5 replies to this topic

[LL3]

is it assur to drink? or get drunk?
not as a habitual kind of thing but as a one time type of thing?

[Rabbi Shapiro]

It is assur to do anything that increases your Yetzer Horah, or to damage your health. Drinking and getting drunk comes under both of those categories. For an occasional Mitzvah celebration, such as at a Kiddush or a L'Chaim, it is OK to take a drink, but even then, one may not drink to the point where they lose even a little control of themselves, and certainly it would be prohibited to get totally drunk. If taking one drink gets you to that point, use grape juice. Jews under no circumstances engage in social drinking. That is a low and vulgar non-Jewish behavior.

[surviver2]

what about drinking to calm yourself down

[Rabbi Shapiro]

That's worse than social drinking. I'm not talking Halachah; I'm talking from a common sense perspective. People who drink socially have a problem, but people who drink to calm themselves down have two problems: One, the drinking, but also two, they cannot handle stress in a healthy way. Problem number two is worse than problem number one, and much more likely to get you into trouble with addiction.

[kooky]

You might want to examine what is the core of your anxiety or stress, in other words what are you seeking alcohol to help you calm down from?

[surviver2]

im talking about maybe twice a year instance