Crown Heights, NY – 770 is cracking down on sweets after one of the Gaboim, Yosef Losh, was injured this past Shabbos day and almost lost his eyesight.
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Losh, who stands on the bima platform during the reading of the Torah in the main synagogue at Lubavitch World Headquarters in Crown Heights, is pelted with candies customarily aimed at a nearby chosson.
One of the candies hit Losh in the eye, leaving it badly wounded.
An expert in astronomy, Losh was scheduled to lecture Tuesday and Wednesday in Moscow, Russia, on the 28 year solar cycle of the sun in preparation for April 8, 2009 when the rare “Blessing of the Sun” is recited.
“I can’t see in the eye and have to smear ointments,” Losh told COLlive Monday as he departed to his flight.
“It’s serious damage and I’m not sure in finished with it. The doctor told me that statistically I should be fine. I will have to see a doctor in Moscow too.”
Losh said that he was hit on the white part of his eye, and added that “if it would have hit a little more to the center of the eye – the black part – it would be ‘forget it.’ It was a miracle.”
The Gaboim at 770 are considering new regulations for the candies traditionally thrown in shul with cheers of Mazal Tov for the soon to be married, Losh told COLlive.
“If a Chosson wants an Aliya (in the central minyan), he must give us a deposit of $100. If someone throws a hard candy at him, he loses the money,” Losh said.
Party favors which will include raisins, popcorn and toffee will be available for purchase by Yosef Yitzchak Kratz, the sole provider of Kiddush services in 770.
Losh also suggested that if hard candy is tossed, the Kiddush purchased with Kratz will be cancelled. “You got to go all they way,” Losh concluded.
How foolish and rediculous.
They have been throwing hard candy without a problem for so many years.
Give the Gabbai a $5.00 pair of safety goggles!
Are they going to ban pencils because 15 kids a year are poked with pencils?
Are they going to ban cars due to deaths from car wrecks?
Are they going to ban sining “Dovid Melech Yisroel Chai V’Kayom” because it offers competition to…. neva mind….
The custom at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale is to preserve decorum by never throwing candy or anything else.
We saw this in the day of the gamora when some dangerous story happen the band it, so they doing the right thing.
lubavich & bobov… slowly but surely this will be completely banned..
BH this stupid minhag has become so serious it is mind boggling
this is so stupid 770 is so big and its imposiable for the chosson to control so why should he loose his ”kiddush rights”
Many shuls have this rule of not throwing hard candys for this exact reason, many people have a strong throwing arm and can really hurt sombody as you can see from this incident. There is no reason not to ban hard candy.
In my shul, only fruit gels are thrown. The problem is that the plastic wrap has defined corners that could hurt eye if it hits just right. And what shul is going to throw popcorn or unwrapped raisins?
In my shul I get far away as soon as I can. There is plenty of time. Either that or learn to DUCK.
they should rent a helmet with goggles to anyone who feels im danger.
i have also seen lightbulbs around the Bima break from the pekelech being thrown.
I see at our shul, mainly for bar mitzvahs you have these teen and preteen boys throwing candy like they want to hurt someone. It’s disgusting, they aim, and it’s not always at the bar mitzvah boy they are going for.
The way this minhag is carried out nowadays in most shuls, I would say it should be outright forbidden as it is disrespectful to the sanctity of the synagogue.
anyone who has a bone to pick with a choson will just go to shul throw some hard candies at him and have his kiddush canceled it’s a ma’aseh sedom
They are not banning throwing candies just hard candies. And do not call a minhag b;Yisroel a stupid minhag. There is a reason for trowing sweets at a Chosso.
It is a good idea to ban hard candies. Years ago by my aufruf one mishugana decided to throw a hard candy with all his might. Thank G-d I had plastic glasses so nothing happend but with glass glasses or no glasses I would have been seriously injured since the candy hit the center of my left lens.
What would be the end of the world to ensure that every bag is properly sealed??
hard candies are also dangerous for small children. it is impossible to control who gets hold of the candy.
we had an incident in our shul where hatzolah had to be called in because a child choked on a hard candy.
soft candy only is the rule now.
