Orthodox Jewish Drunk Drivers

Wow! Finally some sanity on a serious issue - the irresponsible consumption of alcohol by religious Jewish young people.

This is of course not the first time Rabbanim have spoken out on this issue. But for every Rav that speaks out about it, it seems that there is another that does not consider it a real problem - and even encourages drinking at Simchos... or on Purim ...or on Simchas Torah.

There was a serious and outspoken criticism of this probem by at least one Rav (and from his words - I assume he is Charedi) It was becuase of an incident that occurred in New York. A 19 year old teenager who learns in a prominent Yeshiva was caught by the police driving while intoxicated. This happened in Flatbush - a very Orthodox section of Brooklyn. Flatbush is where Yeshivas Chaim Berlin is located. (I don't know if this is the 'prominent Yeshiva' this young man attends. I mention it by way of identifying one such Yeshiva that is located there.)

In any case here is a post from YWN in its entirety! It is one post on YWN with which I completely agree:

A Yeshiva Bochur returning from his friends Chasunah was arrested for DWI, Tuesday night.

According to our sources, the boy was stopped by officers from the NYPD in the Flatbush area, after displaying signs of being intoxicated. The 19-year-old Bochur, who is a student at a prominent Yeshiva was taken into custody, and will now need to face the consequences of his irresponsible, and potentially deadly actions.

Thankfully, he did not hurt or kill anyone – including himself – while at the wheel.

YWN spoke with a leading Rov on Wednesday morning to hear his thoughts on this story.
“It’s time people dig their heads out of the sand, and deal with this issue head-on”, he said.
“This story should be a wake-up call for Klal Yisroel, and no I don’t mean to discuss it at an Agudah Convention. I mean to DEAL WITH THE ISSUE, and once and for all eradicate this plague of Yeshiva Bochrim drinking at weddings, vorts, shabbos meals etc.”

He added that “Klal Yisroel should give Shevah V’hodaah to the Robono Shel Olam that this Bochur ended up in police car, rather than in an emergency room or worse, Chas Veshalom”.

The Good Old Days

Why can't we go back to the good old days... when Gedolim and their families looked normal - like this photo of Rav Ovaidia Yosef and his family when they were all relatively young?