excuse”, as in the story of Samson.

Judges 14:4 However, his father and mother did not know that this was of the LORD, for He was seeking an occasion (a fig leaf) against the Philistines. And at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.

Covering one's self with fig leaves is offering excuses for an  embarrassing event or status. Offering an olive branch is offering  peace; but offering a fig leaf is to offer a temporary cover (an  excuse) - Yavoh_mag [2].

Unripe Figs

The fig tree has some unusual biology. In general, the green figs appear before the leaves. The fig tree produces two crops each year, spring and fall. The figs of the spring crop, called the breba harvest, have been described as a cross between a pear and a potato. These figs would only be eaten by the poor or hungry. The main harvest is in the fall, around the Holy Day season. These are the sweet figs one can even buy here in the US. The wood of the fig tree was the preferred wood for the altar in the Temple. Poor people would bring fig wood or salt as their gift for the Temple. On the one hand, it is a good strong tree offering shade and sweet fruit to man. On the other hand, it is also a symbol of poverty [2].

Chronology

Beginning in John 12

1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany

12 The next day the great crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting:

Mark 11:1 occurs between John 12:1 and 12:12.

Mk 11:1 And as they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples,

This is introducing the story of Jesus' Triumphal Entry riding on a donkey. We know this to be the day the lambs were chosen for Passover, that is, the tenth day of the first month. Most churches teach that this was Palm Sunday, but based on the events of the crucifixion week, it was the Sabbath day. It is the next day He cursed the fig tree. Note the two towns mentioned, Bethany and Bethphage. Bethany mean House of Poverty - abarim(Bethany) [3]. Bethphage means House of Unripe Figs - abarim(Bethphage)  [4].

Jesus Triumphal Entry

Cursing the fig tree appears to be a story in two parts, one morning to the next, separated by the cleansing of the Temple. But I think it is all one story, that cleansing the Temple is the key to understand why the fig tree was cursed. Continuing in Mark 11.

[Jesus curses the fig tree]

12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. 13 Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs*. 14 And He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.

 

[Jesus Drives Money Changers from the Temple]

15 Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; 16 and He would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple grounds. 17 And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written: ‘MY HOUSE WILL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? But you have made it a DEN OF ROBBERS.” 18  And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and they began seeking how to put Him to death; for they were afraid of Him, because all the crowd was astonished at His teaching. 19 And whenever evening came, they would leave the city.

 

Jesus Cleansing the Temple

 [The fig tree is withered]

 

20 As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up*. 21 And being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree that You cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God*. 23 Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted to him. 24 Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you for your offenses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your offenses.”

How is cleansing the Temple like cursing a fig tree without fruit? I believe the fig tree represents religion - TorahToday [5], that is, Israel's relationship with God through religion. That is what I will now try to show. Money changers and dove sellers are like leaves without fruit, worshipers are not fed by this “form of godliness”. I doubt the money changers showed up in the courtyard without the blessing of the Pharisees, who no doubt took their cut. A fig tree that has leaves and no fruit is symbolic of a religion that is all show, a false religion. The Temple was an example of a religion that no longer produced fruit (withered from the roots). I submit that the withered fig tree foreshadowed the destruction of the Temple, the destruction of the religion of the scribes and Pharisees. In other words, "Judgment is being visited upon Israel" - Catholic_mag [6.].

Religion can have fruit and leaves, or just leaves, the “form of godliness”. Religion can be a great blessing, a source of spiritual food for the people, but it has to have fruit. Think of the centuries when ancient Israel had the Tabernacle or the Temple – what a blessing it was for the nation. Religion can bring people to God, or when corrupted, be used to exploit people and enrich the leaders.

In the parallel account in Matthew 21, some parables follow, then in chapter 23, Jesus gives 8 stern warnings to the scribes and Pharisees, these are known as the 8 woes, which parallel the 8 blessings in Matthew 5. Highlighting a few verses from 23:1-12.

Mt 23:1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. 3 Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and comply with it all, but do not do as they do; for they say things and do not do them. 4 And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger. 5 And they do all their deeds to be noticed by men [like leaves]; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues, 7 and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by the people. 8 But as for you, do not be called Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. 9 And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 But the greatest of you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. 

