Turn it and turn it...

Parashat Shemini

Drink no wine nor strong drink...when you enter the Tent of Meeting. Leviticus 10:9

In Psalm 104:15 we learn Wine rejoices a person's heart. So why the prohibition upon entering the Tent of Meeting?

There is a time and place for everything. While it is nice to gladden the heart in celebration, loving deeply ought to stimulate a whole other level of joy. It is in the Tent of Meeting that the priest encounters the divine. For us today, the encounter more likely occurs in an authentic moment of connection with another person.

Raba and Rabbi Zeira joined together in a Purim feast. They got drunk and Raba arose and cut Rabbi Zeira's throat. On the next day Raba prayed on Zeira's behalf and revived him. The next year Raba asked if Zeira would come and have the Purim feast together again. Zeira responded: A miracle does not take place on every occasion!" (Megillah 7b)