וישת מן היין וישכר…(נח ט:כא)

He drank the wine and became drunk…

In the town of Munkatch lived a simple Yid who enjoyed drinking wine and used to become intoxicated.  In his drunken state, he would haphazardly roam the streets to the embarrassment of his family.

When Maran Reb Yissocher Dov of Belz zt’’l resided in Munkatch during WWI, the drunk Yid’s children bemoaned their fate to Maran and asked Maran to convince their father not to drink.

When the drunk Yid came to visit Maran zt’’l, Maran told him: “There was a Rebbe, Rebbe Reb Ber z’’l, who was able to gaze into the biggest sinners eyes, yet, he couldn’t look into a drunkard’s eyes. Do you want to know why? Since a drunkard loses his צלם אלקים – G-dly presence!”

Filed under Parshas Noach | The Frierdige Rov