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The Case of Rabba and R. Zeira

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PURIM 2020 – SOURCE SHEET www.rabbidunner.com ALCOHOL INDUCED HOMICIDE: THE CASE OF RABBA AND R. ZEIRA 1. MEGILLA 7B – THE OBLIGATION TO BECOME BLIND DRUNK ON PURIM רמא אבר יחימ בי יא נ שי ימוסבל אירופב דע אלד עדי יב ן רורא ןמה ךורבל יכדרמ . הבר יברו אריז ודבע תדועס םירופ םירופ תדועס ודבע אריז יברו הבר . יכדרמ ךורבל ןמה רורא ן יב עדי אלד דע אירופב ימוסבל שי נ יא בי יחימ אבר רמא דהב י דדה י א י סב םו םק הבר יטחש ה ברל י ז י אר רחמל עב י ימחר ו יחא הי הנשל רמא היל נ יתי רמ ו דיבענ תדועס םירופ םירופ תדועס דיבענ ו רמ יתי נ היל רמא הנשל הי יחא דהב י דדה י רמא ל י ה אל לכב אתעש אתעשו חרתמ שי נ י .אס Rava said: A person is obligated to become intoxicated with wine on Purim until he is so intoxicated that he does not know how to distinguish between ‘cursed is Haman’ and ‘blessed is Mordecai’. The Gemara relates that Rabba and Rabbi Zeira prepared a Purim feast with each other, and became intoxicated to the extent that Rabba got up and murdered (lit. ‘slaughtered’) Rabbi Zeira. The next day, when [Rabba] became sober and realized what he had done, he asked God for mercy, and revived [Rabbi Zeira back to life]. The following year, Rabba said to Rabbi Zeira: Let the Master come over and let us prepare the Purim feast together. To which Rabbi Zeira responded: Miracles do not happen each and every hour, and I do not want to undergo that experience again. 2. WHAT DOES THE TORAH & TALMUD SAY ABOUT DRINKING & DRUNKENNESS? You can find quite a number of sources in the Torah and scriptures that praise the good qualities of and“ – ןייו חמשי בבל שונא :(wine and its inebriating effect. One famous example is in Tehillim (104:51 wine surely gladdens the heart of man…”. However, there are a number of stories in the Torah that also appear to condemn drunkenness and the resulting out-of-control behavior. For example, the story about Noah's drunkenness (Gen. 9) and the story of Lot and his daughters in the cave (Gen. 19), among others. In Talmudic literature and the Midrashim one can also find both sides of the coin – there is both praise and condemnation. In the piece from tractate Megilla about drinking on Purim, we can see that Rava explicitly directs us to drink excessively on Purim, so-much-so that we should lose any sense of clarity, just like Lot did, as it says “he did not know when he lay down and when he got up” (Gen. 19:34). But what about the fact that Lot is criticized for his actions, as is Noah? Similarly, in Midrash Vayikra Rabba, one opinion says that Nadav and Avihu, Ahron HaKohen’s sons, were killed by God because