Collecting On Purim in a Limousine

flatbush27:

Al Todin Es Chavercha Ad Sheyehi Bemekomo.

Literally.

Next to a dorm yeshiva! 🙂

hmmmm-I would love to see the community I live in have bochurim drive around in a limo and collect tzedakah. I don’t think anyone would know what to do with themselves. It would probably make it on the front page news. The exposure to the concept of people collecting tzedakah would also be a nice chinuch opportunity.

Oomis, refuah shelaima!

Have you tried to talk to the rabbeim BEFORE Purim? Maybe they will realize what a chillul hashem it is for the neighborhood.

Squeak, its kind of hard to go to someone’s house and say “My friend just vomitted on your lawn, but can I have some money?”

squeak, i’ll add a twist to that game, the guy has to have drunk just a little bit, in order to be a contestant NOT that I condone underage drinking.

No, his daughter is quite smart and has embarrassed many a sober yeshiva bochur.

but as you said its really only 3 times a yr so get over it.

I’m sure she will be happy to bring it all to your lawn. No one should EVER do that. Once in a lifetime or 3 times a year. Its private property and she could have them ARRESTED.

moish, it’s called Past-Perfect tense. I guess you got a Yeshiva education 😉

Flatbush, I would argue differently. Don’t we say that you can tell a lot about a person when they are drunk? Well, how does vomiting on someone else’s property and throwing cigarette butts and keeping up the neighbors a good thing? So maybe it tells us that a percentage of our bochrim arent as good as we think?

although i really cant base my opinion on a bochur when its purim

You should be able to. You should be able to see how a good, frum boy celebrates. What makes these bochrim different than regular kids who go out to bars, get drunk and puke on peoples lawns? Nothing.

And yes, until Oomis’ lawn, I thought all yeshiva bochrim were perfect 😀

I may be a minority opinion here (so what’s new), but while I am all for increasing our giving Tzadaka, especially on Purim, there are ample other ways to do it.

I know quite a few people who are “forced” to give up their simchas Purim with their families because they have to high tail out of town for Purim. They can no longer afford to dole out the Tzadaka that was given in past years to the collectors and they are too embarrassed to face them.

Also, there are families who are “hit” and are “forced” to open their doors and allow into their homes people they do not know, whether legit or not, and to give to Tzadakas not of their choosing and amounts they cannot afford.

I’m not saying these are not good causes but there are a lot of “aidle”, modest people who do not appreciate this intrusion into their lives. The “bochrim” are usually loud and boisterous and this practice is not appreciated by everyone.

I understand that it is entirely possible that there are good boys acting badly on Purim and I would reserve judgment if I saw them on Purim. But according to your stand, they should be a minority of a minority and really, we should be seeing beauty instead of vomit etc. I guess that those good boys are in the yeshiva, not drinking surreptitiously out of a bag on the corner of the grounds or at a neighbor’s, etc.

Now, off to polish my rose-colored glasses, I’m going to see about changing my screen ID to Pollyanna…

flatbush27,

I’ve not seen any evidence that oomis has an “anti Yeshiva bochur attitude”. I’ve seen lots of evidence that she has an attitude against underage Yeshiva bochurim getting drunk, especially when unsupervised. And I think it’s obvious why, given her experiences.

oomis, I hope you feel better soon.

Flatbush, you really don’t get it, unfortunately. I have lived here 22 years and made two complaints in all that time, and one of those times I was a kimpaturin. I happen to be personally close with several of the bochurim because they are my son’s chaverim, even though he went to a different Yeshivah High School. And those boys, btw would NEVER do what some of these others have done. I think that liquor and bochurim do not mix, and especially when they are on a holy mission.

Flatbush, either you CAN judge people when they are drunk or you CANT. Saying “I’ll only judge the good ones drunk” doesnt really make any sense, now does it?

I think yeshivas should have a ZERO drinking policy for underage students. If you want to drink, go to your parents house and have them supervise.

Re cherrybim: ah, but did they really sign? You believe just any kol korei?

As an aside, while there is an inyan to give to anyone with outstretched hands, I’d be scared to part with my money to someone less than sober.

I was playing devil’s advocate. I certainly believe that all signed it with full knowledge.

There is absolutely no inyun to drink liquor on Purim.

From the kol korei:

“The mitzva of “Chayav Adam l’v’sumet b’Purya…” is only with wine as it is stated in Chayei Adam (155:30) and Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (142:6). Free use of whiskey and other alcoholic beverages is entirely inappropriate and contrary to da’as Chachomim.”

Society as a whole presents mixed messages regarding alcohol.

It is often presented as part of a good time, a happy occasion, and a celebration.

Often the drunk is looked at like a big joke to be regarded with a laugh.

The dark side is the alcoholism, accidents, violence, and spousal abuse that can accompany drinking.

For me the right approach is to treat drinking seriously and to be responsible drinker.

Although the chag has ended, please note for the future: on Purim we tend to let our guard down and for good reason; we are happy and relaxed and are in the mode of “achva v’reius”. We allow strangers into our home (groups of bochrim; collectors; etc.) and are not as alert to what is going on as we would normally be.

There are many times when strangers have a license to roam about our homes, i.e., Purim; Sheva B’rochos; L’chaim; Vort; etc. I was at a Sheva B’rochos several years ago where the hostess left her diamond ring on the window ledge above the kitchen sink when she washed for bread and discovered it missing during the meal. There was a house full of people she not know and she let her guard down because of the simcha. Purim is no different.

Ames, you just gave me the chills – how scary is that!!!!

Thank G-d there were no incidents this year (couple of fireworks and a little noise, but nothing major).

Flatbush – to address the issue of why should one person ruin it for the rest of us – well, unfortunately, that is OFTEN the case. it is caslled “collateral damage,” and it is so insidious because of the innocent get hurt along with the guilty. Just to take it away from alcohol for the moment – several members of my immediate family, myself included have either chronic or occasional allergies and need to take Claritin D ona regular basis. My hsuband and son need it twice a day every day. Because a “few” teenagers were using these decongestants in order to manufacture illicit drugs from this legal source, the government now has made it a very difficult and annoying process to obtain this OTC medication. If I buy the maximum limited amount allowed, I cannot buy it again in the same month. So my husband has to go buy it, my son has to buy it, my daughter, etc. etc. a very annoying process, especially since one member of the family alone can use up a thirty pill supply in fifteen days. Sothen what is he supposed to do? And that is because the minority ruined it for the rest of us.

The man who is now accused of losing billions of dollars in the Ponzi scheme, has ruined investments for the rest of us> Bad things happen all the time to the Klal because of one stupid individual. It is what it is. If one person has AIDS and an innocent pregnant woman gets a blood transfusion from his blood, and both she and her baby become HIV-positive and die, why should they have had to suffer because HE indulged in unsafe behaviors? It is to teach us that every single thing we do has an impact on someone else, even when we are not aware of that impact. Tell the mother whose kid was hit by a car driven by a drunk teenager, that it was only a minority.

If one boy gets drunk and causes harm to himself and others, it is one too many. Collateral damage.

oomis and flatbush: well said!

oomis hope youre feeling better!

🙂