purim - Using Grape Juice for Ad dlo Yoda

Can one use Grape Juice for Ad dlo Yoda on Purim?

Answer

It seems pretty clear that 'Ad DeLo Yada' is fulfilled through alcohol, not wine per se. I've heard that wine is preferable, and even that one does not fulfill the requirement if one gets drunk on whisk(e)y. This seems very strange to me, as the point is to get so joyfully drunk that one is unable to distinguish between two polar opposite characters. Unless one gets bumped on the head with the bottle, I'm not sure how this would be achieved with grape juice (and even then, I'm not sure that would qualify - so don't try it at home or anywhere else).

The question as to whether this is truly a Jewish value, and what a recovering alcoholic, a teenager and anyone concerned with the dangers of drinking (with or without driving) is supposed to do on Purim is an entirely different question. But any straightforward interpretation of the "Mitzvah" can lead to only one conclusion - actual drunkenness by means of alcohol.

There are no sources cited, but this article from Ohr Yerushalayim claims that R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach said that grape juice does not suffice.

http://www.yoy.org.il/article.php?id=46

For additional reference, see Rabbi Dov Fischer's article here on the subject: http://www.jewishjournal.com/purim/article/drinking_does_not_drive_the_purim_celebration_20110311/

He states, in part, "Our greatest Rabbinic Sages over the centuries have wrestled with the dichotomy, looking to harmonize the themes. One Rabbi, the Magen Avraham, noted that the gematria numerology – the sum of the letters of the words, with each Hebrew letter having a numerical value – of “Arur Haman” (Cursed is Haman) is 502. And the letters comprising “Barukh Mordechai” (Blessed is Mordechai) also equal 502. (See M.A. Comment 3 on Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 695:2.) So, he said, drink only until you can’t do the tally of those numbers in your head. Another taught that you should drink only enough to make yourself a bit drowsy, which will lead you to fall asleep, and – unless you have a Purim dream – you then will be in state where you don’t know the difference between Haman and Mordechai. (See, e.g., Ram”a on Shulchan Arukh 695:2.) A similar approach is taken by Rambam (Maimonides). (Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Megillah 2:15).

"In recent years, as American culture in general, and our teen culture in particular, has grown depressingly coarse – witness television shows like “Jersey Shore” and “Skins” and a society where more people know the daily thoughts, so to speak, of Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan than they do of their Congressional representative or the Poet Laureate of the United States – more rabbis than ever have called for bans on teen drinking during Purim and also have condemned the practice of certain outlier sects who would encourage drinking to the point of barfing on Main Street. Judaism despises drunkenness, and Rambam explicitly warned against it. (See, e.g., Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot De’ot 5:3; Hilkhot Sh’vitat Yom Tov 6:20)"