As many of Yated's readers are aware, our dear editor,
Reb. Weinbach and I share a similar sorrow; the loss of a
teenage son. There is no question that the rebbetzin
has been a tremendous source of comfort to me this past year.
At one point, she suggested that we go to the Amen rally
together.
Those of us who were fortunate enough to attend found it very
inspiring. At the conclusion, Rabbi Krohn presented examples
of people who suffered tragedy and loss and channeled it
towards something redeeming that could benefit others. After
the evening was over, the Rebbetzin looked at me inquiringly
and said, "Nu? Is there something you think you'd like to
do?"
I thought for a moment and then answered her, "Yes. What I
really would love is to develop some sort of information
campaign to raise consciousness in adolescent boys about the
very real danger of smoking." She told me it would be a
wonderful idea and probably a lot of work putting it
together.
I went home ruminating the idea in my head. "How could I
possibly put such a thing together?" I wondered. I discussed
the idea with my husband and he also thought it was a worthy
project. We threw out a few ideas but nothing really got off
the ground.
A number of weeks passed and I noticed an article about a new
presentation developed by a Rabbi Dovid Cohen. It was
exactly what I dreamed of doing! It was an information
campaign to prevent boys from smoking. The presentation
consists of divrei Torah by the Bostoner Rebbe and Rav
Shmuel Kaminetsky and an informative lecture by Dr. Aaron
Allen of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
We contacted Rabbi Cohen and told him that we were interested
in being involved in this wonderful project. To make a long
story short, he sent us a copy. We liked it and have made now
copies to distribute to the public.
The Rabbanim clearly explain the absolute halachic
prohibition against smoking, with the knowledge that it can
clearly cause illness both to those who smoke and those who
passively inhale the smoke. As a side note, a friend of mine
whose family are Bostoner chassidim told me that her son once
approached the Rebbe and mentioned that he was considering
starting smoking. The Rebbe said in a very clear manner that
if he smoked, then he could no longer be considered a
Bostoner chossid because Bostoner Chassidim do not
smoke.
Dr. Allen, a frum oncologist, gives a lecture to a
class of yeshiva boys. He presents them with pictures of
clean healthy lungs versus dirty, smoke-filled ones. He also
tells stories of teenage boys (not Jewish) who smoked. They
not only died at young ages but suffered tremendously. There
are related statistics throughout. Dr. Allen says that it can
take as little as three cigarettes to cause a person to
become addicted. At the end, he mentions that 90% of people
start smoking before age nineteen. I venture to guess that
the ages are even younger among our yeshiva boys.
The two things that I especially appreciate about the
presentation is that Dr. Allen shows tremendous compassion
for those who are already hooked on smoking, without being
critical. He acknowledges how terribly difficult it is to
quit and begs those who are already hooked to seek help. The
second is how positively he ends it. He tells the boys that
not only should they not smoke but that they should care
enough about their friends to encourage them not to start
either. Can you imagine it? Maybe one day, the peer pressure
will go the other way, and boys will be looked down upon for
smoking!
Dr. Allen hopes to make a Hebrew presentation in the near
future which could help those Hebrew-speaking boys who need
to hear this important message. In the meantime, the
presentation is available in Israel through our family. (In
America, it is available through Rabbi Dovid Cohn at (617)
783-5533.)
As there are limited copies, for now, we are mostly giving
them out for free to boys aged eleven until sixteen who
understand English. If people wish to help get the Hebrew
version off the ground, they can contact us at the number
below.
For anyone interested: please contact the Rotmans at 02 651
2618 or email rotmanhr@012.net.il
