ויקרא, פרק י׳, פסוק י״א

The immense responsibility of passing down God's word and guiding the people demands absolute mental clarity. Following the command for priests to avoid wine while serving in the Tabernacle, this restriction expands directly into the realm of legal decision-making. A sage or priest who has consumed wine is strictly forbidden from deciding Jewish law [שד״ל, בכור שור]. This is not merely practical advice meant to prevent errors in judgment [ביאור שטיינזלץ], but an absolute divine command. Consequently, even if an intoxicated teacher issues a strict ruling and causes no practical harm, the very act of ruling while drunk violates God's instruction [גור אריה, דברי דוד].

The primary approach among commentators is that this restriction applies exclusively to practical legal decisions. Therefore, a person may drink wine and then study foundational texts. Some even permit the study of complex legal debates while intoxicated, provided the learning does not result in practical rulings [תורה תמימה, אדרת אליהו]. However, a prominent sage whose teachings are immediately accepted as practical law by his audience is barred from teaching his students after drinking [פרדס יוסף]. From another perspective, the deep analysis of God's laws and the act of teaching attentive students are meant to serve as a profound source of inner joy. This spiritual engagement has the power to help Aaron the Priest forget his deep sadness and grief [העמק דבר].

Despite the severity of this prohibition, there is a clear distinction in the consequences. The penalty of death at the hands of Heaven is reserved solely for priests who actively serve in the Tabernacle while intoxicated. In contrast, sages who issue legal rulings while drunk commit a grave offense but do not incur the death penalty [רש״י, מזרחי, שפתי חכמים, משכיל לדוד, בכור שור, דברי דוד].

The divine instruction against teaching while intoxicated encompasses every layer of the Torah, both written and oral. It covers the issuance of practical laws [חזקוני, אדרת אליהו], as well as the study of analytical methods and rules that lack an obvious logical explanation [תורה תמימה, העמק דבר, חזקוני]. Furthermore, the restriction extends to established legal traditions [תורה תמימה, חזקוני], the written scriptures themselves [חזקוני], and the complex discussions that connect oral traditions to the written text [תורה תמימה, העמק דבר, אדרת אליהו]. Ultimately, it includes the human authority granted to sages to resolve doubts [תורה תמימה], thereby uniting the entirety of the Torah and its commandments under this standard of absolute mental clarity [ביאור יש״ר, אבן עזרא].