In this first of our two sessions on the topic of drinking on Purim, we will learn first the primary source from the gemara in Masechet Megilah, containing first a seemingly straightforward statement of halacha followed by a shocking story. Then we will learn the explanations of two commentaries to the Talmud, one a rishon (the Meiri), and the second a 19th century acharon (the Ben Ish Chai). While both of them discuss the halacha, they explicitly pay close attention to the peshat meaning of the sugya, as we will see. (In session 2 we will look in the literature of the poskim and codifiers of halacha to see if we can find a bottom line regarding how we should conduct ourselves.)
For your convenience I have posted here some of the sources we will encounter in this session.
