Bnei Brak, Israel – The streets of Bnei Brak have been plastered in recent days with posters distributed by the municipality ahead of the Purim holiday. These aren’t invitations to a Purim play or a festive holiday ball, but a campaign aimed at young adults not to smoke during the holiday’s festivities.
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The campaign, which goes by the title “Israel’s great scholars against smoking,” is meant to prevent young haredim from starting to smoke in the spirit of the holiday’s gaieties, a turning point behavior that could turn from a one-time event into a fixed and addictive habit.
“On Purim, young people think it’s possible to have fun and smoke under the guise of merrymaking,” explained municipal secretariat and spokesman, Avraham Tannenbaum. “Because of the joy of the holiday, they allow themselves to smoke and are not aware that one cigarette will likely beget more smoking after it until great difficulties are encountered trying to quit.”
Tannenbaum explained that a halachic ruling was recently issued on the matter following scientific research that proved the damage incurred by smoking. “It is written ‘you preserved your souls,’ so smoking damages body and soul and, therefore, is against the Torah.”
The campaign is being run by the municipal education department. Hundreds of notices, pamphlets, and fliers will be distributed as part of the effort.
This is the thing that causes every war and fight in the world ..people can’t mind they’re own buisness…..each person can make they’re own desision
this should be done in brooklyn as well
If these same bochurim ignore their rabbonim regarding drinking on purim, why would they care about smoking, especially when these same rabbonim openly engage in this disgusting and deadly habit.
are they smoking crack or marijuana? what is the problem?
30 years too late.but nice try. maybe if we banned smoking in all yeshivas all year round . now that would be a nice starting point
No media, no sports, no exercise but sure, let the 10 years olds light one up and knock back a shot or two. Sad.
I want to know where the kids in the photo got the cigarettes. In the U.S. it is illeagal to give cigarettes to minors.
ya i realized…..in brooklyn its all the Israeli’s that r smoking!
But it’s ok to get drunk becawsue halacha says so???
My Rebbi, usually strongly anti-alcohol and tobacco, always drinks and has a cigarette on Purim. When I asked him about it, he told me that its very endemic in western society to believe that things can only be either used to excess or banned in totality. A mature adult realizes that this is not so, and can allow themselves to enjoy things in the appropriately restricted time and place. Obviously this is generally not applicable to our youth, as it takes time to develop the maturity necessary for self-restriction. At the end of the day though, I will be enjoying a nice cigarette this Purim, as per usual, which will not give me cancer and will not “force” me into a pack-a-day habit. Have a freilichem and responsible Purim!
“….The campaign is being run by the municipal education department”…
What about the ‘rabbis’? Why do they only open their big mouths for Lipa and not on such important matters? This proves that they are fake, and Taliban and should not be listened to.
and ive seen teens in brooklyn doing drugs on purim, because hey “its purim”, its crazy. next time im calling the cops
You mean the same Rabbonim who smoke are telling the little ones it’s not cool!! Right!
The photo is disturbing. Those are like 3rd graders smoking. This is a failure of a community as a whole.
Rabbeiyim who smoke are a product of a failed system which didn’t figure out how to rid the frum community of this innane practice.
The Rabbanim should get together enmasse to discuss how we can stop new initiates. We know that the reason for smoking is peer pressure so if all the peers don’t start smoking because they are coerced not to start, then their wouldn’t be any peer pressure to begin with. I applaud the municipality for taking this little step. Let’s hope that one day we would be zoche to rid ourselves of this terrible habit and send all the cigarettes to the Yishma’alim.
You are missing the point here every body agrees its not a good think to smoke they don’t enjoy it you get dizzy by the few first try’s you have to be a smoker to like it. They have to be educated what’s right and what’s wrong smoking is wrong it brings you no good what’s so ever
2nd we are not talking about bocurim we are talking about kids look at the image its sad and irresponsible
that’s cute picture
A few professionals, myself included, were invited to write articles on the dangers of cigarette smoking and other deleterious habits in the ‘health’ issue of the JEWISH OBSERVER (Nov ’08 edition).
The nicotine in cigarettes is highly addictive, perhaps even more addictive than heroin. The rapid ‘high’ followed by the fast decline in the euphoric feeling induced by the nicotine prompts smokers to smoke more and more over time, seeking their ‘nicotine fix.’
Unfortunately, the ‘delivery system’ for this drug—which exerts its action on certain ‘pleasure’ circuits of the brain–involves all sorts of carcinogens and toxins, resulting in: a shortened life span in over one-third of all smokers; very high incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cancers like lung cancer; and an elevated risk for similar diseases for spouses and children of smokers!
It is unconscionable for adults to permit children to smoke. By the way, if one nevers smokes until age 21, there is virtually no chance of starting. This is an addiction foisted on children and teens.
It is sad if our community condones such behavior in our youth.
I am once again writing what i wrote on earlier posts. It’s not only the smoking that is horrible but many of these boys who are smoking are stealing too. With the price of cigarettes the way they are it is becoming a double crime. Remember if the youngsters ring your bell for Tzedoka ask them to prove the cause as many are going for “Mir and Tosh”( transalated from Yiddish it means mir=me and tosh= really tash means pocket in Yiddish).
I count myself blessed as my husband stopped smoking cold turkey after 40 years B”H. It is 1 1/2 years now and he will refuse any cigarette, even a familys’ Chasan cigarette.
It’s poison and just as bad as drugs. Those doing drugs steal and so do young or non working cigarette smokers.
This is a great initiative. If it works, I certainly hope they can adopt the model, and try this here in the US, to stop Bucherim from smoking on Shabbos, r”l
Ah, you poor people just don’t understand. The thing on Purim is not cigarettes – it’s a good Cuban cigar. What is a Purim seudah without a Montecristo No. 4 or at least a Romeo & Julliet No. 2 afterwards?
It’s really about time that the Rabanim have finally made a stand against this dangerous and expensive habit. I worry though, whether it will have any effect, when bochurim can point to pictures of these gedolim, themselves with cigs in their mouths. It also doesnt help when roshei yeshiva here in America smoke and/or accomodate the smokers in their respective yeshivos. Face the facts-there is absolutely no heter!