Speaking Out Against Smoking in Yerushalyim

Misterzee- does any serious self resecting bochur go on the internet?

1. Add R’ Moshe z”l to the list of those who assered smoking. He did this in a letter to the talmidim of BMG.

2. At today’s prices, smoking is outright ba’al tashchis. I was fortunate enough to be able to quit 25 years ago with the support and encouragement of my eishes chayil. I would be spending $2,500-$3,000 a year on cigarettes at today’s prices. Given the economic matzav, I thinking spending that much money on self-indulgence borders on Lo Saamod al Dam Reiecha.

3. My rosh yeshiva z”l used to smoke, even during shiur. I met him at a funeral as we were filling the kever. He turned to me and said “Yenem tzu bagroben is gring.” A few month later he was gone from lung cancer.

4. No more burn holes in ties, shirts and pants. No more burn marks on the furniture or seforim. Dave maariv Motzei Shabbos b’nachas, not rushing to get the first smoke of the new week.

flatbush27

Member

Misterzee- does any serious self resecting bochur go on the internet?

why not?

As well, JoJo, i hope that you are talking (typing) tongue in cheek, b/c if you really believe what you posted, I really feel bad for you

For those who tell SSIY that he has no right to comment – what about hocheach tocheach?

I cannot believe that some of the pro -smoking writers are actually bnai yeshiva – they are far too ignorant of the reality of the damage smoking causes both to the smoker and those around him. Smokers are mezikim to themselves and others.

flatbush 27-i can not answer for all bochurim,my son does not speak or understand english so your stupidity is compounded.see you weekly at the cancer ward together with th eothe rsmokers.why is it that the secular world has understood that it is not a sign of intelligence to smoke,and we actually have to debate the issue?and then your off sided attempt at insulting any bochur who goes on the yeshiva world site.i am sure some do and if that i swhere they go it is bette rthan smoking.where they may go from here is another question.

How do these smokers finds Shidduchim? Which parents in their right minds would allow their daughter to marry a smoker, and which daughter would agree to do so?

I’m not sure if it was appropriate to mention of a specific yeshiva, because it is unnecessary. This is a problem in the community as a whole, not just at the yeshiva. A bachur becomes a husband, a father, and then subjects his wife and children to both the effects of his second-hand smoke (asthma, allergies, illness in his newborns due to his wife’s inhalation) and other related effects. He wastes the family’s money. He teaches his kid’s it’s o.k. to smoke. He could die early, or fight for his life due to cancer or emphysema…G-d Forbid. Even gedolim who smoke can and do get cancer. No person can think that they are immune. Moreover, as a BT, I have to verify that seeing a person dressed “frum” and then smoking is an incredible chillul Hashem: it shows disrespect for others’ health, it is undignified, and it is wasteful. When I saw this before becoming religious (when visiting NYC, not E”Y), it made me loose respect for the yeshiva world.

mrzee- 2 bad you dont speak english or understand english cause apparently you cant read my posts and understand them and your posts dont make much sense

bacci-most yeshivas these days have banned smoking in the bais medrash

“did you ever think that maybe smoking is a way for a bachur to relax from his strenuous lifestyle? “

So is drinking a bottle of booze. Would anyone in their right mind suggest that this would be a great way for a bochur to “relax from his strenuous lifestyle?” Maybe he should try reading a secular non-fiction book, getting a little exercise, writing letters to friends and family who might be out of town, instead of texting them or using the internet. There are lots of things people can do to relax. I cook or bake. I also post interminable posts on the YWN CR (it RELAXES ME, OK???) Smoking should not be an option. It can relax that bochur permanently and six feet under.

Also re: secondhand smoke and pipe tobacco. Secondhand-smoke is any smoke that comes from another smoker, whether it is the smoke from the end of the cigarette OR the exhaled smoke, which contains numerous toxins and noxious gases. Pipe smoking is responsible for lip, tongue, cheek cancer, and assorted esophageal and gastro-enterological cancers as well, according to what I have heard. I will give the pipe smokers this – pipes smell yummy. It still can be deadly.

To all those who are upset at ssiy for telling them to ‘stop smoking’ – I suggest you read the letter again. Not once did he say “stop smoking”! Granted, his name DOES stand for that – because thats what we all should strive for. In fact, ssiy sounded pretty understanding….if you look again, he did say the following:

“I realize that people who currently smoke can’t just quit and that is not what I am expecting them too do immediately. Unfortunately, smoking is extremely addictive and it is extremely hard to quit even if someone wants to. However someone who is addicted to smoking should be concerned about those around them. If they want to kill themselves, that is their problem but when they are harming others it should concern everyone”

To random88

“how about the gedolim and their views on the internet especially when it comes to yeshiva bochurim….GET OFF THE INTERNET! YOUR IN THE MIR! What would R Nissin Kaplan, R Arieli and the Rosh Yesiva R Noson Tzvi Finkel say to you being here this late at night?!”

