March 15, 2005

OP ED PIECE
It is Not a Mitzvah to Get Drunk on Purim!

By Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb
Rabbi Weinreb is Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union and a clinical psychologist.

It is now a couple of months since the Orthodox Union launched its campaign against excessive alcohol consumption in the Jewish community, with special attention being paid to substance abuse within our community at large and within our adolescent population in particular. We undertook this campaign in response to a meeting held at our offices this past December with pulpit rabbis and day school principals from the greater New York area. This group identified alcohol and substance abuse as major problems among our teenagers. We have begun to develop a multi-faceted response, under the rubric “Safe Homes, Safe Shuls, Safe Schools.” Our call for the elimination of Kiddush clubs--which has met with great success--was just the first step in this campaign.

One challenge we face is the upcoming holiday of Purim, which has been characterized in past years by excessive drinking, resulting in disgraceful behavior, unsafe practices, and even real tragedy. Purim has been traditionally associated with the drinking of wine, and indeed drinking on Purim has a halachic basis in a Talmudic source. Thus, our call for zero tolerance of drinking on Purim among teenagers, and for sincere moderation of drinking on Purim among adults, has met the objection: “But it is a mitzvah!”

The fundamental rationale of our opposition to alcohol consumption by teenagers on Purim is the fact that drinking often leads, especially among youngsters, to serious medical consequences. It is instructive that among the strong supporters of our campaign have been members of Hatzoloh, the rescue and ambulance corps, who report that Purim does not go by without incidences of toxic reactions to alcohol requiring emergency treatment, to driving accidents, and sometimes even to deaths.

These considerations of health and pikuach nefesh (the saving of lives) easily transcend whatever mitzvah might be involved in drinking on Purim. Secondly, and very important, is the fact that it is against the law for an adult to knowingly provide alcohol to individuals who are under age. While there may be exceptions when wine is served for ceremonial purposes, clearly that exception assumes that no more than a symbolic quantity is ingested. Teachers or rebbeim who supply minors with wine or liquor on Purim are in violation of the law of the land.

The Orthodox Union does not want to seem prudish or to be advocating total prohibition of alcohol. However, for those sectors of our population in which the call for moderation is likely to be ignored, we believe that zero tolerance is the only alternative. Adolescents, and adults with alcoholic tendencies, cannot be relied upon to effectively practice moderation; we therefore are calling for total abstinence on Purim among those populations.

It is instructive to study the sources in halacha, that is Jewish law, for drinking on Purim and to recognize that although the Talmud clearly states it is an obligation on Purim to the extent that “one cannot distinguish between cursed be Haman and blessed be Mordechai,” it is not clear that the Talmud means to become intoxicated; rather, it may be understood as “getting a buzz.”

One of my personal favorite works on the spiritual underpinnings of halachic practice is Yesod veShoresh haAvodah, The Foundation and Root of Worship by Rabbi Alexander Ziskind of Grodnow. He writes that one must realize that the Talmud suggests only “livesumei” and does not use the term “lehishtaker,” which would mean “to become drunk.” The former term means to drink just enough that one’s heart is lightened and one can truly indulge in the spiritual celebration of the theme of the day of Purim.

Rabbi Ziskind goes on to say that because the Jewish people are often so burdened with sadness that it is impossible for them to achieve the mood of thanksgiving and joy required on Purim, a little bit of wine to ease their worry is advised, but certainly not more.

One need only consult the Mishnah Brurah, the standard twentieth century commentary on the Shulchan Aruch, authored by the Chafetz Chaim. With reference to Purim, the Chafetz Chaim quotes the medieval commentator, the Meiri, who forbids drunkenness, as well as the nineteenth century halachic authority, the Chayei Adam, who rules that if the drinking in any way diminishes one’s ability to perform the mitzvot with proper intent during prayer and Birkat haMazon (grace after meals) it is better not to drink.

Within the OU, the department most directly concerned with alcohol abuse is the National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY). Indeed, in recent years, we have noticed a marked increase in the number of young people who try to sneak in liquor to one of our events. NCSY has a zero tolerance for alcohol at all events, including Purim, and urges that even kiddush be recited on grape juice and not wine. Possession of alcohol at an NCSY event is grounds for immediate expulsion.

Recently, NCSY has led the drive for containment of the problems of alcohol and substance abuse in our community, and is also circulating a brochure prepared by Rabbi Jack Abramowitz, Director of National Programs titled, Ad D’lo Yada (“Until You Don’t Know”), addressing the issue of drinking on Purim very clearly and concisely. What is most commendable about Rabbi Abramowitz’s pamphlet is the list of alternative means of celebrating Purim he provides. (Please ask your local OU shul for a copy, or to download it at www.ncsy.org.)

My own personal concern for this issue traces back to experiences I witnessed myself in my former community, Baltimore, where the excessive consumption of alcohol on Purim resulted in a fatality in one case and in serious illness in others. Recently my concern was again triggered by an incident at an NCSY Shabbaton at which, despite stringent controls and warnings, a teenager was able to smuggle in alcohol and drank enough to require emergency treatment at a hospital.

Today’s concerns are nothing new. One of my wife’s ancestors, the nineteenth century Chassidic sage, Rabbi Yechezkel of Kuzamir, was also troubled about improper conduct on Purim. He would note that the common blessings we give each other at this season of the year are “a freiliche (joyous) Purim and a kosher Pesach.”

He pointed out that of course our Purim will be joyous, and of course our Passover will be kosher, given the scrupulous ways in which we observe our customs. It is more important, he said, that we bless each other with a “kosher Purim and a joyous Pesach.” On Passover we tend to be so strict that we lose sight of the need for joy, and on Purim we tend to be so frivolous that we ignore the need to act in a kosher and proper fashion.

I pray--and I pledge that the Orthodox Union will pursue this goal in every way possible-- that this Purim is not only joyous but also kosher, in that the spirit of the day is kept spiritually and not spirit-fully.

* * *

The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of North America and beyond, is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education, youth work through NCSY, political action through the IPA, and advocacy for persons with disabilities through Yachad and Our Way. Its kosher supervision label, the , is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 275,000 products manufactured in 68 countries around the globe.

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