they entered the sanctuary in a drunken state? The Talmud also explicitly condemns those who drink too much, for example Ketubot 65a: “drunkenness leads to forbidden sexual relations”; and Sanhedrin 70b: “there is nothing that causes a person greater lamentation than wine”? The thirteenth-century halachic authority, Orchot Chaim, as quoted by the Beit Yosef (author of the Shulchan Aruch), is unequivocal in his criticism of drinking too much alcohol: “inebriation is entirely prohibited [in Judaism] and there is no greater sin than drunkenness – [it is] the cause of many sins.” And finally, how do we explain the story of Rabba and Rabbi Zeira? Frankly, why was Rabba not arrested and charged with murder, or at least attempted murder? 1 3. R. AVRAHAM BEN HARAMBAM – DELIBERATE EXAGGERATION Rabbi Avraham the son of Maimonides deliberates ,” מאמר ע ל ד שר ו ת ל"זח “ In his detailed article titled over the stories in the Gemara which were obviously written in an exaggerated way. With reference to the story of Rabba and Rabbi Zeira, he says that the story did happen (as opposed to some stories that are recorded but did not actually happen), but that the language used to tell the story should not be taken literally: שי ישעמ תו יאש ער ו עב ו םל ומכ נש ובתכ , אלא רבדש ו םהב ושל ן יאבה םתעדל כ י אל העטי לעב לכש , םהש םהש , לכש לעב העטי אל י כ םתעדל יאבה ן ושל םהב ו רבדש אלא , ובתכ נש ומכ םל ו עב ו ער יאש תו ישעמ שי רבדי יאבה . נעכ י י ן ורמאש 'מגב דימת רבד"ה הרות ושל ן ,"יאבה רבדו" םיאיבנ ושלב ן ,"יאבה רבדו"רד" "אה שבםאב רד" "אה ש רת ב" ית מב רא ןיינכ ...יב רד כחמ םי לב וש ן "יאבה . יכ דומלתב אצמי יאבה יאל ן .רפסמ . ימדו ו ן קלחה הזה המ ורמאש ארמגב גמד :הלי :ל מ רג ומשה ז לה מו רס ןיל אהאמ ולב כ יב ןו הר"ב 'רו אריז בעד י אתדועס ידהב ידדה םק ]הבר[ יטחש ' 'רל אריז יעב םימחר הילע יחאו ."הי שוריפ והכהש הה וי .ה חוהל יח יבאי 'ל טש הר ק דה דבאדע יבדאי 'וה" עפוצ וב הרובח לוהדג בורקש ,התימל לוג לדו הכמה איבה היטחש . 4. RAMBAM (MT) & MAASEH ROKEACH – DON’T DRINK TO GET DRUNK ְֵָוֵירדםְִבְשכרוּתוֹ. ְִֶישַשֵתכר ַעד ןיי ְושׁוֶֹתִהַ ןיי ַעד ְִֶישַשֵתכר ְֵָוֵירדםְ ִבְשכרוּתוֹ. העמש :חקר טשפו ירבד יבר נ ו רחאש רכתשיש ןשי ידכ אלש עראי יא ז ו הלקת ו"ח ו מ"מ ורחאה נ םי ל"ז ובתכ בכ " ינוחהממו " לת א ריאש ד ןירתי חש ב יב שו חרהמ התישש י רתו ודומילמ םשל ישע תי הוצמה אוהו וכנה ן . כהאה ומ ייעםל דמל ת תש 5. REMA ON SHULCHAN ARUCH – YOU SHOULD HAVE A NAP ON PURIM! יוא" צ"אד רכתהשל לכ ךכ שאלא התיש וירת ודומילמ ןש... ייו מוךות ןשיש יא נ ו י עדו יב ן רורא ןמה ךורבל יכדרמ . Some say it is not necessary to become very drunk, but rather to drink more than one is used to, and to fall asleep, and while one sleeps one will not know [the difference] between "cursed is Haman" and "blessed is Mordechai"... 