Okay. So it works like this.
All things that Torah based Jews do or don't do starts from the Hebrew Torah. This is the foundation of where all Torath Mosheh and Orthodox Judaism begins. The reason is that:
- The Torah is product of the mass revalation that the Israeli people had at Mount from Hashem, and...
- After the above mentioned mass revelation at Mount Sinai, the oral and written Torah were dictated and directed from Hashem to Mosheh ben-Amram (Moses) who then transcribed the written text that was shown to him and taught/instructed the Israeli people concerning the oral Torah. (The statement Torah describing the Hebrew written Torah and the oral Torah which details how to do what is in the written text.)
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With that being said, the commands that Hashem gave to the Israeli/Jewish people are called Mitzvoth (מצוות), as well as some other titles but let's stick to this one, and there are 613 mitzvoth that are the foundation for Israel/Jews as a nation, communities within that nation, families, individuals, and even non-Jews who live within a Torah based nation. There are two types of Mitzvoth (תעשה) "things that are to be done" and (לא תעשה) "things not to be done."
Important points:
- There are some mitzvoth that are requirements for the entire Israeli nation. (Men, women, and children)
- There are some mitzvoth that are requirements for the leaders of the Israeli nation.
- There are some mitzvoth that are requirements which are specific to Israelis/Jews who come from certain types of families. (Kohen family, Levi family, etc.)
- There are some mitzvoth that are requirements which are specific to men and some that are specific to women.
That all being said, when Hashem gave the Torah there were no explicit prohibitions against the consumption of alchohol for the average ordinary Israeli/Jewish person/citizen. YET, the Torah was not given as a straight forward western style history text. Each, story, word, sentence, command, etc. is considered to have reasons beyond just the plain sense thus it is known to have a developmental purpose behind what an Israeli/Jew is supposed to study, learn, consider, and form conclusions on for the sake of national, communal, and personal development.
For example, in the Torah Israelis who come from families (Kohen/Cohen) that descend from Aharon (Aaron) the brother of Mosheh (Moses) have a certain leadership responsibility which includes various shifts of working in the Temple, when it was standing and active in Jerusalem and before that when it was a portable structure. While working in the Temple it was/will be forbidden for them to perform their duties either drunk, or having consumed a certain level of alchohol or wine. Obviously, since what they are doing is work and they are leaders in the Israeli nation thus they can't be on the job being affected by alchohol.
By like token, any leader of the Israeli/Jewish people is required to not be under the influence of alchohol when they are performing duties of leadership.
By additional like token, there is a concept from the Torah based on both the story of Noach and other situations in Jewish history where excessive amounts of alchohol are considered to have allowed for particular individuals to loosen or do away with their better judgement and then they swayed themselves in the wrong direction.
All of that being stated, there is a mitzvah in the Torah for Jews to do the mitzvoth of the Torah with joy and happiness. For example, the Shabbat (Sabbath), Pesahh (Passover), etc. are all times when Jews are commanded to have joy and happiness. One of the understandings is that the
proper amounts of food, community and family togetherness, and wine are a part of this.
Yet, I stress everything in life has a proper place and a proper amount. For example, there are some rabbis in Jewish history who have stated that excessive amounts of food is not good and therefore a Jew who is working to keep the Torah correctly would not be served well to eat excessive amounts of food. There are also some rabbis who have stated that doing things that are known to be dangerous or have a high unnecessary risk behind them should also not be done. The same is applied to wine and alchohol.
For example, Jewish men have a requirement to come together in groups of ten or more men and pray three times a day. It is forbidden for a Jewish man to pray after having consumed a certain amount of wine or alchohol. He must wait until the effects wear off and he has rested then he can pray.
Further, because every Jewish man is considered to be the rabbi of his household he has to further consider all of his actions as a "leader" of his household. Additionally, a Torah based Jewish man or woman when outside of their home is considered to be an example of the Torah that they have learned/received from previous generations so there is a level of responsibility that is considered to come along with that and also the understanding that there is a danger posed to all Jews if the outside world will judge us based upon the missteps we make, for whatever reasons we make them.
Thus, there are a number of leaders of the Jewish people who have taught modesty in all things that a Jew does,
in all sectors. So, if I need to speak to someone there is a modest Torah based way for me to do it. If I need to correct my children, there is a modest Torah based way for me to do it. If there is a happy Torah based event where there is wine being served, there is a modest Torah based way for me enjoy and have happiness.
The outlook is that everything that exists in reality is good and has a purpose - that purpose being potentially:
- Using it correctly.
- Using it at a controlled amount.
- Using it only in certain circumstances.
- Using it in limited locations and particular times.
- Using it during quiet times when there is room to relax and rest.
- Knowing one's personal limits and not going beyond that limit.
- Lastly, not using it all. (An example of this is that there are dangerous animals that have a good environmental purpose - but I would not play with them, take them as pets, or go near them. I respect the purpose in the world from a distance.)
All of the above issues have been discussed, debated, established, considered, and put into practice for thousands of years among Torah based Jews. So, I hope that this helps in understanding.
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I wish they were a little slower lol explaining and understanding takes time lol so had to keep hittin reverse. But there are a few things I still don't understand, but that is understandable lol (in time)