For many children and adults alike, what makes Purim Purim are the customs that turn it into a celebration of topsy-turviness. While sometimes entertaining and usually innocuous, these customs—drunkenness, farcical plays, costumes—remain a contentious matter in Jewish law and raise larger questions regarding the underlying meaning of the holiday.
The only raucous Purim custom with Talmudic roots is the notion of getting drunk on the holiday. The Talmud seems initially to encourage intoxication at Purim feasts, even as it cautions against the potential dangers. While some medieval figures continued to argue in favor of getting drunk—or, at the very least, getting tipsy—others strongly objected. The fear of inappropriate behavior led two prominent 20th century scholars, Rabbis Yisrael Kagan and Yehiel Epstein, to advocate against it, a position hard to ignore given the many dangerous alcohol-related incidents that take place yearly.
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From Tablet Magazine
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