Drinking on Simchas Torah

e1234

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 5:17 am

I never heard of this -- that's crazy..
I'm happy my husband doesn't do this (and noone in his shul either)

purim is more then enough as the only time he drinks because then he claims it's a mitzva to drink.

mimivan

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 5:23 am

The purpose of drinking on simchas Torah is to let the inhibitions down while celebrating the Torah with singing and dancing. While the avoda of learning Torah throughout the year involves sitting and learning torah, by Chabad, the avoda on S.T is different.

BTW a couple hundred years ago, it used to be that certain communities thought Chabadniks were heretics for dancing and singing on S.T. so we can see how things have changed. Wink

About the gross drunkeness...the Rebbe never approved of getting so intoxicated. He set limits to the amounts people should drink on S.T. whether people actually follow this is their on matter....and of course those who are falling down drunk are the first ones people notice...not the thousands of people at 770 who are actually following the limits prescribed by the Rebbe and are celebrating S.T. properly.

cubbie

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 5:29 am

In our shul some of the men sneaked off to another room with a few bottles of whisky, dh's cousin called him to come with and he made his excuses.

greenfire

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 8:27 am

I think it's one thing to have a l'chaim (had a few shots myself Drunken Smile

) and another thing to be sick & rude & vomiting Puke

and the 96% alcohol can fire up your insides if you breath air and don't have a proper chaser ...

sky

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 8:59 am

Dassa wrote:

I have a feeling that this problem goes back a long way. Why do the Cohanim duchan during Shacharis on Simchas Torah???
(He's the Rabbi of the Shul)

I agree. There is a reason why duchaning is not during mussaf in the machzors.

But that does give an excuse for excessive drinking.

shalhevet

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 9:01 am

sky wrote:

Dassa wrote:

I have a feeling that this problem goes back a long way. Why do the Cohanim duchan during Shacharis on Simchas Torah???
(He's the Rabbi of the Shul)

I agree. There is a reason why duchaning is not during mussaf in the machzors.

But that does give an excuse for excessive drinking.

A cohen is not allowed to duchan if he drunk a reviis (86cc) of wine. Ie if he made kiddush. What does that have to do with alcohol abuse?

gryp

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 9:06 am

mimivan wrote:

bubby...my dh and ds are in CH, so you might have seen them. (yeah, amid that sea of black and white! LOL

)
B'h dh isn't much of a drinker, but on Simchas Torah he has a bit...but I've never seen him out of control.
He took Schneur to CH with him, so I believe he was extra careful not too imbibe too much this year Very Happy

Mimivan! I wanna see Schneur!

Tehilla

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 9:06 am

we're Lubavitch, and B"H my husband doesn't get 'smashed' or close to it. it's disgraceful, and against what the Rebbe said.

gryp

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 9:20 am

Yes, we celebrate Simchas Torah with drinking. Drinking is part of our Avodah on Simchas Torah. Drinking excessively is not recommended for the unrefined or the underage population. When it comes to alcohol, adults need to be responsible for themselves and their families.

Simchas Torah is not a celebration of Torah learning, it's a celebration that we have the Torah altogether. It's a joyous time for the learned and the unlearned. At least the unlearned on this special day can truly dance without tripping over the honor they think they deserve.

TzenaRena

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 9:28 am

The dancing in 770 was simply beautiful this year, I was there at 4:00 AM, and didn't see ANY drunks, just uplifting, inspiring dancing with the Torah.

And my husband, sons and SIL walked between 3-5 hours respectively to be mesameach other Yidden in different types of shuls, Litvishe included. The simcha they brought with them was a unique chabad brand, and very much appreciated . One son went with his sprained foot, ( and the other brought back a sprained forearm Sad

) and then went to dance in 770 till 6:00 AM.

I would say that on Simchas Torah the simcha reaches such a pinnacle it would SEEM as though we're delirious, or "drunk" with happiness.

mimivan

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 9:51 am

GR wrote:

mimivan wrote:

bubby...my dh and ds are in CH, so you might have seen them. (yeah, amid that sea of black and white! LOL

Mimivan! I wanna see Schneur!

Oh, he's easy to spot...the Israeli kid and his dad has a long beard and a black hat!

(seriously, it would be fun to have an imamother kids get together...or how about an imamother dhs convention-...now that would be interesting!)

then again it would probably be like a co-dependent support group for kids and husbands of imamother addicts. LOL

octopus

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 9:58 am

I can't get over all the people walking in from 770 on ST night. shock

That's one far walk. I know it is done every year, but I have to say- it's pretty incredible.

Lady Godiva

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 11:47 am

The guys in the shul I went to (Sephardic) were high, so HIGH! But they all acted responsibly, at least what I saw.
I had 2 drinks at the meal but I don't get drunk.

Ruchel

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 12:01 pm

I saw no alcohol at shul. Maybe I didn't see. But certainly no one was drunk. BH my husband doesn't drink, I hate that.

And I can say in my community few men learn regularly as my husband still hasn't found a chavrusa, so no, no link.

lamplighter

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 2:06 pm

my father gets drunk every simchas torah. He is funny and happy and dances his heart out. there is nothing vulgar or disgusting about it or him. My DH does not drink, only a few small lchaims but my fahter is "training" him so to speak. \I think it is a lubavitch thing to drink on ST but wow a chabad ST is so full of lebidikeit and happiness its an amazing thing.
And ya anyone getting smashed or such is tot against the point, and they need to be held responsible for their actions.
And shalhevet that comment really hurt.

flowerpower

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 2:09 pm

Dh is not a drinker and noone else in my family drank either. The kids did however get drunk-the sugar level was high indeed. The men claim their blood pressure got checked and it was 100 percent fish sauce and dh complained he is turning into a fish tank.

DefyGravity

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 2:14 pm

We daven at a small Chabad for Simchas Torah, and nearly all the men were tipsy - but in a good way. The dancing and singing was extremely leibedik and everyone had a very nice time.