Is Getting High a Sin? What the Torah Actually Says About Marijuana & Psychedelics

Shalom Aleichem Chevra, welcome back! Is getting high actually forbidden by Torah — or is the answer way more nuanced than what you were told growing up? In this shiur we sit down with one of the most fascinating teshuvos in all of halacha — Rav Moshe Feinstein's responsa from the Igros Moshe on the prohibition of smoking herbs. The question was originally brought to Rav Moshe by someone whose grandfather was connected to the very yeshiva where some bachurim had gotten ahold of hashish (mei javana, in case you didn't know), and Rav Moshe's very first instinct as a posek is telling. He doesn't just say yes or no — he lays out a careful, reasoned argument backed by serious Torah sources, and we go through each one together. We cover Rav Moshe's main reasons one by one. First, the issue of bodily harm — and the fascinating move he makes when someone says 'but I'm a strong, healthy guy.' Second, and this is the big one the Chevra really needs to hear: the problem of losing daas, losing consciousness. A Jew's entire mission is to be in a state of heightened God-awareness all day. Mitzvos done without proper kavana are like mitzvos not done at all. If something is pulling you out of t