Who are the history buffs here?

I don't know their origin, But legend has it that the Baal Shem Tov, an East European Jewish mystic who lived in Poland (Russian Empire) in the 1700s had a pipe with a stem so ling he could sit on the rear facing seat of the wagon and rest the bowl on the tailgate. He smoked before praying because it helped him with deveycus (concentration).

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Originally Posted by Nachman

I don't know their origin, But legend has it that the Baal Shem Tov, an East European Jewish mystic who lived in Poland (Russian Empire) in the 1700s had a pipe with a stem so ling he could sit on the rear facing seat of the wagon and rest the bowl on the tailgate. He smoked before praying because it helped him with deveycus (concentration).

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Well, there ya have it. Leave it to the jewish mystics. They'll nail it every time.

Very fascinating! I've never heard of so many different explanations until now! I always assumed the length was for the function of reading, and the shape named for the men who studied the Book.

The first history I read stated that the clay pipes were the cobs of their time, kind of a one and done.That is also where I read the longer stems were for a cooler dryer smoke.Almost all of them agreed that the sailors were the first enablers.