QUESTION
What should be our attitude towards those who become shikur on Purim?
ANSWER
We have to know that the purpose of our lives is to acquire daas, not to lose daas. When a person becomes very intoxicated he’s in the category of an animal and that’s no praise for him at all.
However, sometimes, in order to raise the airplane off the ground you have to put high-octane fuel into the tank to help get liftoff. And therefore, in order to make yourself more enthusiastic there’s nothing wrong with imbibing a certain amount. But to get out of control, that’s a mistake. It’s not a kiddush Hashem; you make yourself look disgusting. No, I don’t approve of that; it’s very wrong.
And therefore, although there’s a mitzvah on Purim of נִכְ נַ ס יַיִן יָ צָ א סוֹ ד but you have to be very careful that when the wine comes in it’s the secret of the Jew that comes out. That’s the only thing that should be coming out.
The Jew has in his neshamah a love of Hashem, only that he’s too bashful to talk about it. He’s enthusiastic for the Torah and mitzvos but he’s embarrassed to show it. But when the wine comes in, so it pushes out the secret; the truth comes out and it shows his real pnimiyus. When he’s a little bit intoxicated the Jew shows the real enthusiasm that he possesses, things that he never showed before.
So therefore, Purim is a great opportunity for people to demonstrate their loyalty to the Torah, their emunah in Hakadosh Baruch Hu; that He’s protecting us at all times and that eventually we will conquer, that we will outlive all of our enemies just like we outlived Haman. All this and much more we can demonstrate on Purim; and we are able to do it when we elicit from within us the greatness of which we are capable. We have it in ourselves! And a little bit of mashkeh helps out, no question about it.
TAPE # 867 (March 1992)
