Rama's shitah on Purim drinking

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    simcha613
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    I would like to share a chiddush I had on the Rama’s famous shitah regarding drinking on Purim:

    The Shulcha Aruch writes that a person is required to drunk on Purim to the point that he can’t tell the difference between Arur Haman and Baruch Mordechai. Rama adds that one can also fulfill his obligation by drinking more than usual and falling asleep instead of getting drunk (parenthetically, the Mishnah Berurah quotes the Pri Megadim that this is the appropriate thing to do). The Rama than finishes by saying ??? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ??? ?????- that one who drinks a lot or a little, as long as his intentions are proper. The simple reading in the Rama is that it doesn’t matter how much you drink, a lot or a little, as long as you have the correct intentions. However, I don’t think that’s what the Rama means.

    If you look at other places where that phrase ??? ????? ???? ?????? occur, probably the most famous place is by korbanos. Rashi quotes Chazal by the bird offering which is brought by a poor person, that he shouldn’t feel bad that his offering is not as expensive as the wealthy person who can bring much larger animals. Rather, ??? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????- his pure intentions are the most important. But what does this phrase mean over here? It doesn’t mean that everyone can do what they want, it means everyone must do as much as they can, and once they do as much as they can, then they don’t have to feel bad that their maximum is not as much as the next guy’s maximum.

    If we apply that same logic to drinking on Purim, the Rama is not saying that it doesn’t matter how much you drink, he is saying that you have to drink as much as you can (until you hit “ad delo yada”) like the Shulchan Aruch. However, if you can’t like if it’s a sakanah (which is presumably the case for most teenagers), or it will lead to issurim, or it’s too expensive, and possibly because it will make you sick, then there is another option- drinking more than usual and going to sleep. And if you do that, and your intentions are pure, than you have no reason to feel bad that you didn’t hit “ad delo yada” the way the Shulchan Aruch describes. But the Rama is seemingly not saying that drinking more than usual is a replacement for getting drunk if you don’t have a valid excuse not to.

    However, as I hinted to before, it doesn’t seem like the Mishnah Berurah or Pri Megadim understood the Rama the way I suggested, as they strongly imply that the Rama’s alternative to the Shulchan Aruch is actually the ideal way to perform the mitzvah instead of as a backup plan the way I suggested.

    Purim sameach!

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