There are many Jews who, even if they aren’t so adhering to Torah observance, still have some level standard of kashrus; at the very least they will not eat pig or shellfish. They understand that Hashem made these foods off-limits and can accept that. For whatever reason they are off-limits and considered spiritually defiling and abhorrent. In fact, they are only spiritually abhorrent, as Chaza”l say that it’s perfectly acceptable for a person to say ‘I would love to have bacon cheeseburger or shrimp cocktail, but what can I do, Hashem says it’s forbidden, and I must listen to Hashem.’ This attitude, that I must abstain from these foods because this is Hashem’s will, is a very positive attitude.
However, there are some things which one would think can be much more deteriorating to one’s character and abhorrent to one’s spiritual demeanor but is still permissible and sometimes even a mitzva to partake in. Why would Hashem allow it? In this week’s Torah portion of Noach (Breishis 9:20-28) we find the absolutely humiliating and debilitating episode of Noach getting drunk after he left the Ark. He did this initially with very positive intent, giving wine libations to Hashem, but which ended with Cham and Canaan and their progeny cursed for all of history.
The Ralbag learns from this episode that it is appropriate to distance oneself from drinking wine more than the letter of the law, because the results can be degradation, and the loss can be unimaginable. For we see that Noach, who had a much-perfected demeanor, stumbled in this. This also holds true for anything that gets you intoxicated, for example milk and the like. (Click here for Hebrew text.)
It would seem that even milk has properties that could lead a person to some sort of drunken state, if consumed in excess. I know my rebbe, Rav Avrahom Kanarek ztk”l, use to drink warm milk before he gave shiur and he told me it was because it calmed him. In any event, all the more so hard liquor; one has to be extremely careful about and distance oneself according to this.
Yet we find that the Orchos Tzadikim (Gate of Joy) goes to great lengths describing not only the cons but also the pros of drinking alcohol. “There is another kind of confusing joy which beclouds all of the mitzvos and causes fear of Hashem to depart from the hearts of men – that of the drinkers and revelers at houses of drink. The end of this joy is sorrow, for many ills result from the frivolity of drinking… For wine causes one to be a scoffer and to shout and to be contentious, and all who go astray through it will not grow in wisdom…” On the other hand, “Drinking wine, however, is very good when it is done properly in the manner of the wise… All of this teaches us the benefits of wine when it is drunk in moderation in the manner of the wise, in which case the mind rules over the wine and not the wine over the mind, who drink at set times with friend and acquaintances and with the saintly and the righteous, and not with brutes, and empty-headed people. For wine will increase the wisdom of the deep… The folly of the fool it multiplies… It stirs the hatred of the foe. It makes the giver impart more and closes the miser’s heart more. This is how wine should be used: one should use it as a cure for his sorrow, in order to strengthen himself in Torah by learning with joy, for when one is steeped in sorrow he cannot learn… It is to these ends, then, that the wise man should drink wine, taking care not to drink so much as to be compelled to cancel his work, and his affairs, and above all, not to drink so much as to be incapacitated for Torah study, or for prayers, or to be brought to excessive laughter and lightheadedness. And he should not drink to the point of losing his possessions or quarreling with his friends or breaking vessels or revealing his secrets or those of others… the implication being that we have been commanded to attain only that joy which is conducive to the service of the Creator Of All, and it is impossible to serve the Blessed One out of lightheadedness, laughter, or drunkenness.” (See there in its entirety.)
We see from here that wine can in fact be very positive, as we know it is also used for very holy occasions, like kiddush and havdala. But it can also be very destructive as well; and therefore the Ralbag advises to stay far away from it. Noach, with all his great and positive intent and his perfection in character for the Torah testifies about him, “Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generation; Noah walked with G-D” (Breishis 6:9), still in all he stumbled and crashed in drunkenness. So why does Hashem permit it?
It must be that though Hashem did make some things absolutely forbidden, like pig, shellfish, etc. But other things, that might be very devastating, He kept permissible as a test, to see that we use it precisely in the right manner, which is very hard and risky. But this is one example of our job in life, to meet the perfect median in doing things which are in service of Hashem. Though that is also why the Ralbag advises staying far away from it, since the risks are extremely high.
The Torah in general gives similar advice: “I call Heaven and Earth today to bear witness against you: I have placed life and death before you, blessing and curse; and you shall choose life, so that you will live, you and your offspring. To love Hashem, your G-D, to listen to His voice and to cleave to Him…” (Devarim 30:19′ 20). Hashem created man with free will, the ability to choose between good and evil; but he advises us to choose good. This is our purpose in life, to make proper decisions. The general rule of thumb is to err on the side of caution, but the proper approach ultimately is to find a fitting middle ground, which is the success of serving Hashem.
Chodesh tov and good Shabbos,