Ask The Rabbi 
30 December 1995 
Issue #89 
=========================================================================== 
This Issue Contains: 
1.  Straight Dope 
2.  Watch the Birdie 
3.  Yiddle Riddle 
=========================================================================== 
   All Ohr Somayach Publications are now available in Adobe Acrobat and 
     Microsoft Word formats from our web site: www.jer1.co.il/orgs/ohr 
=========================================================================== 
[Name and email address withheld] wrote: 
 
>What does Judaism have to say about recreational drug usage?  I know what 
>Judaism has to say about putting anything harmful into the body, but what 
>about certain drugs that do not hurt the body?  Is altering one's state of 
>consciousness ok or not ok from a Jewish standpoint? 
>PS  If you post this message to the Ask the Rabbi listserve for everyone 
>to see, please make sure that my name and e-mail address are confidential. 
 
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
 
Dear Confidential, 
 
Your question was asked of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, zatzal, regarding 
Marijuana.  The following is a summary of his answer: 
 
The Torah teaches about a `Ben Sorer Umoreh' -- a rebellious son.  A Ben 
Sorer Umoreh is a youth who steals meat and wine from his father and 
gobbles it down.  The Torah calls for the death penalty in such a case. 
Since he is addicted to physical pleasures, he will ultimately do anything 
to support his habit, even rob and kill.  The same is true of drugs, and 
more so.  People who use drugs usually acquire a strong hunger to maintain 
their habit, and can develop physical and/or psychological dependence. 
In general, using drugs is unhealthy.  But even if no harm is done to the 
body, drugs lead to a lack of concentration needed to pray, fulfill mitzvot 
and learn Torah properly. 
Parents are usually distressed by a child's drug usage, so using drugs 
could lead to violating the commandment to "Honor your father and mother." 
And finally, the Torah says "Kedoshim Tihiyu" -- "You shall be holy" -- 
meaning that you should not seek out and indulge in excess pleasures. 
Based on all the above reasons Rabbi Feinstein prohibits Marijuana [and 
urges educators to do all they can to dissuade people from using it.] 
Now if you ask, "But what about alcohol?  Don't all the above reasons apply 
equally well to it?"  The answer is... "Yes!"  In the words of the Rambam, 
"Someone who gets drunk is a sinner."  Alcohol, when used for the purpose 
of 
getting intoxicated, would be in the same category as drugs. 
Another point:  Using drugs, even for `recreation', brings you in contact 
with `professionals':  Users and -- unless you `grow your own' -- dealers. 
So, as they say: "If the drugs don't getcha, the company will..." 
 
Sources: 
Iggrot Moshe, Yoreh De'ah 3:35 
 
`Confidential' responds: 
>Dear Rabbi, I want to thank you for your response. 
>It was greatly appreciated. 
 
=========================================================================== 
 
Ahron Einhorn <ajeinhorn@CCGATE.HAC.COM> wrote: 
 
>In Ask the Rabbi #83 you wrote how the mitzvah of sending away the mother 
>bird applies only to eggs that are ownerless.  You wrote an anecdote about 
>the bird's nest in your awning where you said:  "the mitzvah didn't apply, 
>because the nest was on my property."  Here in LA we do the mitzvah with 
>birds on private property as long as the owner says he doesn't want to 
>acquire the birds.  You may also want to caution people that they need to 
>be able to recognize the bird's gender. 
 
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
 
Dear Ahron: 
 
People generally want to acquire anything of value found on their property. 
But you're right:  If you declare "I don't want to acquire eggs laid on my 
property" then the eggs remain ownerless and you can fulfill the mitzvah of 
`sending away the mother bird.' 
Actually, most city-dwellers today would probably see the eggs more as a 
nuisance than a valuable asset.  They would much rather do the mitzvah than 
acquire the eggs.  I asked Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, shlita, who 
agreed that today one would not necessarily acquire nest eggs 
automatically. 
As you mentioned, the mitzvah is to send away the mother, not the father. 
Another limitation:  It applies only to kosher birds.  Sending away the 
father or sending away an unkosher bird for no reason would be a 
transgression of `tza'ar ba'alei chaim' -- causing pain to living 
creatures. 
 
=========================================================================== 
 
Yiddle Riddle 
 
Which Tractate of the Talmud fits the following description: 
   The Aramaic translation of the name of this Tractate is the name of a 
   different Tractate? 
=========================================================================== 
                                 SUBSCRIBE! 
 
to one of the many weekly "lists" published by Ohr Somayach Institutions: 
 
       weekly - Summary of the weekly Torah portion 
      dafyomi - Rav Mendel Weinbach's insights into the Daf Yomi 
          ask - The Rabbi answers YOUR questions on Judaism 
   parasha-qa - Challenging questions on the weekly Torah portion 
   os-special - All the SPECIAL publications produced by Ohr Somayach 
      os-alum - "B'Yachad" - the Ohr Somayach Electronic Alumni Newsletter 
     judaismo - Spanish-Language newsletter on the Parsha & Judaism 
        month - Seasons of the Moon - The Jewish Year through its months 
 
There is NEVER a charge for any of the above lists (though your local 
information provider, such as AOL, Prodigy or CompuServe, might charge a 
nominal fee).  To subscribe to any of these lists, send the message: 
    subscribe {listname} {your full name} 
to: listproc@jer1.co.il 
=========================================================================== 
Dedication opportunities are available for Ask The Rabbi. 
Please contact us for details. 
=========================================================================== 
Ask The Rabbi is written at Ohr Somayach Institutions / Tanenbaum College, Jerusalem, Israel.
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman  
Production Design: Lev Seltzer  
=========================================================================== 
   Jewish   L         EEEEEEEE  Prepared by the Jewish Learning Exchange of 
     J      L         E         Ohr Somayach International 
     J      L         E         22 Shimon Hatzadik Street, POB 18103 
     J      L         Exchange  Jerusalem 91180, Israel 
     J      L         E         Tel: 972-2-810315 Fax: 972-2-812890 
J    J      L         E         Internet: ohr@jer1.co.il 
 JJJJ       Learning  EEEEEEEE  Web: www.jer1.co.il/orgs/ohr 
=========================================================================== 
(C) 1995 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved. 
This publication may be distributed to another person intact without prior 
permission.  We also encourage you to include this material in other 
publications, such as synagogue newsletters.  However, we ask that you 
contact us beforehand for permission, andd then send us a sample issue. 

