Beit Shemesh Rabbis Trying to push Youth Away from Judaism over Chulent!

Chareidi Gedolim have imposed sweeping bans on army enlistment—even for bochurim who are clearly no longer part of the yeshiva system and are openly engaging in behaviors that contradict its values. The result? These young men are stuck. They can’t enlist, and without enlistment, they can’t legally work. It’s a ticking time bomb.

To make matters worse, the same leadership has prohibited organized sports and exercise. No swimming, no biking, no healthy outlets. So where do these boys go?

 They loiter in parks, sometimes harassing passersby, drifting aimlessly without structure or purpose. Parents are desperate, pleading for solutions, while the Torah leadership remains silent. Every year, hundreds more are added to the growing list of disillusioned and delinquent youth.

And now, in a stunning display of tone-deafness, some Gedolim have proposed a “solution”: shut down the cholent shops at 11:00 PM. 

For these boys, that’s practically midday. 

The logic? If we close the shops, maybe they’ll stop hanging out. But where do you think they’ll go instead? To the bars in Tel Aviv? To places where treif food and far worse temptations await?

Let’s be honest: most of these cholent shops—especially in Ramat Dalet—are noisy, yes. The boys laugh, and they hang out. But they’re eating kosher food. They’re in a semi-contained environment. We know where they are. What do these “brilliant” Rabbanim think will happen when they shut it all down and threaten to revoke hashgacha from any store that refuses to comply with this misguided decree?

We’re facing a real crisis. If these boys aren’t enlisting, aren’t in yeshiva, and aren’t allowed to work or engage in healthy activities—then at the very least, let them enjoy some kosher cholent. Because if we keep pushing them out, we won’t like where they end up.

And not one of these Rabbanim has considered sending kiruv professionals to engage with them, to offer guidance, to try and bring them back. Instead of outreach, we get shutdowns. Instead of compassion, we get condemnation.

This isn’t just disconnect. It’s destruction. And it’s our youth who are paying the price.

Rabbis in Beit Shemesh have issued a joint letter imposing new restrictions on the operating hours of food establishments in the city, claiming that some of these venues have become nighttime hangouts for youth, posing a “major spiritual and moral obstacle and a great danger.”

According to the new regulations, restaurants and fast-food shops will be required to close no later than 11:00 p.m., except in special cases.

The letter, titled “Guarding the Sanctity of Our City,” harshly criticizes the growing phenomenon of eateries remaining open late into the night.

“These stores remain open during the late-night hours, and this causes groups of young people to gather nearby, turning these places into settings ripe for misconduct,” wrote the rabbis in the letter published on the BeHadrei Haredim website.

The new rules include a complete ban on eating or lingering outside the stores, including in adjacent areas, and a requirement that all shops close by 11:00 p.m.

In exceptional cases - primarily on Thursday nights for the sale of cholent (a traditional Jewish stew) - sales will be permitted until midnight, but only for sealed takeaway portions, with no option to eat on-site.

The rabbis preemptively rejected any economic arguments from business owners, writing:“There is no room for monetary considerations when a place serves as a source of spiritual stumbling.”

They placed full responsibility on the store owners and concluded with a call to residents to “buy only from shops that comply with these regulations.”