The 8 woes begin in verse 13 and carry through vs 33, I don't have space to quote them all, but I encourage you to read them. All but one of the woes begin with the words ”woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites”. Over and over again, “woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites”. Jesus gave His strongest rebuke to the leaders of the Temple, the ones who sat in Moses' seat. While we all have to watch ourselves for hypocrisy, he aimed these woes at the leaders, the Scribes and Pharisees, the shepherds, not the sheep.  The lesson of the cursed fig tree reminds all of us to uproot the leaven of hypocrisy in our lives.

References

1. https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/983693/jewish/What-Sort-of-Fruit-Tree-was-the-Tree-of-Knowledge.htm
2. https://yavohmagazine.com/messianic-teachings/judgement-and-the-fig-tree
3. https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Bethany.html
4. https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Bethphage.html
5. https://torahtodayministries.org/lesson/what-kind-of-fruit-are-you
6. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/why-does-jesus-curse-the-fig-tree

Bethlehem

When I think about reading the Bible in context, I usually think of taking a verse out of context – that is, don’t pluck a verse out of a chapter to make it say something the chapter wasn’t talking about. But it’s also important to read the Bible in its historical and cultural context. When we read the story about Jesus’ birth, odds are that we are influenced by the Christmas story we hear every year. All I have to say is “no room at the inn”, or “away in a manger”, and you know the story I’m talking about. But if we look at the historical and cultural context, we see a different story emerge.

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Modern Bethlehem At Night

Let’s start with examining where Jesus was born – Bethlehem. My first thought when I hear "Bethlehem" is the Christmas song “O Little Town Of Bethlehem”. But if you lived 2000 years ago in Judea, Bethlehem was known as the place the lambs came from. And by that I mean the lambs sacrificed at the Temple. Every day, two lambs were sacrificed, one at morning sacrifice (the third hour when Jesus was nailed to the cross), and one at evening sacrifice (the ninth hour, when He died). Every Passover, tens of thousand of lambs were sacrificed in one day, all in the Temple. They all came from Bethlehem. “Every first born male lamb from the area around Bethlehem was considered holy, set aside for sacrifice in Jerusalem.” - Why Bethlehem [1]. In short “Everyone in Israel recognized Bethlehem as being synonymous with sacrificial lambs” - The Birth Revisited [2].

So it’s no surprise really that the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ our Passover, was also born in Bethlehem. This was already planned out from the foundation of the world. The lambs born near Bethlehem were fulfilling a type of Jesus.

Migdal Eder

Let’s dig deeper into the story. The Old Testament mentions the “Tower of the Flock”, Migdal Eder, which turns out to be a place near Bethlehem - Gen 35:21, Mic 4:8. By New Testament times, this became the station where shepherds brought the lambs destined for sacrifices in the Temple. Here is what happened at the Tower of the Flock.

The shepherds who kept [the flocks] were men who were specifically trained for this royal task. They were educated in what an animal that was to be sacrificed had to be, and it was their job to make sure that none of the animals were hurt, damaged or blemished. During lambing season the sheep were brought to the tower from the fields, as the lower level functioned as the birthing room for sacrificial lambs. Being themselves under special rabbinical care, these priest/shepherds would strictly maintain a ceremonially clean birthing place. Once birthed, the priest/shepherds would routinely place two lambs in the double-hewn depression of a limestone rock known as "the manger" and "wrap the newborn lambs in swaddling clothes," preventing them from thrashing about and harming themselves "until they had calmed down" so they could be inspected for the quality of being "without spot or blemish" - The Birth Revisited [2].

Remind you of anyone? Who else was wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger? An angel told the shepherds to look for such a baby, but the angel never told them where to look, he just said “the city of David”. They knew He would be at the Tower of the Flock (Migdal Eder) in Bethlehem*. The SIGN of the manger makes little sense to us in the West raised on the standard Christmas story, but was perfectly understood by the shepherds of the time. Why were these shepherds told of Jesus' birth? Because they certified all the lambs sacrificed at the Temple, Jesus included. And despite what you see in Nativity scenes, they weren’t led by a Star, that comes from blending the birth story with the story of the Magi, months after Jesus’ birth. See BBC(Star of Bethlehem) [3] or GotQuestions(Star of Bethlehem) [4] for more info.

A little more info on swaddling, not a common term today. Again from The Birth Revisited [2].

