Should Jews Give Candy This Coming Monday Night?

if you will briefly let mod-80 know why you want to contact him he might be agreeable

but mod-80 has learned to keep private communications to a stark minimum, for a variety of reasons.

someone used the phrase “Thousands of Gedolim”

Was that a typo? it sounds like an oxymoron

I’m still waiting for real documentation from you, gavra, for the one source you claimed. But here is a small portion and partial list of the multiples I referred to: R. Ahron Kotler, Satmar Rebbe, R. Hutner, R. Schorr, Klausenberger Rebbe, R. Svei, Skulener Rebbe, Bobover Rebbe, R. A. Miller, Viener Rov.

My wife bought two large bags of candy for yesterday, as we were sure that people would be ringing our bell. Sure enough, they came in droves. Our two bags weren’t enough. We put a sign on our door saying “Sorry, we ran out of candy!”

We did not let our kids see it – we put them to bed early so they wouldn’t want to go get candy also. We just gave every kid some candy with a smile, told them to enjoy it, and wished them a good night.

Halloween teaches children the wrong morals and values.

Halloween is a holiday about getting. Lhavdil, on Purim we are giving – shlach monos and matonos l’evyonim.

We should never glorify scaring others and we should never glorify anything contrary to service to Hashem, such as demons, death, graves, or gore (unless it’s Al Gore)…

In the public school where I work they have special activities for the children of other religions who chose not to be a part of Halloween activities. It is usually “witnesses” and muslims.

zdad,

we totally forgot it was halloween, and I heard knocking so I opened the door

I don’t see a chillul Hashem involved

Whiteberry may be correct. It’s unclear whether our secularized American holidays bear any semblance to pagan roots.

Without getting into that issue, I’d say that if the saintly R’ Avraham Pam and others made a kiddush hashem by being kindhearted to non-Jewish children, so should we, by offering them candy.

What I’ve actually began doing in recent years is purchasing Hershey’s chocolate items after the gentile holidays (Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day) when they go on sale 50=75% off and I’ve used them for shalach manos and our shul gives this candy to kids on shabbos morning (I buy whatever is OU-D, or Kof-K D, and since our shabbos kiddush luncheons are always dairy, I don’t see a problem giving a kid candy in the shape of an egg, pumpkin, or tin soldier).

Akuperma,

So R’ Avraham Pam, zt”l, was oiver on avodah zarah, chas ve shalom, since he joyfully gave candy to trick-or-treaters?

Why wouldn’t the secularization of Halloween be analogous to passeling an avodas zorah which Gentiles can do? I therefore think that the issue avodas zorah does not apply to the modern observance of Halloween. However, there is still an issue of chukas haGoyim.

Although trick or treating is rare in our communities I think that one should give treats to any kids who do show up mipnei darchei hashalom. It goes, I think, without saying that Jewish children should not participate.

P.S. To all of you want to take me to task for “paskening without a license”, please note the qualifiers, “I think” and “why wouldn’t”.

@oomis – I, too, do not partake of their pagan holiday. They can’t on the one hand make a big fuss about those “evil pagans,” and then celebrate their same rituals, for crying out loud!

Our neighborhood’s standard is, if the driveway light isn’t on, then you’re not supposed to go to them. People used to be majorly offended that I don’t wish to add to their dentist’s bills, but now they know to keep quiet about it.

I buy candy to give out to children in my neighborhood. If R’ Pam zt”l could do it, so can I. My non-Jewish neighbors are very nice to me. They’ve helped me out on Shabbos, like when my Shabbos clock didn’t work correctly during the summer and my AC was off, with 8 gusts coming over for lunch. My neighbor turned it on for me. Once when I was sick, coming off a surgery, and a neighbor saw me getting into my car to go pick up my medication from the pharmacy, he told me, “You just had surgery! You can’t go! I’ll pick it up for you!” And so he did.

If R’ Pam saw nothing wrong with giving out candy, I can do something for the children of my neighbors, to make them happy. My kids know that we don’t celebrate it, but we’re still nice, decent neighbors, who can give out candy to those who do celebrate it.

DaMoshe, If I could, I’d shake your hand right now. You exhibit the kinds of behaviors that Jews (Especially religious ones) need to exhibit. We must be proactive in fostering good relations with our neighbors. We enjoy living in a free society relatively free of anti-semitism. The least we can do is give a kid a Hershey’s bar or something like that. Rav Pam’s rebbitzen made popcorn bags for the kids who’d come trick-or-treating. And while we wouldn’t want our kids to go trick-or-treating, not giving trick-or-treaters candy shows a standoffish, arrogant attitude. It also furthers anti-semitism, since it makes Jews look cheap and cold-hearted. I enjoy the day, the costumes, etc. And it gives me nachas to give children candy (I give the kids OU-D candy, and whatever is leftover, I eat myself or we give to kids in my shul).

We used to give nosh to kids who rang our bell, but now they stopped coming. The public school hands out notes telling parents to only let their children go trick-or-treating to stores and family, so since we fit neither criteria they don’t come.

@coffee addict there is an Eruv in Brooklyn.once someone threw an egg at my window for political reasons

In bp %85 of people carry

But it wasn’t Monday this year.

Why not on Monday?

But you’re not eating it, just giving it away.

For all those so knowledgeable: This holiday is NOT Christian in any way. that is no to say it’s not Avodah Zara because it is a Native American Avodah Zara. This holiday did not exist (and maybe still does not exist) in Europe. Proof it is not Christian. In fact, as far as i know it is only celebrated in America.

Rav Pam giving out candy is proof he had no idea this holiday had anything to do with Avodah Zara. In addition to the fact many young people don’t know that it was DANGEROUS not to back then. Yes dangerous. In Brooklyn. There could’ve have been many different kind of consequences, depending on the type of neighbors you had, or even the type of friends THEY had that specific year. Using Rav Pam as an example When he lived in not such a safe neighborhood shows that in those years it was an inyan of PIKUACH NEFESH.

Another reason I once herd from somebody who claims when he asked Rav Pam why he was doing it if the Sakana was not so bad any more, Rav Pam said, there were Jewish children in public school who are going around at least they will once taste something kosher and know that kosher food is not so bad. Also maybe they wont fear the religious people so much. (for those who remember what the attitude was toward European immigrants back then.)

For one thing “Native Americans” do not want to be called “American Indians”. They rightfully claim, Columbus made a mistake when calling central America “West Indies”. They had nothing to do with India and therefore are not Indian nor “American Indian”.

A poem written in 1785 is after the British came to America. So could be they learned it from them, or he plainly wrote a poem about something in America without writing it explicitly its source.

I want to understand why giving candy to kids at your door is not considered celebrating Halloween, which as a holiday with pagan origins, is therefore assur to celebrate according to the rema, gra, etc. If one were to give shalach manos on purim, limashal, this is considered “celebrating” purim. why the difference here?

you can just not answer the door. or only answer for kids accompanied by a parent, if you are really afraid of a prank. point is, in most scenarios, there is very little fear of eivah or concern for darkei shalom.

Sure, same as any other Monday night.