But it's a MITZVAH! (Barf)

With Purim coming around the corner, it is very common for the youth (and others) to proclaim "But it's a mitzvah to drink until you cannot tell the difference between "cursed is Haman" and "Blessed is Mordechai"!" To such a person who uses this excuse, one can probably say  "And this is the one mitzvah that you choose to be machmer about?! Getting to shul to davven with a minyan three times a day you can't be bothered with, but getting drunk? For that you want to be machmer?"

If you are going to rationalize your inclination towards self-destruction, please use a better excuse than "It's a Mitzvah!".

Normally, when someone uses that quote from the Gemara, such a person has never really studied that page (a cute rendition of the page can be seen below). If he had, he would have read the next sentence where it tells of a strange story where a respectable Rabbi got so drunk on Purim, and for some drunken reason, he murdered his friend. The story then goes on to say that when he woke up the next morning, he realized his crime and resurrected the deceased. Oh, and the following year, when he invited that same fellow back to a feast of drinking, the resurrected fellow wisely declined! So are either of these statements to be taken literally?

So the truth is that this Gemara is not declaring a mitzvah to get so drunk that you get out of control. And, in fact, it seems to be stating that one should avoid contact with those who do. But those whose Yetzer Hara seems to drive them this time of year, use "But it's a Mitzvah!" excuse to drink to excess, and to not only do silly things, but to do stupid things, such as passing out shots of whiskey to people in their cars, offering whiskey to children, stopping traffic and jumping up and down on top of the cars. I have seen boys coming home from Yeshivah, barely able to stand and sometimes being dragged home from their school party where the teachers not only permitted excessive drinking, but encouraged it.

The only time that drinking (and responsible drinking) is to be encouraged is during the actual sueda! And yet, a few hours after the Megilla reading, teenagers come stumbling home from their "chaperoned" celebrations in school, barley able to walk, and sometimes pausing to barf in the street. More than once I have seen two older lads holding up a younger one between them, trying to get him home from their evening High School celebration so that he can get a bit of sleep before getting up for the last possible time to hear the megilla.

And when it finally is time for the sueda, the teenagers are passed out, feeling sick, and unable to to function for the rest of the day, or to be part of the meal, which is the actual mitzvah instead of what they actually accomplished. "But it's a mitzvah!" is not a declaration of truth, but an expression of "It's the one time of the year where I can drink myself into oblivion and nobody can do anything to stop me!"

Chag Sameach!