“Swaddling bands" were used for subduing animals prior to sacrifice. These swaddling bands were strips of gauze-like cloth used to restrain a lamb being prepared for inspection before sacrifice to prevent thrashing that they not blemish themselves. A sacrifice had to be bound in order to be valid. Binding an animal for sacrifice is specifically mentioned in Abraham's binding of Isaac in Genesis 22:9

Notice that Jesus was buried the same way, wrapped in cloth, laid in a tomb cut in a rock - John 19:40.

Migdal Eder?

Let’s take a look at “no room at the inn”, and how that translation hides a wonderful truth. The word “inn” really means guestroom. Mary was pregnant with Jesus when she and Joseph traveled to their family homestead in Bethlehem, a family homestead for a thousand years, who knows, they may have stayed with a relative. Mary could not give birth in the house because it would have made all the occupants ritually unclean. Therefore, women of that day would leave the home and give birth elsewhere, returning home after purification. Many suggest that Mary gave birth to Jesus in the Tower of the Flocks. Not provable, but probable, watch Migdal Eder and the Birth of Messiah [5] for more info. In The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [6], Alfred Edersheim wrote ‘That the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, was a settled conviction. Equally so was the belief, that He was to be revealed from Migdal Eder, “the Tower of the Flock.”’

Also note that according to the Stephens text [7], Luke 2:7,12,16 should read "the manger", not "a manger".

Now let’s read Luke 2 with the right context.

1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration whena Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a [the] manger, because there was no place for them in the inn [guestroom].

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a SIGN for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a [the] manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a [the] manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Behold The Wonder

Sometimes we can miss so much of a Bible story if we don’t understand the historical and cultural context in which it was written. It’s impossible to shed our own culture completely, but this story shows how important it is to understand the life and times of Jesus Christ. The proper context is not visible unless we understand the shepherds' point of view and that society’s views on ritual uncleanness.

Sometimes so much is revealed by examining one word, in this case “Bethlehem”. I read the lyrics for “O Little Town of Bethlehem” - Metrolyrics [8], and they give no hint of what’s really happening in this story. There is a whole layer of understanding behind that one word. There’s more too, Bethlehem means House of Bread or House of War - What's In A Name [9].

King David wrote, “Open my eyes that I may behold wonders in Your law” - Psalm 119:18 I find the truth about Bethlehem to be a wonder in His law. I hope you do too.

It shows that God planned this symbolism from the foundation of the world. In the days before Passover, consider this - God planned Jesus’ sacrifice long ago  “a body He has prepared” - Heb 10:5. There are hints about it throughout the Old Testament. He planned it in great detail. And He brought it to pass. And He packed all this symbolism into it so that we can see His hand in it all. We can trust in the sacrifice He prepared, and not rely on our own efforts.

Each year before the Days Of Unleavened Bread, I obsessively clean a toaster. Hopefully I can remember it is Jesus’ sacrifice that saves me, not my own efforts – I had nothing to do with preparing Jesus’ sacrifice. Yes we should clean out the old leaven, and yes we should examine ourselves, that’s Biblical, but we should also remember that God loves us, He is always with us, He sees and feels our pains, our joys, and our sorrows, He hears our cries, He will act, and indeed has already acted - He prepared this sacrifice long ago. In the words of John The Baptist “behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world”. John 1:29

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* In Jesus' time, Bethlehem was a village as small as 300 people - Horrid Herod [10], but today the population is about 25,000 - Wikipedia(Bethlehem) [11]. Conversely, modern Bethlehem is 4 square miles, but may have been a larger area 2000 years ago.

References

1. http://www.cbn.com/special/TheNativityMovie/articles/WhyBethlehem.aspx
2. http://hethathasanear.com/Birth.html
3. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20730828
4. https://www.gotquestions.org/star-of-Bethlehem.html
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs0AACIbJbI
6. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/lifetimes.html
7. http://biblehub.com/tr/luke/2.htm
8. http://www.metrolyrics.com/o-little-town-of-bethlehem-lyrics-christmas-carols.html
9. http://jlfreeman-1.blogspot.com/2016/12/whats-in-name.html
10. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/horrid-herod-7zf8h0t88xc

11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlehem

Unleavened Beer?

Soon, many of us will be keeping the Days of Unleavened Bread, a week long feast which is marked by its name - unleavened bread. We remove leaven and leavened products from our homes, and during the festival we eat unleavened bread, taking in "the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth". The question always comes up, especially for newcomers, what is leaven? And at some point, what about beer? People ask because they know that bread and beer are both made with yeast. So it is a valid question. The instant reaction is "it's not the days of unleavened beer." But I think there is more to the answer than saying it's not the days of unleavened beer.

