A RUSSIAN MEMBER OF KNESSET, Ksenia Svetlova (Zionist Union) is outranged to the point of ranting on Facebook about a suggestion that females stay off the streets of Bnei Brak during Purim celebrations.
Why, the MK asks, should she be forced to stay inside while the men celebrate?
SILLY WOMAN. Doesn't she know that the yeshiva "boys" will take the admonition to get so drunk they can't tell the difference between "Mordechai and Haman"?
MOST rabbis, regardless of sect, discourage such behavior Note 1 and incidents occurring due to drunkenness are punishable Note 2.
Saving a woman from males' immodest behavior is the basis for many rabbinical rules. The "women's' section" at the Temple was to protect both women AND less-able men (the old and infirm) from the boisterousness of the Water Festival during Sukot. Note 3
While the MK has a point - why should women be forced to celebrate Purim inside their or their neighbors' homes while drunks are allowed to roam the streets, and while she has a point that the (Ashkenazi) Chief Rabbi of Bnei Brak, Moshe Yehuda Leib Landau, opts to deny females their freedom so his yeshiva "boys" can behave like the bulls of Pamplona , she needs to understand that in the rabbi's culture, the action is for the females' safety.
Expecting haredim to behave in a civilized manner on Purim obviously is expecting too much, and R. Moshe Yehuda Leib Landau fully understands his people.
Bnei Brak is the community that in 1977 placed a chain across a major street to prevent Shabat violations; a young man was killed and a friend injured when they ailed to see the chain. The the mayor and municipal council members of Bnei Brak were indicted on grounds of non-criminal negligence that resulted in a traffic fatality there. Notes 4 & 5
Sadly enough, U.S. law - and it varies by state - may not find a drunk guilty of a crime committed while under the influence. Note 6
The bottom line for MOST Jews is to pass on the "falling down drunk" עד לא יודע tradition and follow one of the options of later rabbis. Note 7
1. Beis Hora’ah
3. Chabad
4. JTA
5. JTA
