Should you get drunk on Simchas Torah?

Simchas Torah is a marathon.

Not the drinking endurance-challenge, though. Yes, I know many people think that “getting shikker” is the mitzvah of the day (every year, I get the post-Yom Tov boasts of which shul had the most “casualties”). And yes, you do need a lechaim or two to get you going, but that’s not the focus of the day.

At all.

Simchas Torah is about losing yourself in unmitigated joy, dancing and celebration. You should dance so hard that you lose all sense of who’s watching, what they’re thinking, what time it is or how tired you may be.

Most of us find it easier to sit in shul for hours while fasting, than to experience the reckless abandon of true simcha. It certainly looks more spiritually valuable to sit and pray than it does to spin around in circles.

Wanna know the truth? That’s exactly the point.

Powerful spiritual experiences don’t make sense. Souls don’t make sense. When your soul talks, your mind goes quiet.

Simchas Torah is one of the unique times of year when the deepest point of our souls comes to life. It overrides our rational voice and gives us access to absolute joy- even if our mind insists that we cannot be happy.

People who overdo the drinking don’t stand a chance of achieving this deeply spiritual experience- they’re simply knocked out of commission.

What we should do is take the Simchas Torah challenge: To let go of who we imagine ourselves to be and what we feel is wrong in our lives, and to be happy.

When we’re joyous for no particular reason, other than that Hashem commands us to be, He smiles down at us and says “Now, I will give you reason to be joyous throughout the coming year”.