Credentials are in order for this discussion. I have made bread off and on for over 40 years. I have also made beer off and on for even longer. I am not a microbiologist nor do I play one on TV, for that I rely on "First Steps in Yeast Culturing" by Pierre Lajotte [1].

Leavened Versus Leavening

The Bible is clear that we should remove both leaven and leavened products, Ex 13:7 "Unleavened bread (matzoh meaning sweet) shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened (chametz meaning sour) shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven (s'or meaning leaven)  be seen among you in all your borders." That would include bread crumbs not because they are leavenING (bread crumbs do not contain live yeast cells, they were killed in the baking process), but because they are leavenED (chametz). And it would include yeast because it is leavenING (s'or), not because it is leavenED (chametz). Note this is a New Testament command as well, 1 Cor 5:7 "Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed."

Give Us This Day Our Daily Beer

The Sediment Is Brewer's Yeast

The problem is that beer does contain live yeast cells. And the yeast cells in beer are exactly the same yeast used to make bread.   "Most yeasts used in baking are of the same species common in alcoholic fermentation." - Wikipedia Yeast [2]. The beer is not leavenED, but it does contain leavenING. One might argue that they are really different yeasts in beer versus bread. I have done the experiment of harvesting yeast from a batch of homebrewed beer (see picture) and using it to make bread. It made perfectly good bread. Remember it's the same yeast.

Sediment in a Bottle of Beer

One might argue that there isn't enough yeast in a bottle of beer to make a loaf of bread. But there are many websites that show how to culture the yeast from a single bottle of beer into a sufficient population for brewing or bread making, for example How To Brew []. It is simple enough, I've done it, maintaining sanitation is the biggest challenge. The best beers to culture from will have sediment on the bottom - that sediment is yeast, visible viable yeast. Note that the German beer hefeweizen means "yeast wheat". Filtered or pasteurized beer will not throw sediment. Only the larger commercial breweries filter or pasteurize their beer. And when "it's not the days of unleavened beer" was coined (the American dark ages of beer), nearly all beer was filtered if not pasteurized. Now the craft beer industry is producing lots of unfiltered beer with live yeast. Remember it's the same yeast.

Straining At Gnats?

Agar plate with yeast colonies

Well, how little is too little to worry about? Now we enter the gray area. Lajotte describes techniques for growing a single yeast cell into a culture, and eventually into a "pitchable" population. Technically, a single yeast cell is leavenING,  but without proper equipment and techniques, unlikely to leaven dough. Amy's Bread by Amy Scherber [3] describes a method for creating a sourdough bread starter beginning with nothing but flour and water. There are yeast cells on the grains (which get ground into flour) that reproduce and eventually ferment the flour and water into a viable population for bread making. For this reason, when making matzoh, Jews only allow flour and water to be mixed no more than 18 minutes before baking lest it begin to leaven spontaneously - Wiki Matzo [4]. Once the starter is viable, it is incorporated into bread dough and leavens it. A pinch of dough is saved as a starter for the next batch.   Yeast lives on the skins of grapes too, and there are yeast cells in the air.  So one can start with zero yeast cells and make leaven.

Ancient Israel would have only known the sourdough method. They did not have the option to buy a cake of yeast after Unleavened Bread was over. They would have started fresh with flour and water to grow a bread starter. This takes a few days.

Don't Read This Paragraph

Beer makers, in their quest to distinguish their brew from the competition, get creative in choosing sources of yeast for their "wild ales".  Rogue Brewing has created Beard Beer by culturing yeasts found in the master brewers beard - Mental Floss [5]. 7 Cent Brewery in Australia used the brewmaster's navel lint as a source for yeast, "the first beer in the world fermented from yeast captured from the brewer's belly button fluff." - CNET [6].

