65. A Torah Scholar's Eating Habits

Deios 5:2

When a Torah scholar eats the small amount that is appropriate for him, he should do so in his own home. He should not eat in a public place unless there is a pressing need so that he should not be viewed disrespectfully by others. He should not eat with boorish people, nor at tables that are considered “full of vomit and filth” (see previous Halacha). The scholar should not eat in other places too often, not even with other scholars, nor in large gatherings. It is only appropriate for him to eat at another person's table when it is the meal of a mitzvah, like a wedding feast. Even then, he should only do so when it is a scholar marrying the daughter of a scholar. The pious people of earlier generations never participated in a meal that was not of their own food.

Deios 5:3

A scholar only drinks enough wine to soften the food in his stomach. Becoming drunk is a sin. It is shameful behavior that causes a person forget what he has learned. If a scholar becomes drunk in front of the general public, he causes a desecration of God's Name. It is prohibited to drink even a little wine in the afternoon, unless it is done so with food, as wine drunk with food is less intoxicating. Having wine after the meal, however, must be avoided.