Reprinted from Aish Community Thornhill Shul

Purim is described as a Mishteh (wine feast) and the Purim miracle occurred at such wine feasts, there is a rare dispensation from the norm, and an apparent obligation to drink wine. Hopefully, the wine will enable one to experience a sublime, spiritual Purim. Yet, uninhibited drinking may also result in catastrophic consequences. If so, what exactly is the Mitzvah of drinking on Purim? 

The Gemara in Megillah (7b) rules that a person is obligated to drink and get intoxicated on Purim until he cannot tell the difference between ‘Cursed is Haman’ and ‘Blessed is Mordechai’. The simple meaning is teaching us that we must get drunk on Purim. Yet, as we will soon see, this assertion is anything but simple.

The very next line in the Gemara tells a fascinating story of Rabba and Rabbi Zeira who got excessively drunk together on Purim. In his drunken stupor, Rabba proceeded to slaughter Rabbi Zeira. When he sobered up and realized what he had done, he davened that Rabbi Zeira be brought back to life. His prayers were answered and Rabbi Zeira rejoined the world of the living. Yet, the next year, Rabbi Zeira refused to join Rabba for his Purim seudah, duly noting that a miracle is not a common occurrence and one may not rely on such miracles.

Although there are different interpretations of this story, with several explaining that it is not to be understood literally,
posit that Rabba did not actually kill Rabbi Zeira, nevertheless, many are bothered by the Gemara’s choice of words. If the ruling is that one must get drunk on Purim, then why is this story, showcasing the drastic consequences of such drinking, featured immediately following? What message is the Gemara trying to impart to us?

A different explanation of the Gemara is that drinking ad d’lo yada bein Arur Haman L’Boruch Mordechai does not actually mean getting stone cold drunk. In fact, most commentaries offer many different rationales as to the Gemara’s intent with this phrase. Some say it means drinking until one can no longer perform the mental acrobatics necessary to be able to add up the Gematria of Arur Haman andBaruch Mordechai (Hint: they both equal 502!). Accordingly, this is a much lesser degree of drunkenness. Others explain it means drinking until one can no longer decide which was a greater miracle: the downfall of Haman or Mordechai’s meteoric rise in prominence. An additional understanding is that one must get inebriated just enough to no longer be able to properly thank Hashem for the many miracles of our salvation Purim time.

It is clear that many authorities felt uncomfortable with the literal interpretation of the Gemara’s teaching to get drunk on Purim, and each one interprets the instruction as such that it does not imply one’s fully getting drunk.

Rav Manoach Hendel of Prague cites many of these explanations to elucidate the Gemara’s intent. Interestingly, what they all have in common is that not a single one of them understands the Gemara to mean actually getting drunk!

Utilizing any of these opinions would mean that one should definitely not be ‘getting plastered’. Rather, one should only drink a bit, somewhat more than he usually would, until he fulfills one of these understandings of the dictum of add’lo yada.

The Rambam offers an alternate approach. He maintains that one must drink until he falls asleep. Meaning, if one drinks and then falls asleep he has fulfilled his Mitzvah of drinking on Purim. When asleep, one certainly cannot distinguish between Arur Haman and Baruch Mordechai!

The Rema when codifying the proper amount to drink on Purim combines both of the latter approaches: drinking somewhat more than one is accustomed to regularly, and then going to sleep.

The Pri Chadash cites several opinions regarding drinking on Purim and concludes that already in his time, several hundred years ago, with society’s decline over the generations, it is proper to only drink a small amount more than usual. This way one will be certain not to transgress any prohibitions.

If this was the case several centuries ago, how much more relevant are the prophetic words today, with teen alcoholism on the rise and not a year going by without hearing horror stories about the tragic results of drinking on Purim?