Back To Leaven

Sourdough Bread

One question newcomers don't ask is "what is bread?" Beer and bread are both made from grain, water, and yeast, but beer is not bread. Even though throughout history, beer has been known as liquid bread - Liquid Bread [7]. But is it "chametz" or "s'or"? At its simplest, bread is flour moistened with water and cooked, it is solid. Flour needs enzymes and yeast to rise without additional leavening, which narrows the field to a handful of grains. There is unfortunate complexity, confusion, and contradiction on the subject, among Jews and Christians and scientists, even among the Jews themselves. For example, the Jews say matzoh may only be made from five types of grain: wheat, barley, rice, oats and spelt, but this is from the Talmud, not the Bible - Wiki Chametz [8]. Science has concluded that the five grains are just different strains of wheat and barley  - The DAF []. What these five grains have in common is that they are self leavening, their flours plus water is enough to cause them to rise. Therefore, Jews argue they are the only grains that can make matzoh. And some Karaite Jews think "only the leavening of grains known to leaven are forbidden to eat as leavened" - Karaite Judaism [9]. Non gluten grains and non grain flours can be leavened with yeast (albeit poorly) or chemical leavening like baking powder, flours from oats, rice, lentils, coconut, or almond for examples. Scientists have even developed methods to make bread from cockroach flour - Neatorama [10]. Some don't think flours other than the Five count as "leavenable", some don't think chemical leavening is "chametz". As far as I understand it, over time the idea of leavening was merged with the the idea of self leavening grains. Most Jews would argue that since beer is made from barley (one of the Five) and fermented, it is chametz. I would argue that science has isolated the leavening agent yeast from the liquid beer, thanks to Anton van Leeuwenhoek, 1680 and Louis Pasteur, 1857 - Explore Yeast [11], and it is the leavening agent that's got to go, not the beer. One can separate yeast from beer, but one cannot separate yeast from a loaf of bread. Remember, it's the same yeast.

Don't Wine

Bread leavened with wine yeast 

Wine is commanded as the Passover service along with the unleavened bread. From this we see that fermented beverages are OK. But don't think it's because wine yeast is somehow different from beer yeast. It is still yeast (Saccharomyces). And yes, I did the experiment of making challah bread with wine yeast. It made perfectly good bread. According to Jeff Meyers [12], sourdough starters in ancient Israel were inoculated with the lees (sediment) from wine. Unlike beer, modern wine does not have yeast sediment in the bottle.

Back To the Future 

Something tells me no one has this leavening thing completely figured out. Like I said above, it is complex, confusing, and contradictory. Consider when the whole world keeps Unleavened Bread. Yes, they will. How is it possible to remove all the leaven from within your borders as a nation? or worldwide? This puts an undue hardship on bakeries. And breweries. Yeast is their livelihood. Many breweries jealously guard their particular strain of yeast, devoting laboratories and microbiologists to maintain it indefinitely. Chemicals and pharmaceuticals are routinely grown in Saccharomyces cerevisiae aka bread yeast Wiki Yeast[2]. I find it impossible that bakeries, breweries, and pharmaceuticals would have to start over every year. Is there a difference between home brewers and commercial breweries? Between the home baker and the commercial bakery? What about a brewer who wants to age a beer more than a year? Or a baker that needs to maintain his sourdough starter? Maybe I don't understand leaven completely.

Currently, people who keep Unleavened Bread rely on people who don't keep it. Some Jews will sell their leaven and beer and whiskey to a Gentile, then buy it back when the Days are done. Some of us keep our beer and whiskey, but throw out breads and leavening as we understand it. But still we rely on an outside source to replenish our bread supply the moment the Days are done.

Not My BEER

What to do in the meantime, till Christ comes back? Take the simplistic approach that it's not the days of unleavened beer and ignore the whole question? Or put out (as in drink up) all barley based beer because barley is one of the Five self leavening grains? Or put out beer where sediment is visible? Or search for a better answer? I guess each of us has to decide. But decide based on the Bible and facts, not just traditions.

References

1. http://www.homebrewing.org/First-Steps-in-Yeast-Culturing_p_2037.html

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast

3. https://www.amazon.com/Amys-Bread-Amy-Scherber/dp/0688124011

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matzo

5. http://mentalfloss.com/article/52658/beer-was-brewed-using-yeast-grown-beard

6. https://www.cnet.com/news/belly-button-beer-mines-yeast-from-navel-lint-totally-not-gross/

7. https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/LiquidBreadMunsey.pdf

8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chametz

9. http://www.karaitejudaism.org/talks/Leaven_Leavened_and_Unleavened.htm

10. http://www.neatorama.com/2017/03/01/Scientists-Have-Come-Up-With-A-Way-To-Make-Bread-Out-Of-Cockroach-Flour/

11. http://www.exploreyeast.com/article/history-yeast

12. http://jeffreyjmeyers.blogspot.com/2012/12/on-leaven-yeast-and-lords-supper.html