Purim: To get drunk or not to get drunk...

Purim is around the corner, and I wanted to discuss one aspect of Purim which is often swept under the rug: the custom of getting drunk. Not just a drink or two, but getting plastered (I’m not saying I approve of it…). The Talmud says:
Rava said: It is one's duty levasumei, to make oneself fragrant [with wine] on Purim until one cannot tell the difference between 'arur Haman' (cursed be Haman) and 'barukh Mordekhai' (blessed be Mordecai)"
Rabbah and R. Zeira got together for the Purim meal. They got very drunk, and Rabbah got up and butchered R. Zeira. The next day, Rabbah prayed on R. Zeira's behalf and brought him back to life. A year later, Rabbah asked, "Would you like to have the Purim meal with me again this year?" R. Zeira replied, "We don’t rely on miracles." (Megillah 7b)
It’s not clear from this text whether one is supposed to get drunk (based on Rava’s statement) or one should avoid it (based on Rabbi Zeira’s experience), but the custom has come down through many sources to drink wine at the festive meal, and perhaps to get drunk.
The mystical explanation of this drunkenness is that Purim is a day which gives us a taste of the Ein Sof, the infinitely transcendent root of the divine in which good and Evil have not yet become distinct—total oneness. This is why (on one opinion in the Talmud) Purim is the one holiday which will be celebrated in the messianic era. Purim is a foretaste of that era, in which all is good. So getting drunk on Purim gives us a window into that future reality.
Practically speaking, there are plenty of opinions modifying Rava’s statement. Maimonides and the Maharsha say you should drink enough at the meal to fall asleep. R Abraham Gombiner says you should get so drunk you confuse the gematriya (numerical value) of arur Haman and Baruch mordechai; in fact, their gematriya is the same (502). How drunk do you need to be to get confused over that? And R Abraham Danzig (18c) poskined that we should not get so drunk that we neglect any mitzvot, such as washing our hands or making a blessing before eating. According to all opinions, we should never get drunk any other day of the year. If you do drink on Purim, you certainly shouldn’t drive; cars are like swords, and we don’t rely on miracles.
I look forward to celebrating Purim together this month, as well as joining together for all of the classes and services we have planned!