Be merry, but stay sober on Purim
FOR many young people, Purim is a time to get drunk but Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia president Rabbi Moshe Gutnick insists that alcohol should only be consumed in moderation.
FOR many young people, Purim is a time to get drunk but Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia president Rabbi Moshe Gutnick insists that alcohol should only be consumed in moderation.
The tradition of having a few l’chaims on the festival originated more than 2000 years ago from a phrase in the Talmud that says you should drink until you don’t know the difference between Haman, who is cursed, and Mordechai, who is blessed.
But Rabbi Gutnick said that did not mean going overboard.
“It’s the accepted view of almost all rabbinic authorities that nowadays it’s inappropriate to become drunk on Purim, especially for young people who are still mentally developing,” he said.
Rabbi Gutnick said the phrase, which implied you must eat and drink until you did not know the difference between right and wrong, meant you must celebrate until you fell asleep, not until you were drunk.
“I’m fairly certain that now in every synagogue there’s a very tight rein on alcohol, especially for young people, which is the way it should be.”
Rabbi Gutnick said that drinking alcohol actually defied the essence of Purim.
“On Purim, you’re supposed to learn and discern the difference between right and wrong, it should become a sixth sense in order to reach a level of self-refinement where you instinctively know the difference.
“Today, the opposite happens when people, especially young people, drink inappropriately, because with alcohol you lose the ability to discern right and wrong and losing control is the exact opposite of Judaism.”
Hatzolah’s Mendy Litzman said the trend of excessive drinking seemed to have slowed down recently.
“It’s actually gotten a bit better, we had more alcohol related emergencies on new years even last year, Purim was pretty quiet,” Litzman, who runs the emergency responder service, explained.
“I think parents are taking more responsibility for their children, the calls we received about intoxicated individuals were more from adults, but even that was less.”
CASSILEE KAHN
Attendees of Chabad Youth’s Purim ball last year, from left, Mendel Gurevitch, Levi Zayler and Abi Raskin got into the Purim spirit.
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