Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Shabbat and Holidays
- Purim & The Month of Adar
- The Laws of Purim
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- Peninei Halakha
12. The Meaning of the Mitzva of Drinking
Both in Tanakh and in rabbinic literature, it is made clear that drunkenness is disgraceful and liable to bring one to sin. Why, then, are we commanded to get drunk on Purim?
There is a deeper reason as well. On Purim, the eternal sanctity of Israel is revealed, and it becomes clear that everything God does to the Jewish people is for the good. Even things that initially seem bad eventually turn out to be for our benefit. Drinking wine for the sake of a mitzva shows that even the material aspect of Israel is holy at its core. Even though the body and its senses seem to impede the service of God, this is reversed on the sublime plane of Purim, when these physical elements greatly enhance our service of God, with joy and vitality.
Let us delve even deeper. In general, Torah and intellect must guide our lives, and when one follows this path, he is happy, but his happiness is limited by his perception. However, on the lofty level of faith that we reach on Purim, we recognize that God runs the world for the good. Even if His ways are sometimes incomprehensible to us, we disregard our own perceptions and happily accept God’s governing of the world. This is the level of "until he does not know": cleaving to God Who is beyond human comprehension. This is connected in its entirety to faith through self-sacrifice. With such sublime faith – the faith of the people of Israel – we achieve boundless joy. 15
^ 15.The simple explanation is quoted in Eliya Rabba and BHL 695:2. See also Mitzvat Re’iyah (omissions §695). It is no coincidence that there is another, deeper explanation, as that is the property of good wine – it reveals secrets. At first there is one interpretation, and through this interpretation another is revealed. These three explanations correspond to the three levels of drinking: 1) tipsy; 2) drunk; and 3) very drunk – "until he does not know," according to its simple meaning. See Torah Or by R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi, "Ĥayav Inish Li-besumei," pp. 98a-100b, especially 99c-d. In the merit of their natural humility, women can attain all of this by drinking only a small amount of alcohol.
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
Rosh Yeshiva of Har Bracha and rabbi of the settlement.
Peninei Halakha 18. Torah Verses in the Prayers and in the Berakha of She-asa Li Kol Tzorki
Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av
The Laws of Purim 14. Can a Drunk or Tipsy Person Recite Berakhot and Pray Ma’ariv?
Chapter 16: The Mitzvot of Joy and Kindness
Rabbis in Midrash
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 17- "Miracles Don't Make a Messiah (87)
After learning about the unique "mass-revelation" at Sinai, the question was asked: what about the Christian claim that their "messiah also did miracles in front of people. The class summarizes the 3 significant differences between that claim and Israel's "mass-revelation".
