Question:
Why do so many people study in yeshivas if they don't want to be rabbis?


Answer:
The highest ideal is knowledge for its own sake. Or rather, knowledge in order to understand and knowledge in order to come closer to God. Of course, there is a benefit in learning whatever your motive, and studying in order to pass exams should not be

The best motive is to do the right thing simply because it is the right thing.

discounted. But even when you study for an ulterior motive, the sages were confident that "mitoch shello lish'mah ba lish'mah" - "From doing something which is not for its own sake, one comes to doing it for its own sake" (Pes. 50b)


This applies not just to learning, but to everything. Some rabbinic sources speak of helping the poor because one day you might be poor and would need help from others (they say there is a wheel that constantly turns and who knows how it will turn for you) - but the best motive is to do the right thing simply because it is the right thing.


Question:
It is known to all that smoking is bad for you, so Jewish law urges you not to smoke. However, it is also known that excessive alcohol is bad for you, so why do I see so many Orthodox Jews drinking?


Answer:
The Bible says, "Wine gladdens the heart of man." (Psalms 104:15; cf. Judges 9:13, Kohelet 10:19) Everybody knows that Judaism sees wine as a source of Shabbat and festival joy and associates its use with happy life cycle events. So it cannot be said that drinking is totally banned in Judaism; though there is no reason to go overboard, as some groups do, especially on Purim and Simchat Torah.


The tradition of drinking on Purim derives from a light-hearted dictum, "On Purim one should mellow himself with wine until he cannot tell the difference between 'Cursed be Haman' and 'Blessed be Mordechai.'" (Megillah 7b) This, however, is not a license for

Judaism has no problem with alcohol in principle.

unbridled excess.


The fact is that Jews have always been regarded as relatively free from drunkenness and alcoholism. Immanuel Kant thought this was because a small, insecure minority group had to keep a clear head. The reason for Jewish sobriety is more likely to be that the Biblical story of Noach and his vineyard was an object lesson with an obvious message.


Hence, though Judaism has no problem with alcohol in principle, it warns against excessive drinking. The situation is different when it comes to smoking, where the advice would not be moderation, but abstinence.