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Q: Is it really necessary to get drunk on Purim?

A: The Gemara teaches in the name of Raba (Megilla 7b) "a person must be sufficiently inebriated on Purim 'ad dlo yada' -- until he cannot distinguish between 'baruch Mordechai -- praise Mordechai' and 'Arur Haman -- curse Haman'." Immediately afterward, the Gemara tells that Raba and R. Zeira celebrated their seudat Pruim together, got drunk, and Raba killed R. Zeira. The next day, Raba prayed very hard and R. Zeira came back to life. The following year, when Raba invited R. Zeira to his Purim seudah, R. Zeira declined, saying "we cannot rely upon a miracle every year."

There is a controversy amongst the Rishonim, based upon this gemara. Some say that the story comes to cancel the concept of getting drunk on Purim and to warm us of the great dangers involved in drinking alcoholic beverages; others believe the opposite, maintaining that the story only strengthens the requirement to drink. The Rambam and the Mechaber of the Shulchan Aruch bring the requirement to drink as it was written in the gemarah. The Ramah (Rav Moshe Isserless) insists that one must drink just slightly more than the usual, and to go straight to sleep; then, in a state of sleep, it is impossible to distinguish between 'baruch Mordechai' and 'Arur Haman'.

I would say that we must understand the saying "ad dlo yada - until he cannot distinguish: "ad" - "until", and no more than that. In other words, one may drink, but must stop upon reaching a state in which he can no longer distinguish. The She'iltot holds that one may drink only if one is certain that he will say only divrei Torah and praises to G-d. If there is any doubt, he may not drink. The Meiri understands this principle from the word [in Tractate Megilla] 'levesumi', which means to drink in Aramaic, but in Hebrew means a perfume of a sweet smell. In other words, one may drink only when one is certain that good things with a 'sweet smell' will come out of his mouth. Chassidic gdolim used to say that a man's character becomes apparent via "kiso v'ka'aso" - literally, 'his pocket and his anger'. It is important that when you drink and the everyday restraints are lifted, the inner personality which will be exposed will be one of holiness. In order to reach this level, we must prepare for Purim all year round through the study of Torah and doing good deeds.

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