Why did the Sages enjoin us to get drunk on Purim?
Combating Anti-Semitism in Ancient Persia
According to the Midrash, the near destruction of the Jews in the time of Ahasuerus was a punishment for participating in the royal banquet and bowing down to the Persian idols. What led them to perform these disloyal acts?
The Jews of that era thought that the root cause of anti-Semitism was due to xenophobic hatred of their distinct culture and religion. As Haman explained his rationale for destroying them: "There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are diverse from those of every people; neither do they keep the king's laws." (Esther 3:8)
In order to overcome this blind hatred, the Jews decided it would be prudent to adopt the customs of their idolatrous neighbors. They demonstrated their allegiance as good Persian subjects by attending the king's banquet and bowing down to the local idols.
The Jews of Persia, however, soon discovered that their efforts were futile. To their dismay, they learned of Haman's plot to annihilate them despite their best attempts at integrating into the local culture.
Accepting the Torah Once Again
With the realization that assimilation was not the answer, and that only God's help protected them from their enemies, the Jewish people reaffirmed their commitment to keep the Torah and its laws. "'They confirmed and took upon themselves...' - i.e., they confirmed what they had accepted long before." (Shabbat 88a)
The Talmud teaches that the renewed commitment to Torah at Shushan complemented and completed their original acceptance of Torah at Mount Sinai. What was missing at Sinai? The dramatic revelation at Mount Sinai contained a measure of coercion. Alone and helpless in the desert, the Jewish people could hardly refuse. The Midrash portrays this lack of free choice with the imagery of burial underneath the mountain had they refused to accept the Torah. In the days of Ahasuerus, however, they voluntarily accepted the Torah, in a spirit of love and pure free will.
Effusion of Good Will
This appears to be the explanation for the unusual rabbinic requirement to become inebriated on Purim (Megilah 7b). Generally speaking, it is forbidden to become drunk, since without the intellect to guide our actions, we are concerned that our uncontrolled desires will turn to evil and depravity.
But on Purim, the entire Jewish people was showered with an outburst of good will to accept the Torah. On this special day, every Jew who respects the Torah is enlightened with a sincere inner yearning to embrace the Torah and its ways. For this reason, on Purim we demonstrate that even when intoxicated, we do not stray from the path of Torah, since our inner desires are naturally predisposed to goodness and closeness to God. Even in a drunken state, we are confident that we will not be shamed or humiliated with the exposure of our innermost desires: "To make known that all who hope in You will not be shamed, nor ever be humiliated, those taking refuge in You." (From the Shoshanat Ya'akov prayer for Purim)
[Adapted from Olat Riyyah vol. I, p. 441]
Combating Anti-Semitism in Ancient Persia
According to the Midrash, the near destruction of the Jews in the time of Ahasuerus was a punishment for participating in the royal banquet and bowing down to the Persian idols. What led them to perform these disloyal acts?
The Jews of that era thought that the root cause of anti-Semitism was due to xenophobic hatred of their distinct culture and religion. As Haman explained his rationale for destroying them: "There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are diverse from those of every people; neither do they keep the king's laws." (Esther 3:8)
In order to overcome this blind hatred, the Jews decided it would be prudent to adopt the customs of their idolatrous neighbors. They demonstrated their allegiance as good Persian subjects by attending the king's banquet and bowing down to the local idols.
The Jews of Persia, however, soon discovered that their efforts were futile. To their dismay, they learned of Haman's plot to annihilate them despite their best attempts at integrating into the local culture.
Accepting the Torah Once Again
With the realization that assimilation was not the answer, and that only God's help protected them from their enemies, the Jewish people reaffirmed their commitment to keep the Torah and its laws. "'They confirmed and took upon themselves...' - i.e., they confirmed what they had accepted long before." (Shabbat 88a)
The Talmud teaches that the renewed commitment to Torah at Shushan complemented and completed their original acceptance of Torah at Mount Sinai. What was missing at Sinai? The dramatic revelation at Mount Sinai contained a measure of coercion. Alone and helpless in the desert, the Jewish people could hardly refuse. The Midrash portrays this lack of free choice with the imagery of burial underneath the mountain had they refused to accept the Torah. In the days of Ahasuerus, however, they voluntarily accepted the Torah, in a spirit of love and pure free will.
Effusion of Good Will
This appears to be the explanation for the unusual rabbinic requirement to become inebriated on Purim (Megilah 7b). Generally speaking, it is forbidden to become drunk, since without the intellect to guide our actions, we are concerned that our uncontrolled desires will turn to evil and depravity.
But on Purim, the entire Jewish people was showered with an outburst of good will to accept the Torah. On this special day, every Jew who respects the Torah is enlightened with a sincere inner yearning to embrace the Torah and its ways. For this reason, on Purim we demonstrate that even when intoxicated, we do not stray from the path of Torah, since our inner desires are naturally predisposed to goodness and closeness to God. Even in a drunken state, we are confident that we will not be shamed or humiliated with the exposure of our innermost desires: "To make known that all who hope in You will not be shamed, nor ever be humiliated, those taking refuge in You." (From the Shoshanat Ya'akov prayer for Purim)
[Adapted from Olat Riyyah vol. I, p. 441]