Drinking Mashke, alcohol isn't Chasidic! Stop anyone who pushes Mashke, Say No to "Bein" - RC Dalfin

It's the days of Sefira when we're looking and working on refining ourselves. So, it came to my attention yesterday through a mashpia in one of the Chabad yeshivas about a drinking problem that seems to be sanctioned by some of the administration for the purposes of growth and what they call chassidishkeit, chassid being chassidic. When I was in Marin County in the 1980s, there was a a group of very fine Jewish men and women who before Shabbos, in order to celebrate Shabbos and sing and dance, they would smoke weed. They would get high. And at the time, it seemed very wrong. It seemed wrong because that's not the tradition that the same people grew up with. This was a a created culture without the tradition. They moved away from the tradition in the name of Shabbos in the name of singing and dancing L'cha Dodi the prayer used for the Kabbalas Shabbos when normally there's a there's singing and etc. They justified getting high so that it'll be easier to do so. And I ask you the question, what's the difference between that and drinking alcohol before Shabbos? Which is known today in some circles as bein hashmashos, twilight time. Twilight time before Shabbos, you take a drink or two drinks or three drinks so that the feet move and the hands move and you're all happy. It's so, you know, it's 40 years ago, more than 40 years ago, that that this came to my attention. And I remember how I discussed it with my own congregants and my wife and others, and it just felt wrong. You want to get high? Get high, but don't don't use Shabbos to get high. Don't tell me you need to get high to celebrate Friday night Kabbalas Shabbos. And the same is here with with alcohol. You want to say l'chaim? There's a time when to say l'chaim. At a chassidic farbrengen when it there's words of content and inspiration and people are focused and there's niggunim, and it's in a very civil manner and no one's there to hurt the other one or to poke the other one's eyes out, we say l'chaim, a second l'chaim. But the Rebbe said there's a limitation for anyone under 40 not to drink more than four small little cups, not large cups, small cups. I wouldn't speak about this because you know, it's negative, so why talk about it? But it's it's really reached a point that is that something has to be done. We must stop the drinking in Chabad. We must stop the drinking at kiddushim in shuls. Again, saying a l'chaim, a wine, a little alcohol, a little bit is okay. But to convince yourself that the only way you could touch your soul and someone else's soul is through drinking is erroneous. In addition, it's against the Rebbe. The Rebbe writes, I think it's in volume seven of his letters, that today he says we we we are after the time of of the previous Rebbe and therefore whatever chassidim accomplished in Russia with mashke, with alcohol, today we have it through the teachings of the previous Rebbe. And the Rebbe said this about the previous Rebbe, how much more so we who have thousands and thousands of of of of talks and printed volumes and so much so much Torah from the Rebbe, be it sichos and maamarim and letters and guidance, and today there are books upon books interpreting and then translating and clarifying, you still need mashke? And if you do need mashke, it shows that something's wrong with you. I don't care if you're a mashpia. I don't care if you're a rosh yeshiva. It makes no difference. And and don't look at me, I'm saying it. Who am I? I'm sharing what it says in the seforim, in the sichos, what the Rebbe himself said. If you're a mashpia under 40 drinking a lot, more than the shiur, according to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, you are you shouldn't be He said once you shouldn't go on his talucha. So, any bochur that's in a beis medrash and a mashpia drinks exceedingly has a right to go to the menahel and voice a complaint. THIS IS NOT CHABAD. THIS IS NOT CHASSIDUS. This is, excuse me, klippa, negativity. It's very, very bad. It causes problems later in life, in relationships, in shalom bayis, in stability. I'm telling you. And it so we need to make a stop to this today, now. And I know that some people are will laugh at what I'm saying. Laugh as much as you want. The result is that you are hurting your students and you're hurting your families, and this goes on for generations if you continue in this vein. So, I ask you and beg you, coming from the love of my heart, really, not to do so. I remember once I spoke to Reb Yoel and Reb Yoel said like this, he said that when the previous Rebbe spoke about hashbaa to make sure they were shomer Shabbos in Russia, that they that you should send children into the cheders, and it was during Stalin's time and everyone was scared. So, his father, Reb Kolekan, and Reb Simcha Gorodetsky went out to the streets to go to the shuls to speak about it, but they were scared. So, what they did was they they drank mashke so the FEAR SHOULD GO AWAY. And then they were they felt easier about speaking about it, and they did so. And Reb Yoel said, "OTHERWISE, MY FATHER HATED MASHKE." HE DIDN'T he didn't he didn't see that as a WAY TO SERVE HASHEM. THIS REB YOEL CONCEPT. And I can give you many more examples. I'm and and and as Katorah ENEI MASHKE DAYOY, I DRANK A LOT OF MASHKE IN THE YESHIVA. SO, I'm wrong. Reb Avrohom Korf, Avrohom Korf alav hashalom, the shliach who had shlichus in Florida, passed away a year ago. So, he once said that he made a mistake when he was young, HE DRANK A LOT OF MASHKE. HE MADE a mistake. Okay. You make a mistake, you go on. The Rebbe quotes the Arizal. The Arizal says it's dangerous spiritually to drink a lot of mashke. And it's unnecessary. As I get older, I could farbreng for hours and and be me'orer and arouse myself and others without lots of mashke. You do what's known that chassidim would put an empty bottle on the table. Everyone knows THESE STORIES. WHY CAN'T WE FARBRENG TODAY WITH an empty bottle? No, we need full bottles and more bottles. And this also leads to this this bein hashmashos, twilight time drinking, kiddushim, aufrufs, the drinking is is out of hand. It's not It's It's not an aufruf, it's disgusting. What are you drinking like a like a like a drunk? And this is not only in Chabad, but also other communities have have have gone over over board. Rabbi Dr. Avrohom Twerski, he forbid any drinking from his vantage point. And as a psychiatrist who dealt with alcohol abuse and all of that, I can understand where he's coming from. But for sure, even if you say a little l'chaim, please do yourself a favor. And again, the main point here is that even if a mashpia pushes mashke, you have to reject that. You could be You should learn from him and grow from him and everything, but when it comes to this idea, it needs to be completely rejected. And if he gives you a hard time, tell your parents. Tell your your rosh yeshiva. I'm just saying like tell you men not to help. You're you you know there needs to be a stop to this. And when we'll all do this together we will refine ourselves more we'll be better, we'll be happier and and I know we watch clips from Brengens and Roll. There's a whole one group that drinks a lot of mashke over there with a mashpia. Who's an older mashpia and a like a no comparison is gevaldic. But in this this this approach of drinking mashke it you know people coming to Chabad and what do they walk AWAY WITH? WE HAVE TO DRINK MASHKE TO TO REFINE OUR NEFESH HABAHAMIS, our our animal soul, our No, you don't. You have to learn and daven and ahavas yisrael and be focused and I promise you'll do the same thing. Enough with the musar because really I don't intend it to it sounds musardic but truly I'm not coming from that place. As the sweet of I'm mad there's just a a a an illness and a sickness and an addiction that's happening and it needs to stop and we need to talk about it and get up and say it and not be afraid. NOT BE AFRAID OF OF of saying things that are wrong so that we we improve ourselves AND WE'RE NOT PERFECT, we make mistakes. So you get GET UP AND YOU GO ON. I MADE a mistake and I go on. Sham should help us should be zocheh [clears throat] to the geulah shleimah now and ever should have yiddish nachas from all of his chassidim and we will we will dance and sing the great Moshiach's kingdom. Amen.