At my son’s aufruf, we used cloth bags with cotton candy and popcorn inside. The people could hardly reach the bima when they threw it. But the real issue is not how hard the candy is, but how hard it is thrown. If there is a custom to use raisins and almonds, why can’t it be lobbed in underhanded, in a loving manner. The real issue is how some of the chatan’s “friends” are deliberately trying to hurt the chatan. It appears to me that there is no love in the eyes of these people when they throw the candy. Rather, it seems that their entire goal is to cause harm, or at least annoy the person whom we are trying to honor and wish mazel tov. Any “friends” who throw overhand should be punished in some fashion.
At my son’s aufruf, we used cloth bags with cotton candy and popcorn inside. The people could hardly reach the bima when they threw it. But the real issue is not how hard the candy is, but how hard it is thrown. If there is a custom to use raisins and almonds, why can’t it be lobbed in underhanded, in a loving manner. The real issue is how some of the chatan’s “friends” are deliberately trying to hurt the chatan. It appears to me that there is no love in the eyes of these people when they throw the candy. Rather, it seems that their entire goal is to cause harm, or at least annoy the person whom we are trying to honor and wish mazel tov. Any “friends” who throw overhand should be punished in some fashion.
I remember 11 years ago , I had a freind whos Kallah equipped him with a helmet, I can still remember him standing at the torah with his helmet and telling the oilam to bring it on
kitniyos was never always a problem it became a problem later on and so it was banned . so we do see that rabbanim have a right to make or change a minhag
I daven in a sefardik shule and when after the chosen gets his aliah they all yell lululululululullulululu…… this is to ward off the satan.. it makes me nuts.. can they please ban this too!!!
In our shtiebel pecklach are thrown only from the Ezras Nashim.At an aufruf the Gabbai announces this policy and informs those men and boys, that feel the need to participate in throwing the pecklach, are welcome to do so from the Ezras Nashim.
#7 careful there this ‘stupid’ minhug is braught in shulchun urech. also in gemmorah. befor you open your mouth and put yourself in sekanah, check things out .’minhag yisroel torah’ what did you thing any minhag antwhere iby klll yisroel wasnt just picked up in the local ‘lhv. theater
This is why Rabbi Swift in Pittsburgh instituted that they only throw pretzels and popcorn.
1. Anyone who calls a legitimate Minhag stupid is a “Malig al divrei Chachomim
2. Hard candies should not be thrown.
3. I am B”H a Baal korehfor many years and I always pull the Talis over my face during an Aufruf. I would never entertain the thought of cancelling this ancient Minhag
I don’t getvit in the artcle it clearly states that there will be bags sold by y. kratz in 770 to throw, they are not banning the minhag, rather you have to by bags that have pretzels and toffe candys, and the bags are sealed, and I’ve seen these bags and the can go very far, so you gain both the minhag and safty
This custom that some people engage in has gotten way out of hand. Besides the problem of possible danger to people hit by thrown projectiles, there are other problems involved, such as bizoyon beis haknesses and bizuy ochlin, food crushed up and stepped upon on the floor, eating before kiddush, etc. There have been cases when lights and electric fixtures were hit, causing serious damage and even a blackout in a Yeshiva on Shabbos.
Actually this custom is relatively new and not universal. The old minhag is to throw wheat on chosson and kallah on their wedding day. The custom to throw candy in Shul, not on the wedding day, is a new thing, a relatively recent development. It is not done in Shuls that follow Yekke minhogim, nor in those who follow minhogim of Yemen, Libya, Aleppo, Djerba and others. Additionally, even in some places where it was done at one time, it was later banned. There is much info on this custom in sefer Shorshei Minhag Ashkenaz volume IV, where the above information was gleaned from.
P.S. To the writer of comment #8 above  211; can you tell us when it was banned in Bobov?
What about the mess that it makes in the Shul? Where is Kovod Hatorah? Kovod for the Beis Medrash? Kovod for the Rav?
Do you really think that a Choson with a helmet and a Gabbai with safety goggles is what we need in Klal Yisroel.
I’m all for having fun and enjoying a simcha but there is a time, place and way to enjoy a Simcha.
A very hug shul like 770 is difficult to control because it’s open to the public and there are all kinds of people out there that can walk in off the street, youngsters who are not members and you never even see them in shull at all, except for them taking delight in throwing a very hard heavy pack of candy DELIBERATELY as hard as they can in a deliberate effort to intentionally knock off the hat of the chosson and the like.
