A message from the local shomrim reminds people not to drink and drive. Another lengthy blog post reminds people not to give alcohol to minors. Ads and editorials all over the place excoriate those who would actually choose to imbibe on Purim.

I think it’s enough. Are there people who use Purim as an excuse to license their own debauchery? Sure. Is that wrong? You bet. Does that mean we do away with the practice entirely? Absolutely not. If you need someone to tell you not to give alcohol to a minor or not to drink and drive (or not to bentch lulav and drive for that matter), there are probably bigger problems going on than whether or not you should be drinking on Purim (or ever).

One of the problem with the ‘shame’ culture - you know the one where new, arbitrary standards of Judaism are created and then people use social conformity norms to shame people into accepting the new fake yiddishkeit - is that it is always negative.

“You go to movies?”, “You, really, eat g'bruchs?”, “Wow, I thought more of you, I can’t believe you drink on Purim, how sad."

This is narishkeit. I am not a Rabbi but my Rebbeim have taught me that the normative practice in Judaism is for those who will not become a danger to themselves or others to drink until the point of inebriation on Purim. And I have news for you, I’ve done it for 15 years and I can honestly say each and every year I feel that it has helped me become a better eved Hashem.

I’ve done things I cannot imagine doing sober.

I’ve stood on a chair and bawled my eyes out begging Hashem to help me come closer to him. I’ve told friends how much I love them and how I’m concerned for their spiritual growth if only they would work on middah XYZ. And my tochacha was accepted with love. I’ve learned and given over torah that was deep and meaningful in conversations I would never have had otherwise due to embarrassment or other social taboos. I’ve expressed thanks to others in the sort of unbridled way I would never have imagined doing otherwise for fear of looking foolish. But most importantly I’ve been given the opportunity to see who I really was.

On Yom Kippur we stand for a full day in front of God and say, "God, this is how I really wish it could be. Just me serving you directly. No need to pay the bills, clean the spills, or deal with anything that would distract me from fulfilling your will.” On Purim I show him how I can live in a world of craziness, with all the silliness that pulls my attention away from what I should really be focusing on. On Purim I show him how that guy from Yom Kippur is there, he’s fighting through all the muck and hester to get back to his creator.

To the teetotalers I say, chaval al d'avad. You don’t know what you’re missing. And by all means, express your caution. But do not win a Pyrrhic victory at the expense of Purim itself. Know that there is a fantastic avodah, which God in his kindness has given us - and don’t ruin it.