Better to be Dan L’kaf Zchus – maybe ssiy came online JUST for the purpose of making others more aware of the dangers and insensitivity of smoking (around others) – which IS good reason. Second, I doubt 11:30 pm is considered LATE for any bochur….

To Very Random and all others who said “even Gedolim used to smoke”

“THEY USED TO SMOKE IN THE BEIS MEDRASH!!”

Long ago, the dangers of smoking were unknown. I’m sure that if they were, many of these Gedolim or R”Y would NOT have smoked!

“You Say you’re currently in the Mir “Learning!? Why do you even have a computer? And why are you waisting your time posting….”

Again, Dan L’Kaf Vchus – who said he personally has a computer? Maybe he is at a relative or friends house. And I wouldnt consider this a ‘waste of time’ either. It’s actually a very important issue that needs to be addressed. Maybe on this website it can be a waste of time – only cuz the people who read it seem to be more or less uneducated.

To Es why

“Which cafe do you go to? The one near Hilel? Strudel? Net games? I can attest that I think going to these places are probably worse than smoking.”

What makes you think he’s at a cafe? There are MANY frum families in E”Y with internet – believe it or not! (Some kollel wives in E”Y actually work online to support their family. You would think it’s the husbands job, but thats another issue…)

And to ALL those smokers out there: Not only is this for the sake of others – ITS (mostly) FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!!

I’m in shidduchim now – and so are many of my friends. I can tell you one thing for sure – from my point of view and i think i can honestly say ALL my friends….if i hear that a guy is a smoker, i will IMMEDIATELY drop him (and not even waste a sec to look into him.) Most girls will NOT marry a smoker! And if your lucky to find a girl who will – think about the future of your wife and family. Smoking can cause MAJOR defects and illnesses to an unborn child! If you really care about you, your wife or kids – you wouldnt start smoking. And if you already have, you would make EVERY effort to stop the addiction. Hatzlocha!!

“turnedoff: maybe ssiy came online JUST for the purpose of making others more aware of the dangerss and insensitivity of smoking (around others) – which IS good reason

It’s actually a very important issue that needs to be addressed. Maybe on this website it can be a waste of time – only cuz the people who read it seem to be more or less uneducated.”

that is not a good enough reason for mir bachur to be on line especially if “on this website it can be a waste of time”. Let the Gedolim and the rebbeim and higher ups continue to work against the smoking issue like they previously have against the internet issue which ssiy apparently ignored

I have pretty serious asthma, and, yes, the smoking really bothers me. At work also I can barely walk outside, because people are always smoking right at the door and all around the plaza.

And I barely go to shul to learn ever, because in just about every shul there are usually people smoking. I already abandoned one shul completely because of this. Once I had to daven Mincha alone outside, because at the only shul there where I was, someone inside was smoking while others were davening mincha. (And even if he would have gone outside, it would have taken at least an hour with all doors and windows open to get the smoke out.)

I also really, really don’t understand how people can smoke on Yom Tov.

There are some translations of interesting letters from the gedolim here: http://chareidi.shemayisrael.com/chareidiview.htm under “Smoking”. (I assume YWN will allow this external link…)

How much worst is it to give someone a pack of cigarettes?

I’m not here to aggree or disagree-but I personally will not date a boy who is a HABBITUAL smoker-Don’t I want to share many healthy years with my husband and childern-together?!?!-I know many girls do not feel this way and I am not out to judge them-but it’s something for everyone to think about!!!

ALL YOU NEED TO DO TO PUT A STOP TO SMOKING FROM THE BOCHRIM IS THAT ” A NOTICE GOES OUT TO ALL THE GIRLS LOOKING FOR SHIDUCHIM ” AND THEY SAY THAT THEY WILL NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GO OUT WITH A BOY THAT SMOKES. IF HE SMOKED A CIGARETTE IN THE LAST 6 MONTHES IT IS USSER FOR A GIRL TO GO OUT WITH HIM AND THEN THE BOYS WILL KNOW THAT IT IS A RISK TO SMOKE SINCE THE GIRLS WILL NOT GO OUT WITH THEM IF THEY ARE KNOWN SMOKERS..

THE SICKNESS OF SMOKING IS TERRIBLE AND A STOP HAS TO COME TO IT.

i would def. recommend Alan Carr’s book “the easy way to stop smoking”. it didnt make me quit instantly but it doesn’t try to. it just changes your mindset about quitting, 3-4 weeks later I couldn’t wait to be rid of cigarettes.Without having read the book I dont think i would have ever quit (and now been smoke-free for a year, with no desire to start ever again)

question … the rabbanim never assured running into traffic. Does that mean it’s ok? you don’t need to ask the gedolim whether is’ okay to sneeze, and you don’t need to ask about smoking. Smoking will kill you!!!

