15 Responses

1. Yeyasher kochachem! I would add, and found it educational, enlightening that this was left out, “It goes without saying that the prime reaponsibility of chinuch ha’banim is that of the parents. If they are present, they must not allow their children to drink. If they do, they will be asked to leave by the ba’al simchah or his designated individual. And if their parents are NOT there, for goodness sakes notice the kids, strike up a conversation with them, offer to walk them home after the simchah, find out who and “where” they are, and when you meet their parents, ask them why they can’t spend Shabbos with their children.”

   If we are going to replace their parents by monitoring their drinking habbits, let’s go the whole 9 yards and help them out as well. They are either trying to escape. Let’s help them find their place instead, where they feel comfortable, wanted, important, etc. Let’s not just throw them out.

2. Thank you to the Hanhala of the Agudah. This is long overdue. Drinking has become the plague of this era. There are families on Shabbos who have no Tzura of a complete worry free Shabbos because either the parents are concerned where their son is out drinking, or because the father of the home is drunk himself or sadly – both are the case. Too many ladies and their children are being deprived of their right to regular normal Shabbosos without having to worry about the fact that their boys / husbands can’t seem to control themselves when they are around alcohol. Too many husbands make light of it as if it is fine and nobody’s business.

   It would be even better if the Rabbonim and halls took the bold step of banning all alcohol drinks other then perhaps some light wine and grape juice at all simchos. With all of the Tzoros today surrounding this terrible situation of out of control drinking it is time to make stronger fences to protect oneself.

   There is no need nor reason to provide this drug in a public way especially when the problem is so severe.

3. Perhaps the people who posted yesterday about how drinking on Purim is a mitzvah for anyone over age 13 should take this to heart. But they won’t…

4. They should take this to the next level and include Purim in their ban!

5. Thank you Agudah of Ave L for being the trail blazers regarding liquor drinking.
   I feel you have not gone far enough, the same rules for sholom zacher should apply to Barmitzvah, vorts, simchahs, etc. You can be sure that the Baalei Simchah can not supervise during a simchah the drinking levels or habits of their guests or party crashers.

6. I highly commend the position & measures you have taken.
   It’s refreshing to see a shul, doing rather than just lamenting and or screaming about the problems/failures of our society. Moreover its very praiseworthy that you’ve taken and promoted action in such an important area. I had been appalled some time ago, overhearing mature mothers praising a young man’s speech, and attributing his self-confidence to having a drink or two. Parents and Adults in general taking such a stance is destroying our youth. We should all salute this Kehillah and their Rov – who I’m sure must be with them on this.

7. i challenge anyone to give one case of an alcohol death in the frum community in the last 40 years one that came from solely drinking to much, the fact is people are brought to the hospital but stop the rhetoric how dangerous it is. walking in lakewood at night without a reflector is 1000 times more dangerous than ODing on alcohol

8. Eric are you drunk or stam a tipesh?
   Speak to any Hatzolah member on what they see. What about the health hazards this creates?
   With your logic what’s wrong with smoking? How many people died because they smoked one day. THINK (if you know how to do that) of the overall picture.

9. eric55- Are you suggesting that the Agudah not insituite these rules, or should they transplant the shul to Lakewood and then talk about reflectors?

   There arent too many deaths in any community that come “solely” from alcohol, but that doesnt change the danger of it.

10. eric55- While I’m aware of quite a few deaths resulting from drug overdoses, I am not aware of any deaths, just hospitalizations. The fact that Hatzoloh volunteers must take time off from their families for calls resulting from heavy drinking is reason enough to put an end to it. There are enough ambulance runs for reasons that are not as preventable as too much drinking.

    I am all for responsible drinking at simchas for those of legal age.

11. Where are the parents? All we ever read about is why the Yeshivos aren’t doing/saying anything. And even though Torah Temima, Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, and many others have done much to address this and many other concerns in our community – special education, economic and family crisis, shiduchim, and more, we still hear about “sweeping under the carpet.” Where are the parents? Where are the parents? The boys that are wondering the streets are not in Yeshiva with their Rebbeim, at seder with their friends, or at home with their parents. They have issues and we should deal with them not pass the blame and responsibility on others.

12. FYI, Eric, many teens have stated unequivically that their “careers” as alcoholics began at a shul kiddush or other simcha. Perhaps you believe that being an alcoholic is simply dangerous rhetoric?

13. If the baal habatim wouldn’t drink like fish at simchas (and at home)the kids wouldn’t have where to see this conduct to learn it from. Almost every Shabbos Kurdish I attend there are “adults” that had one too many.

14. didn’t go far enough… sholom zochor rules should be applied to kiddushim too, and some variation to all simchos

15. I feel this generation can’t handle large gatherings. You can’t really talk during davening or drink too much if the crowd is kept small… The cure for social ills may be architectural!