On a less morbid note, I must hand it to you, Blushing. Who of us is not aware of your subtle yet cunning way of unlocking man’s deepest secrets? “When wine goes in, secrets come out…,” states the Talmud. I suppose that in itself (the revelations you are privy to) gives rise to your “blushing.”
Oh, and let’s not forget the time when over imbibing actually turned out to be a good thing, as when a tipsy Achashverosh unceremoniously did away with his Queen Vashti who refused his order to flaunt her beauty in public and subsequently set the stage for the ultimate miracle of Purim, with the coronation of the new Queen Esther. The rest, as they say, is history.
Speaking of history, all in all you ought to be quite pleased at the center stage you have taken throughout ours. Kiddush to sanctify the Shabbos, and as a prelude to every Yom Tov seudah, is made over your sweet nectar, extracted from the celebrated fruit of the vine. A heady privilege, to be sure!
To top it off, when Moshiach comes none other than Dovid HaMelech will proclaim with a huge goblet of wine in hand, “Kos yeshuas esah u’beshaim Hashem ekrah” – I raise the cup of salvation and call upon the name of Hashem (Tehillim 116:13).
So, Blushing, while the rest of us are advised not to “overdo it,” your cup, it would seem, runneth over.
LeChayim – to life! Simchas Purim!
