Jerusalem has recently been dealing with a wave of arson in the neighborhoods of Pisgat Ze'ev and Neve Yaakov, and it turns out to shame that those responsible for this are actually Charedie children, some of whom even harass firefighters who come and disgrace their lives
One of the commanders of the fire department, David Sror, writes in a letter to parents and children in an attempt to stop the dangerous wave that could cost lives: "One day," he writes, "God forbid, a firefighter will not return home - and you will know why"
A wave of arson has recently swept the city of Jerusalem, especially in the neighborhoods of Pisgat Ze'ev and Neve Yaakov, and shamefully, it turns out that those responsible for this are actually Charedie children.
And if that were not enough, at night they set fire to forests, in an arson that in a short moment can turn into a death trap, some of them harass the firefighters, the firefighters, who risk their lives to prevent the flames from spreading and fight to save lives.
Now, after a special meeting between the fire chiefs and the neighborhood's rabbis, one of the commanders, David Sror – the commander of the Jerusalem Fire Brigade – is issuing an emotional letter – published for the first time in Kikar HaShabbat, to parents and children, in an attempt to stop the dangerous wave, which could cost lives.
"To my brothers," the team commander writes in his letter, "I am writing these words after another fire. Another night of smoke in the forests around Jerusalem. Another call, another group of exhausted firefighters get on trucks as families sit down for dinner. Another danger that no one sees, because thank God, most nights we come home alive. And again they tell us that it was Charedie children."
Sror emphasizes that "fire is not a game; Not Shtick; Not "children who are children," not "just a few burnt bushes." When we arrive, we don't know what awaits us. The wind changes in seconds, the fire jumps across the roads. A child is trapped, a volunteer collapses from smoke, a driver who can't see through the black air – one wrong movement and a person is burned alive."
The team commander describes the pain of arriving at the scene and writes: "Every firefighter has stories he can't forget - and yet we come; And what do we encounter when we come? Stones, curses, children laughing as we drag pipes up the hill. Children are cursing us while we are putting out fires that they themselves lit."
"We came to save your forest, your homes, your mountain, your air – and your children treat us with contempt. Do you understand what it does to a person in uniform who is wet in sweat at 2 a.m.?
Religious, traditional, secular, kibbutznik, Jerusalemite, right, left – no one asks these questions when the mountain is burning. We are standing together with pipes in our hands and trying to prevent Jerusalem from catching fire – and your children are throwing things at us."
Sror goes on to describe the difficult situation and the questions that arise from a painful heart:
"As a traditional Jew, it breaks me to stand there next to secular firefighters while they quietly ask: 'Again? Charedie children again?" –
And I don't have an answer. Because the community I come from is capable of unimaginable kindness; After all, these are families who would give their last mattress to help another Jew. People who dedicate their lives to Torah study, visiting the sick, feeding strangers, caring for widows and orphans.
"So where are the adults now? Where is the rage, the responsibility, the voice that shouts that this is a desecration of God's name? That the forests around Jerusalem are not worthless? That firefighters are not a biodegradable product? That a thirteen-year-old child playing with fire could kill people? That the people who come to save your homes are not the enemy? You know what it's like to stand in smoke for hours and then hear people dismiss it as if it's nonsense? Do you know what the consequences can be, when firefighters start to fear calls to certain neighborhoods? You know the shame of hearing colleagues talk about "Charedim" as if irresponsibility is part of Torah life?
"And before someone says, 'They're just kids,' children don't educate themselves. Children don't throw stones at firefighters in an empty space – they learn what the adults around them are willing to endure. If your son can quote pesukim but doesn't understand responsibility for another person's life, something has gone wrong. If he is more afraid of bitul Torah than he is of risking his life, something has gone wrong. If he can explain every halacha of Shabbat but relate to the world outside his street in a no-man's-land, something has gone wrong. If he sees a man in a firefighter's helmet and reaches for a stone, something has gone wrong."
In conclusion, Sror emphasizes in his letter:
"I am not saying these things out of hatred of Charedim, quite the opposite. I am writing this because I love my people. Because I refuse to accept that this is who we are. The Torah says: And you shall be very careful of your souls!"
"Be careful and protect your life and the lives of others. The people who come when your mountain is burning to save your life. Teach your children to distinguish between an enemy and a savior. Talk to your children – at school, in yeshivas, at the Shabbat table. Stop laughing at these things, stop defending what should shame us. Because one day, God forbid, a firefighter won't come home – and you'll know why, and you won't say anything."
No comments:
Post a Comment