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Blessed Wine
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Most fatal motor vehicle accidents involve a drunken driver behind the wheel. Ninety-five percent of all youth in prisons or detention centers were convicted of offenses committed under the influence of alcohol. The crimes, illness and death caused by alcohol use is greater than that of all illegal drugs combined. Indeed, despite modern advances in chemistry, alcohol remains the most dangerous of all drugs.
Surprisingly, of all countries in the world, Israel ranks second in the prevalence of alcoholism among adolescents. Psychologists and other professionals who attempt to deal with the problem find themselves at a loss. Why are they drinking? What are they seeking? Why do the warnings, the frightening images and the statistics seem to have no effect on them, are perceived as irrelevant?
A look into Chassidic sources can help clarify the problem. What our youth are seeking is joy. Beginning with Noah, whose first move after disembarking the ark was to plant a vineyard, to the alcoholics of today, what everyone is seeking is a state of joy and peace of mind.
Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts, chemical or otherwise, to reach that state of nirvana. Joy is actually a state we achieve after hard work; it’s the culmination of a life of meaning, purpose, goals and service to others. It’s a state we enjoy when our interpersonal relationships are in order; when we have learned to communicate effectively and harmoniously with the people around us. When we know who we are and where we are heading in life, joy and inner contentment follow naturally, without need for an external chemical boost. This state of mind perfectly sums up the state of Redemption, when we will be freed of all internal and external obstacles to true joy.
In essence, the Lubavitcher Rebbe teaches us, we have already begun to enter the stage described in Psalms as “Then our mouths will be filled with laughter and our tongues with song.” Even if we do not experience the Redemption palpably or see it with our physical eyes, we can begin to sense the joy of Redemption, and this itself will hasten the revelation of Moshiach.If we will only begin to feel with certainty that Moshiach indeed is on his way; if we could only grasp that all the grief and loss we have suffered over the past 2000 years will end in an instant, we would surely all break out in a joyful dance.
If we will only begin to feel with certainty that Moshiach indeed is on his way; if we could only grasp that all the grief and loss we have suffered over the past 2000 years will end in an instant, we would surely all break out in a joyful dance.
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