After Adam and Noach, the next person who drinks in the Bible is Lot.
“And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain. And Lot went up from Zoar, so he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the elder said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man on earth to come upon us, as is the custom of all the earth. Come, let us give our father wine to drink; let us bring to life seed from our father. And they gave their father wine to drink. (Genesis 19:30-33)
An alcoholic always blames others for his weakness and his drinking. Here, Lot probably would have also said, “My daughters made me drunk, so why am I to blame?”
However, if we take a closer look, we find that Lot was like a “normal” alcoholic, who drinks and gets drunk in order to escape. He had run away from Sodom, he was running away from frustration, pain, destruction, and the pillar of salt that he had left behind, who, moments before had been his wife!
In Tractate Pesachim 103, the Talmud talks about one of the most important Amoraim, who made the following request to his son: Rav said to his son Chiyya, “Do not make a habit of taking a drug.” Rashi explains this sentence and adds, “Do not learn to drink drugs because it will become a habit, and your heart will request it and you will waste money.”
I have no idea to which drug the Talmud is referring, but it is clear that it is talking about something very negative. Rav, the father, is afraid that his son, who is using this drug, will become addicted to it. He tries to persuade him in a logical manner, by saying, “It’s a shame to waste your money on it.” Apparently, this explanation did not really help, because we encounter Rav and his son Chiyya again, later on, in a similar situation (Avodah Zara, 31). Here the Talmud discusses the issue of drinking from wine that has been left uncovered. When wine has been left uncovered, it is forbidden to drink from it because a snake may have drunk from it and left its venom inside. The question is whether this applies to beer. “Said Rav, ‘Beer of an Aramean [who isn’t Jewish] is permitted [even if uncovered]; still I would not allow my son Chiyya to drink it.'” The Talmud asks why Rav differentiated between his students, whom he allowed to drink beer, and his son, whom he forbade to drink it. The Talmud explains, “Chiyya, being an invalid, should therefore abstain from drinking it.” Rashi explains that because Chiyya was delicate, and was sick, he was not allowed to drink it. Perhaps Chiyya was susceptible to alcohol, and was therefore forbidden to taste any kind of alcoholic drink.
The Talmud, in Tractate Pesachim 113, states, “The Holy One loves three: one who does not get angry, one who does not get drunk, and one who does not insist upon asserting himself” (bearing a grudge for what others have done to him.-Rashi).
A person who gets drunk is usually one who does not control his anger and does not give in. In other words, the three things described here could refer to one person, because a person who gets drunk is often full of anger and because of his self-centeredness he does not give in to anyone.
“Now we should recognize that we are happy to persevere with other people who have the same defects as us. We really love them. Who, out of all of us, for example, does not like to feel that he has risen a little – or even a lot – above those around him? Isn’t it true that we like to demonstrate our desire for gain as if it is an aspiration? It would appear almost impossible to love a desire. And how many men and women talk about love and are even convinced that they are speaking the truth, only in order to conceal their desire in a darkened corner of their brains?” (From Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, The Sixth Step)
One of the most classic addicts mentioned in the Talmud is Rabbi Elazar ben Durdiya (Avodah Zarah 17a):
“It was said of Rabbi Elazar ben Durdiya that he did not leave out any harlot in the world without coming to her. Once, on hearing that there was a certain harlot in one of the towns by the sea who accepted a purse of denarii for her hire. He took a purse of denarii and crossed seven rivers for her sake.” (Here the Talmud wants to emphasize the extent of Rabbi Elazar’s addiction – nothing would stand in the way of his desire to indulge it.)
“As he was with her, she said, “Elazar ben Durdiya will never be received in repentance.” (You have no chance of recovery; you are totally addicted!)
