משלי, פרק כ״ג, פסוק ל״ג

Excessive drinking fundamentally strips away human control, attacking a person's two most critical centers of perception and processing: the eyes and the mind. Instead of an ideal state where one's vision and heart are focused on wisdom and truth, intoxication brings about a severe physical and moral collapse [מלבי״ם].

As the alcohol takes hold, its initial assault is on the eyes, causing them to take in foreign and disturbing sights. Commentators offer two main perspectives on the nature of these visions. One approach suggests that the wine ignites physical desires, clouding moral judgment and pushing the individual to seek out inappropriate relationships and immoral women [רש״י, אבן עזרא, מלבי״ם]. Alternatively, the effect is understood as a descent into hallucinations [מצודת ציון]. As the fumes of the wine rise to the brain, the person loses their grip on reality. The world appears unstable, and they begin to see bizarre illusions that do not actually exist [רלב״ג, ביאור שטיינזלץ, מצודת דוד, עמנואל הרומי]. This disorientation is especially common for those who are not accustomed to heavy drinking [אלשיך].

Following the distortion of sight, the intoxication travels deeper, corrupting the inner self. The mind begins to produce thoughts that are the complete inversion of intellect, logic, and truth [מצודת דוד, רלב״ג, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The heart is filled with false ideas, madness, and even heresy, standing in stark contrast to wisdom. Eventually, this corrupted inner dialogue spills outward, causing the person to speak illogical nonsense [מלבי״ם, עמנואל הרומי, רלב״ג].

However, there is a different way to view the early stages of this mental decline. When the eyes first begin to see these strange illusions, the mind may still hold onto a small degree of clarity. During this brief window, the brain actually attempts to process the distortion, signaling to the person that the bizarre images before them are the exact opposite of reality. At this initial point, the individual is still capable of recognizing that they are merely experiencing a hallucination [אלשיך].