tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7279035.post1166778414445530956..comments2022-04-13T09:08:07.220+03:00Comments on Biur Chametz: Desecrating Atonement and Bicycle DayZman Biurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05593492318098902028noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7279035.post-6936163584834736962005-10-09T22:36:00.000+02:002005-10-09T22:36:00.000+02:00When I was in Israel for Yom Kippur i thought the ...When I was in Israel for Yom Kippur i thought the bicycle takeover of the roads was a beautiful sight. If it weren't Yom Kippur i would've run home to grab my camera ;-) .Steg (dos iz nit der šteg)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07694556690190505030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7279035.post-72741268356792901182005-10-11T16:24:00.000+02:002005-10-11T16:24:00.000+02:00I have mixed feelings about the bicycles. But it&...I have mixed feelings about the bicycles. But it's better than the stone throwers.<br><br>That's right - stone throwers. My way home from shul passed thru "Tzomet Habankim", the intersection of Derech Chevron with Rechov Rivka on one side and Rechov Ein Gedi on the other. When I get home from shul the intersection and streets are full of both religious and secular adults and children. What I find admirable is that I've never seen anyone smoking a cigarette or talking on a cell phone that night. What I find utterly mind boggling is that some of the teenaged boys (secular ones, once in a while one of them has a kippah that doesn't fit his head well, and/or a tallit worn like a scarf, which makes me think his family is "traditional" and the father goes to shul every Shabbat and holiday, but they can only get the kid to come three times a year or so. There are some cars on the road - non-Jews, Jews who either work in hospitals (some travel in cars sent by the hospital, and if they have a sign saying so, that could protect them), or are on the way to one for themselves, and perhaps there are Jews who work in other fields (security?) or are so indifferent to religion that they are driving (no one has ever indicated that they were doing it "lehachis", that is intentionally, to get people upset).<br><br>Sometimes the crowd is slow to get out of the way of the cars, and sometimes the kids hit the cars if they are moving slowly (so as not to hit anyone!) or throw rocks at these cars. For a few years I tried to stop it. I would ask the kids why they were doing it - they weren't quite sure. I think this is something that was passed down to them from older kids. Two arguments I heard from them were:<br><br>1) "violating Yom Kippur is punishible by death". I didn't ask the kid if he keeps Shabbat all year long (which really is punishible by death, well not practically, but it was when there were Jewish courts that could impose the penalty, and we still say something is "chayav mitah" even though no one has been executed for it for millenia) so as not to sound threatening, but I invited him to go home, get a Tanach, and show me where it said that. He didn't take me up on my offer.<br><br>2) They're Arabs, and "they" throw stones at us at other times.<br><br>Other suggestions I've heard are<br><br>3) It's a parody of haredim who throw stones on Shabbat, or maybe an imitation of them - the haredim keep every Shabbat, and the hooligans just keep Yom Kippur.<br><br>4) The cars are disturbing their nice time standing in the center of the road. This doesn't seem like enough of a reason to hit a car or throw rocks at it.<br><br>5) All the normal rules of behavior are cancelled. But as I said, they're not smoking or using cell phones, so there are some rules after all.<br><br>In recent years the police have been at the intersection at night. I don't know if they were there from the start of Yom Kippur or if they arrived after complaints of trouble, but so long as they are there it helps. They can't be everywhere at once, it's a big area, so maybe there are still some stones thrown, but since they're there I don't hang around.<br><br>In the past, when I stayed around, I noticed that the police would sometimes leave. I don't know if it was a shift change, or they just had other places to be. Now it looks like they've learned to stay put in this trouble spot, but since I don't stay around, I'm not sure.<br><br>One year when I stayed around they took one of the kids and put him in a police van, which was surrounded by other kids, who pounded on the van and wouldn't let it leave. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised that kids who would throw rocks at cars would do that to the police, but even so, it's one thing to attack a random civilian, and other thing to go after people with clubs, guns, and a radio to call for reinforcements.Warren Bursteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16411949486664143388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7279035.post-49636249742785891232005-10-11T17:07:00.000+02:002005-10-11T17:07:00.000+02:00Warren,Unbelievable. I'm stunned. I think the ...Warren,<br><br>Unbelievable. I'm stunned. I think the only reasonable explanation is, as you say, that they're hooligans. How one can be so "sensitive" about Yom Kippur as to throw stones at passing cars is beyond me.<br><br>P.S. I remember you as an s.c.j. stalwart - right? (I haven't followed it in over a decade.)Zman Biurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05593492318098902028noreply@blogger.com