These are indeed a select few of Kal Shebekalim who are the troublemakers but remember that Chachomim have even canceled not only a Minhag but have even canceled a Mitzvas Ese Min Hatorah to Blow Shofar on Rosh hashonah only because some Kal Shebekalim may perhaps forget that it’s Shabbos and he may forget and carry his Shofar to shull on Shabbos Rosh Hashona.
And because of these select few light headed or hardly religious few, the Mitzavs Ese Min Hatorah to blow Shofar on Rosh Hashonah which is on Shabbos, the Mitzvah has been taken away even form the Biggest Tzadikim.
Anyone who davens in 770 every shabbos knows very well that on each and every shabbos there are “children” (or adults who act like children) who make a very concerted effort to throw so hard and with so much force to knock off the hat of the Chosson. That type of heavy and forcefull throwing is much more than enough to cause blindness.
Packages thrown need to be large enough and light enough to just barely make it to the chosson with no force at all. If a package is large and light, like bag of cotton candy or popcorn, it’s impossible to ever cause any injury.
At my aufruf, one Meshugganeh waited until after I had uncoveredmy head with the Taalis, (thinking it was over already), then sttod right in fornt of me and hurled a pekele into my face with all his might. My glasses broke, my nose bled – all 3days before the wedding. He laughed. Big joke. You can cover up all you want but there are crazy people out there who thinks it is funny to turn this joyous occasion into “Ahaa- I got you anyway”. SHould be terminated. We need a Takanah from the Agudah or like respected organization to ban it completely. Are we aiting for someone to first be blinded?
the rule in 770 always was bags and not individual candies, for this reason,
now they will just crack down on the existing rule.
wishing him a refuah shelaima immediately!
I recently had my oifruf and a young bochur was standing in front of the bimah with a handfull of hard candies and kept on throwing them in my face, when I tried to take cover under the talis someonr pulled it off. I was practically beat up and refuse to accept that this is normal. It should stop once and for all
make a rule and use only sunkist candies…that’s what we do in our shul.
however, if you’ve been to 770 you know that the women’s section is quite a bit above the men’s section and anything falling into someone’s eye no matter how soft will hurt upon impact!
An alternative: Gummy Bears or water balloons!
i had them thrown at me it was very embarassing. the fathers were laughing while the little kids were throwing like they wanted to kill someone. they should ban the whole thing. its not proper respect in a shul anyway.
i know a rabbi who had to have minor eye surgery thanks to this immature barbaric cuztom
. Throwing Pekelech or candies is not the problem, throwing them hard is.
The stupid thing is that people throw with all their might.
there are crazies in every shule
Twice, there was mention of Bobov, so I will expalin.
1–In Bobov there most certainly are sweets thrown toward the chosson. Years ago, the Rebbe zt”l put a stop on bags of nosh being thown, because he felt, and rightly so, that is was expensive. In leu of ‘pekalech’ the baal simcha buys several cases of loose candies. Handfuls of candies rain down on the chosson.
2–In all frum shuls; weather candies or pekalch are used; the sweets get tossed only from the womens section. It is a very exciting moment. All the little boys stand around waiting for this rainfall of sweets. This is how it is done correctly.
The concept of the men lobbing the nosh at the chossons face is not the Yiddish derech. So, you see, by banning in minhag, you are loosing out this beautiful tradition of showering the chooson with a sweet life and such.
How many people even understand the yesod behind this minhag?
If people would not corrupt what was done for doros, this issue would not come up.
May we all be drenched by a heavy dose of sweetness in life.
I remember my cousin as a kid throwing a bag from in front of the bimah from point blank range and the chosson showed up to his wedding with a black eye!
I think till today when this choson + 25 yrs sees my cousin he still wants to kill him.
The family are the ones that buy the candy and they should therefore be responsible for any injuries. The Rabbonim know how to asur concerts, they should be able to to put controls in so that no one else gets hurt IN their Shuls. They should also be held responsible for injuries in their shuls. I don’t think there is a shiur on the minimum candies to be thrown to be yotze and a shiur on the hardness of the candies. There can be limitations placed (just like the size of chasunas) i.e. only 10 bags, with soft candy, to be thrown only by adult members of the family, etc
You know you’re in trouble when your shvigger to be shows up at your aufruf with two 50 pound sacks of rock candy.
most shuls that I’ve been in for aufrufs, the gabbaim know to move out of the way after the chasan says the brochos, and the chasan puts the tallis over his head to minimize potential injuries.
of course, on the flip side, I know some women who use the opportunity to improve their pitching arm.