“HOW COME ALL YOU NAY SAYERS THINK YOU KNOW BETTER THAN THE CHACHAMIM IN THE GEMARA ANd dont tell me todays differant. thats what the reform say. ask your rav what to do and if he thinks your at risk of over doing maybe he will tell you not to. but as of now lets keep it status quoe and follow what were told “
Lavdavka, as long as you are as dedicated to doing the other mitzvos as strongly you are to this
“one” I have no problem. DO you give kibud av v’eim, keep Shabbos,kashrus, and all mitzvos bein adam l’chaveiro to the same degree as you do getting drunk on Purim? If so, go for it, but for the sake of all pedestrians and other drivers, stay out of your car.
“When everyones drinking it’s hard to stop underaged kids frum getting it.if rabbi so and so is drinking why can’t I?”
Peerimsameach – just substitute the expression “doing drugs” for “drinking” in your sentence, and you will see how incredibly wrong you are. Peer pressure will always be around. The idea is NOT to do something just ebcause everyone else is, if it’s wrong. Getting that drunk is worse than wrong. It is dangerous, and potentially life-threatening to the drinker and to others, and can cause a great Ch”H just by the drinker’s behavior being observed by other people.
Nathan21,The only thing that you wrote that was correct is that you do not know me from a hole int he wall. I have to tell you that you implied something terribly offensive. First of all, I am not overprotective of my kids. My husband and I taught them to behave responsibly, and have 5 adult children all of whom are exceptional young men and women. We are Machmir Modern Orthodox (to put a label on something, which I hate to label), so all of your assumptions are based on nothing concrete.
My sons (though not my daughters) do drink a bit on Purim, but a) they watch their alcohol intake, b) eat sufficient food along with the drink c) space the drinks and d) DO NOT EVER DRIVE, even though they rarely drink more than two drinks in a particular span of time (enough for the alcohol to be absorbed). NONE of my kids ever went off the derech, and that implication that “overprotectiveness” (as you see it)somehow causes that as a fait accompli, is insulting. It is far more likely that kids go off the derech when their parents do NOT care about them or get involved with them. When kids come home to empty houses after school and have a lot of free time on their hands with no real supervision, that is when they get into trouble. NOT when their parents teach them how to be responsible. I believe things are good in moderation, though underage kids should never be drinking because dina d’malchusah dina and it is against the law. My children are all,as I stated adults, over 21, so they can drink what they want, and they do so with maturity. Would you call a parent overprotective for teaching their child not to speed when driving?