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Davening while Drunk

Is it muttar to daven when drunk? If not, at what exact point is is forbidden? Thank you.

Answer:

It is not permitted to daven while drunk, even if one is only “under the influence” of alcohol without being fully drunk.

Whether he has to daven again depends on the level of inebriation, as explained in the Sources.

Best wishes.

Sources:

The Gemara (Eruvin 64a) makes a distinction between somebody who is only under the influence of alcohol, and somebody who is actually drunk. A shatui, as the Gemara calls him, may not pray – yet if he does so, his prayer is valid, and he does not need to daven again.

A shikor, however – somebody who is truly drunk – may not pray, and his prayer is considered an abomination, so that he must daven again after recovering from his drunken state.

The Gemara proceeds to explain the difference between the two states: “A shatui is one who is able to address the king; a shikor is one who is unable to address the king.” These principles are ruled by the Rambam (Laws of Prayer 4:17).

We thus learn of two distinct levels of drunkenness. The lighter of them is a state of being “under the influence” of alcohol, in which it is forbidden to pray – yet in which one’s prayer is still valid.

The more severe is a state of true drunkenness, which is defined by one’s inability to address a king or nobleman. In this state, one’s prayer is not valid, and a shikor who prays remains obligated to pray once more (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 99:1).

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