6. MISHNA BERURA, BIUR HALACHA – THE RISKS ARE TOO GREAT יח בי יא נ שי וכו ' - תאו" ךיאה יחי ובי ל"זח המ נש רכז הרותב םאייבנבו המכב מותוקמ תורכישה ושכמל ל שמ וכש וומהכ אינוהוב כ שה לז וייי יהתו ?לודג ו ל"י נפמ י לכש נה םיסי ושענש לארשיל ימיב שורושחא יה ו י"ע התשמ . ןכלו יח ובי םימכח רכתשהל דע דע רכתשהל םימכח ובי יח ןכלו . התשמ י"ע ו יה שורושחא ימיב לארשיל ושענש םיסי נה לכש י נפמ ל"י ו ?לודג ידכ אהיש רכזנ סנה לודגה יתשב תי יה י ן . מ"מו ז"כ מלצ ו ה ו אל ל בכע . דע אלד י עד ו כ ו ' - לזו" :יריאמה בייח בייח :יריאמה לזו" דאם תוברהל החמשב יב םו הז הליכאב היתשבו דע אלש רסחי םוש ,רבד מ"מו יא ן נא ו וצמ י ן רכתשהל רכתשהל ן י וצמ ו נא ן יא מ"מו ,רבד םוש רסחי אלש דע היתשבו הליכאב הז םו יב החמשב תוברהל דאם תיחפלוה נימצע ו ךותמ ,החמשה אלש יוטצנ נ ו לע החמש לש תולולה לשו ,תוטש אלא החמשב לש נעת גו , עיגיש עיגיש , גו נעת לש החמשב אלא ,תוטש לשו תולולה לש החמש לע ו נ יוטצנ אלש ,החמשה ךותמ ו נימצע תיחפלוה תמ ו כ ה ל הא תב "שה י , ו ה ו אד ה לע םיסנה השעש נל ו . ל"זו תמכחה :םדא יכ ו ן לכש סנה היה י"ע י י ן ןכלןל יעההסהלש כ:ד מח "ו ונ ששםסהל יח ובי םימכח רכתשהל וחתפלו תותשל י רתו ולגרהמ ידכ רוכזל נהס לודגה , םנמאו יה עדו ומצעב יש לזלז זאז לל ש מע עוי נא ,לדהנס וז יכ לרמרויתתלותל רתה יכ ויי מבצ הו ןמ ,תוצמה י"טנב הכרבו ז"מהבו , וא אלש ללפתי החנמ וא ,בירעמ וא יש והנ ג תולק ,ארש בטומ אלש אלש בטומ ,ארש תולק ג והנ יש וא ,בירעמ וא החנמ ללפתי אלש וא , ז"מהבו הכרבו י"טנב ,תוצמה ןמ הו מבצ י רכתש לכו וישעמ ויהי ש"של .ל"כע 7. RA”N ON THE RI”F MEGILLA 3B – STORY OF RABBA & R. ZEIRA IS A LESSON FROM HISTORY בכות יבר נ ו םירפא ל"ז אוההמ אבודע םקד הבר היטחשו 'רל ריאז אתיאדכ 'מגב ידיחא היל ארמימ ארמימ היל ידיחא 'מגב אתיאדכ ריאז 'רל היטחשו הבר םקד אבודע אוההמ ל"ז םירפא ו נ יבר בכות ברדא ו אל פש י ר ימד דבעמל כה י . 2 8. MAHARSHA – THE STORY MAKES NO SENSE, AND MUST NOT BE TAKEN LITERALLY רבד הומת אוה ושרפל היטשפכ ו הארנ ל"רד יעכ ן היטחש הירבגאד ארמח יפכו הי תותשל י רתו יאדמיד רויתתלה פואמ יבא יח ןיכ "דהר ישכ שפ ו ותרד דע הלחש ו הטנ מל תו . ירמקוא ללפתהד ילע ו אלש מיתו ילוחמ הז דע אפתנרש יחו , ימוצ נ ו ארקמב ארקמב ו נ ימוצ , יחו אפתנרש דע הז ילוחמ מיתו אלש ו ילע ללפתהד ירמקוא . תו דומלבות ןושל יח ןושלמ .האופר 9. SHU”T CHASAM SOFER O.C. #135 – LETTER TO HIS UNCLE R. SIMCHA BUNIM GINZ-EGER, 1813 ואגה ן בר י החמש ב ו נ םי ג י נ ז - יא י רג ד"בא ודסרטמ ףר ע"ת(ק - )ט"פקת , יחא ו ריעצה ותימעו הרותב לש ואגה ן יבר ב ןוג שהוב תמורעה ח ,)"ק אביקע .רגייא ואג ן גלפומ ילודגמ ורוד , דמע ירקבש ת"וש םיבר םע םח"תה ."רפוס ן"רה ק"פ הלגמד בתכ לע םש 'ר ,םירפא אהמ םקד הבר היטחשו 'רל אריז לטב יל ' יאמ רמאד אבר יח בי בי יח אבר רמאד יאמ ' יל לטב אריז 'רל היטחשו הבר םקד אהמ ,םירפא 'ר םש לע בתכ הלגמד ק"פ ן"רה יא נ שי וסימבל וכו ' .
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