The Letters of Gedolei Yisroel About Smoking

Letter of Gedolei Yisroel Against Smoking

We hereby appeal to our precious, beloved young folk who are not yet addicted to smoking, the bad habit whose end result can be very bitter: Please, dear brothers, do not do harm to yourselves and do not contaminate your surroundings by taking up this evil habit. Our holy Torah is a code of life which we must live by. Hashem wants us to guard our health so that we will be able to serve Him. Far be it from us to take this matter of health lightly, all the more so in an area which doctors are convinced is very damaging. Whoever can avoid smoking and prevent others from doing so, is obligated therein.

Whoever has already succumbed to this habit is obligated to try to the best of his ability to wean himself from it. He must surely refrain from smoking in a public place where others can inhale the smoke.

Yosef Sholom Eliashiv

Aharon Yehuda Leib Steinman

Moshe Shmuel Shapiro

Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz

S. Nissim Karelitz

Shmuel Auerbach

* * *

Letter from HaRav Shmuel Wosner About Smoking

Wednesday, parshas Bo, 5760 (4 Shevat, 5760 — January 11, 2000)

People have asked me what is my humble opinion, daas Torah, about smoking cigars, cigarettes, and the like, which are well known to be exceptionally damaging to one’s health. I will comply with their wish and answer in brief.

1) “The Chachomim have prohibited many things because they are life- endangering. Anyone who disobeys and says, I am willing to endanger myself and it is no one else's affair what I do in these matters,' orI am not careful about these matters,’ is to be punished with makkos mardus” (Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Rotzei’ach, 11:5).

2) The Rambam includes in this issur various sorts of food and drink that are dangerous to life, as he enumerates in the cited perek (halochos 6-16). The Ritvo (on Shavuos 27a) writes that the Torah forbids eating food which damages one’s health when it writes, “Only take heed to yourself and greatly beware for your nefesh” (Devorim 4:9).

3) After the Chasam Sofer (Chidushei Chasam Sofer, Avoda Zorah 30) cites the above-mentioned halocho of the Rambam’s, he writes, “The duty of the Sages to see to it [that we do not endanger ourselves] is inferred, according to the gemora (Mo’ed Koton 5a) from the posuk `blood will be upon you’ (Devorim 19:10). According to the gemora, if the Chachomim do not take care to eliminate the hazards listed in the gemora (and similar ones), and as a result a person’s blood is spilt, the Torah considers the Chachomim as having spilt that blood.

4) We learn from the above that the Sages of today have the responsibility to warn the public about the enormous danger of smoking cigarettes and similar acts, which have been proven [dangerous] beyond doubt in extensive medical research, and because of which hundreds of thousands of people die prematurely. Likewise, medical reports from all over the world substantially confirm that smoking is a major cause of lung cancer, heart disorders, and many other diseases.

5) The halocho is therefore obvious. It is completely forbidden to begin smoking when one is an adolescent or when one is young. The Torah definitely requires parents, teachers, and educators to prevent young people from smoking.

6) Anyone who has already acquired this bad habit should make efforts to gradually wean himself from it, for the sake of his future and his [present] benefit.

7) One may not, cholila, smoke in public places, since research has shown that the smoke [when breathed in by others] damages others’ health too.

8) Since this bad habit is tremendously damaging, those who publish advertisements in newspapers and other publications have a part in harming others.

9) In light of the grave matter written above, according to the Torah, anyone who can prevent himself from smoking or help others not smoke is obligated to do so.

May everyone who listens to what we have written enjoy a serene and secure life. May he merit long life by guarding his own life, that of his family, and that of those around him, according to the Torah’s demands. He will be zoche to what the Torah promises: “I will put none of these diseases upon you, which I brought upon Egypt, for I am Hashem Who heals you” (Shemos 15:26). “For through Me your days shall be multiplied and the years of your life shall be increased” (Mishlei 9:11).

I sign for the benefit of our holy nation, awaiting Divine mercy.

(signed) Shmuel HaLevi Wosner

HaRav Wosner is rav and av beis din of Zichron Meir and rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin, Bnei Brak

Go ( smokers and non smokers alike) to the BDTZ Juice stands in Geulla and drink a big cup of Mitz Gezer or Pomegranate Juice ahh the Vitamin A and anti oxidants repairing the damage done from smoke pollution, now does n feel good-keep it up!!!

mod42: i think it cold go in both.$