“He thereupon went, sat between two hills and mountains and exclaimed: ‘O, you hills and mountains, plead for mercy for me!’ They replied: ‘How shall we pray for you? We stand in need of it ourselves.’ So he exclaimed, ‘Heaven and earth, plead for mercy for me!’ He then exclaimed, ‘Sun and moon, plead for mercy for me!'” (The Sages explain that in his process of denial, he sought others to blame. It is as if the mountains and the valleys are saying, It’s life and society that made become like this. Heaven and earth allude to the excuse, “It’s because of my luck, my nature, my genes.” The sun and the moon correspond with the excuse of, “It’s because of my parents, the mistakes that all my teachers made in my education.” And all of them gave him the answer that the cure for his addiction would not be found with them.) He said, ‘The matter then depends upon me alone!’ Having placed his head between his knees, he wept aloud until his soul departed. Then a heavenly voice was heard proclaiming, Rabbi Elazar ben Durdiya is destined for the life of the world to come!”
We do not have inclinations for no reason. Without them, human beings would not be complete. Without our efforts to take care of our personal safety, to gather food and build a home for ourselves, we would not continue to exist. If we did not multiply, the world would not be populated. If we did not possess a social instinct (in other words, if we did not enjoy each other’s company), we would not be a society. Therefore, these urges that God gave us – the desire for sexual relations, the wish for material and emotional security, and our yearning for society -“ are very necessary and justified.
However, while these inclinations are essential for our continued existence, there are times when they go further than their actual function. With their intensity, which is often blinding and which is usually concealed, they drive us and insist upon taking control of our lives. Our sexual desires, wish for material and emotional security, and our drive towards an important place in society are all urges that dominate us. When a person’s natural inclinations become twisted, they cause terrible suffering. In fact, this is the cause of most of the suffering that exists in this world. And there is no single individual, no matter how good, that is totally immune for such troubles. Almost every single serious emotional problem is a case of a twisted inclination. When this happens to us, these natural properties – our inclinations – become a physical and emotional burden. (From Twelve Steps, 12 Traditions, the Fourth Step Rabbi Elazar ben Durdiya was not cured. He died during a brief moment of sanity. Our teachers, the authors of the works of mussar (ethics), state that if he had not died at that very moment, he would have returned to his addictions, a severe malady that no one has been able to get out from. One of the roots of addiction is self-centeredness. The person is sure that only he exists, that he deserves to get whatever he wants, and that God and everything else revolves around him.
The Talmud talks about another type of addiction that stems from the same source.
“After this thing, Yeravam did not return from his evil way.” (Kings I 13:33) (Sanhedrin 102a) (Yeravam ben Nevat was a king who ruled over northern Israel and divided the kingdom of Judah and its capital in Jerusalem. He was a prime example of a sinner who caused others to transgress and got the nation to worship idols.)
What is meant by “after this thing”? (The Talmud is asking the meaning of the word acher, meaning “after,” which appears in the Biblical text.) R. Abba said: After the Holy One, blessed be He, had seized Yeravam by his garment and urged him, ‘Repent, then I, you, and the son of Jesse [i.e.. David] will walk in the Garden of Eden.’ (The first time, the Holy One told him that he would put him before King David, the son of Jesse.) ‘And who shall be at the head?’ he (Yeravam) inquired. ‘The son of Jesse shall be at the head.’ ‘If so,’ [he replied] ‘I do not desire [it].(i.e. to repent)’
The Talmud is showing us a person who is addicted to honor. Because of this addiction, Yeravam established the capital of Israel in the north of country instead of in Jerusalem. Due to his addiction, he also wanted everyone to make pilgrimages to him. In effect, he was so self-absorbed that he was not prepared to listen to God!
All of the Twelve Steps of A.A. require that we act against our natural urges in order to diminish our ego. (From Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, the Fifth Step)
It is also written in Tractate Avot, Rabbi Elazar HaKapor would say: “Envy, lust and honor drive a man from the world.” (ibid. 4:21) A person who is addicted to envy, lust, or honor does not control himself and his life is worthless.
As most of us are born with many natural aspirations, it is not unusual for us to put them to one side sometimes, to go above and beyond to our original objective. This fact is not so strange at all. When our inclinations rule over us blindly, or when we want our inclinations to provide for us and give us pleasure beyond what is possible or what we deserve, this is the point at which we deviate from the measure of perfection that God wants us to achieve in this world. This is the measure of our character deficiencies, or if you will, the measure of our sins.
If we want it, God will forgive us for having faith in our failings. Yet he will never whitewash our transgressions like snow and keep us so clean and pure without any cooperation from our side. (From Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, the Sixth Step)