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Your donation will be tax deductible in the US to the extent allowed by the IRS.
To make a tax-deductible donation by wire transfer in the US, please contact:
Avrum Lapin, North American Representative
Toll-free: 1-866-830-3321
Email: schechter@thelapingroup.com
To make a tax-deductible donation in Israel, please contact:
Dina Gudai, Israeli Representative
Phone: 074-7800643
Email: dina@schechter.ac.il
Please mail your check to:
The Schechter Institutes, Inc. (a 501(c) 3 tax exempt organization)
Box #3566
PO Box 8500
Philadelphia, PA 19178-3566
Attn: Mr. Avrum Lapin, North American Representative
Toll-free: 1-866-830-3321
Email: schechter@thelapingroup.com
Please indicate the donation is "for your joint Schechter Institutes program."
Checks should be made payable to the Jewish Theological Society of Canada and mailed to:
Jewish Theological Society of Canada
c/o Camp Ramah in Canada
3845 Bathhurst St., Suite 310
Toronto, ON, M3H 3N2
Phone: 416-789-2193, ext. 2139
E-mail: accounting@campramah.com
Please mail a check to:
The Schechter Institutes
Attn: Dina Gudai, Finance Department
PO Box 16080,
Jerusalem, 9116002
Israel
For assistance, please call Dina Gudai at 074-780-0643 (8:00 AM – 3:00 Israel time Sunday through Thursday).
The Jewish people throughout history has always opposed drunkenness. That is the message of the stories of Noah and Lot (Genesis 9 and 19) as well as of the book of Proverbs (23:30-35). According to our Sages, Nadav and Avihu were killed because they were drunk (Leviticus Rabbah 20:9 and parallels), drunkenness leads to forbidden sexual relations (Ketubot 65a and Numbers Rabbah 10:3) and “there is nothing that causes a person greater lamentation than wine” (Sanhedrin 70b).
As a result, it is difficult to fathom the primary Talmudic source related to drinking on Purim (Megillah 7b): “Rava said: a person must get drunk on Purim until he cannot distinguish between ‘cursed be Haman’ and ‘blessed be Mordechai’. Rabbah and R. Zeira made a Purim feast together. They got drunk. Rabbah stood up and killed R. Zeira. On the morrow, Rabbah prayed for him and revived him. The following year, Rabbah said to him: ‘Come, let us celebrate the Purim feast together!’ R. Zeira replied: ‘Miracles don’t happen every day!’ “
Rava’s statement begs an explanation. R. David Abudraham explained that the Sages required drinking on Purim since all of the miracles in the days of Ahashverosh occurred at drinking parties (Sefer Abudraham, pp. 209-210). On the other hand, Rava was a vintner (Berakhot 56a and Bava Metzia 73a) and clearly liked to drink wine (Pesahim 107b). As for the strange story, Rabbi H. Z. Reines suggests that the entire episode is a Purim joke (Hadoar 5737, p. 266)!
Whatever the simple meaning is, it is clear that the poskim (halakhic authorities) throughout the generations felt very uncomfortable with Rava’s demand for drinking on Purim, and therefore each posek tried to circumvent the requirement. Here is a sampling of their rulings:
In recent years, we have witnessed a marked increase in the use of wine, alcohol and drugs by Israeli youth due to the dual influence of Western and Russian cultures. This increase has led, in turn, to an increase in traffic accidents and injuries. These are the ways of Noah, Lot and Ahashverosh, not of the Jewish people throughout its history. The poskim understood this significant difference. That is why they ruled: “heartfelt joy” – yes, “debauchery and foolishness – no. May we remember this crucial difference both on Purim and throughout the year.
Prof. David Golinkin is the President of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety. If you wish to abbreviate the article, please contact Rabbi Golinkin at:golinkin@schechter.org.il. The opinions expressed here are the author’s and in no way reflect an official policy of the Schechter Institute.
Rabbi Prof. David Golinkin was born and raised in Arlington, Virginia. He made aliyah in 1972, earning a B.A. in Jewish History and two teaching certificates from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He received an M.A. in Rabbinics and a Ph.D. in Talmud from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America where he was also ordained as Rabbi.
Prof. Golinkin is President Emeritus of Schechter Institutes, Inc. and President Emeritus of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, where he also serves as a Professor of Talmud and Jewish Law. For twenty years he served as Chair of the Va’ad Halakhah (Law Committee) of the Rabbinical Assembly which writes responsa and gives halakhic guidance to the Masorti (Conservative) Movement in Israel. He is the founder and Director of the Institute of Applied Halakhah at The Schechter Institute whose goal is to publish a library of halakhic literature for Jews thoughout the world. He is the Director of the Center for Women in Jewish Law at the Schechter Institute whose goal is to publish responsa and books by and about women in Jewish law. He is also the founder and Director of the Midrash Project at Schechter whose goal is to publish a series of critical editions of Midrashim.
In June 2014, Rabbi Golinkin was named by The Jerusalem Post, as one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world. In May 2019, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Jewish Theological Seminary. In November 2022, he received the Nefesh B’Nefesh Bonei Zion Award for his contributions to Israeli society in the field of education
Prof. Golinkin is the author or editor of 65 books dealing with Jewish law, Talmud, Midrash and prayer, as well as hundreds of articles, Responsa and sermons.
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