as the Fast of Esther, etc., and on the strict fast day of the Ninth of Av ). In general he is opposed to smoking on any of the fast days because, he says, it brings Judaism to shame in the eyes of the Moslems , who strictly refrain from smoking on their fast days. He also discusses the fact that smokers claim that tobacco calms their nerves, making them forget their poverty and their troubles. He responds to that claim by saying that is the very reason why it should be prohibited on the Ninth of Av, when it is our duty to mourn and weep over the destruction of Jerusalem .
The next early authority to discuss smoking was Abraham Gumbiner, in his classic commentary to the Shulhan Arukh(Magen Avraham to Orah Hayyim 210, par. 9). The question is whether smoking requires a blessing before its use, as all foods do. His opinion given in commenting on the law in the Shulhan Arukh says that when a person is a mere taster, not an eater(as a woman at the stove who takes a small amount into her mouth and then spits it out), such tasting requires no blessing. Since tobacco is inhaled and then exhaled, is it not similar to mere tasting and, therefore, requires no blessing? But perhaps it is like incense, which does require a blessing. He leaves the matter undecided.
The next important discussion is by Isaac Lampronti of Fer rara (1679B1756). Isaac Lampronti was both the physician and the rabbi of Ferrara . His scientific alphabetical encyclopedia of Jewish law contains a number of articles on tobacco. First he has an article under the heading“Apalto,” in which he discusses the question of a license granted to a Jew to have a monopoly in the tobacco trade. This article reveals the fact that the Jews were active, and perhaps leaders , in the tobacco business.
Under the heading“Tobacco,” Lampronti has a whole series of articles on the matter. Perhaps the most significant of them is the one in which he describes the prevalence of the use of tobacco in the synagogue. He describes the conviviality this arouses and how it destroys the whole mood of sanctity of the synagogue, and he declares that if he had the authority, he would abolish its use in the synagogue.
Elijah of Lublin (d. 1735), in his responsa Yad Eliyahu#65, refers to the spread of the tobacco habit among women. He discusses a rather curious question. Since a husband must avoid any contact with his wife during her menstrual period(for example, he may not drink from the same cup), may they both take puffs from the same pipe?