Um, 'cuz it's freakin' illegal?
In the Jewish Press, on their Teens and Twenties page, there was a letter from a HS student chronicling the unfortunate events in the car on the way to school.She described how she and her friends illegally fill a car with too many passengers every day and had managed to dogde the police through a few minor accidents. She said that because of these accidents that Thank G-d nobody was hurt, they realized G-d was sending them a message. Therfore, they began to study the laws of Lashon Hora in the car on the way to school, and the situation has improved. Apparently it "worked", so technically, I should stop here. But I won't. I don't know WHAT kind of juicy gossip was going on in there for them to have interpreted the message in that way.
Now, neither of us really is in a position to decide what G-d's reason was for sending these messages,but tell me this:
Did it not dawn on her that perhaps she and her friends should not violate city/state laws daily???
I mean, the kid described the scene of a passanger sprawled out on the dashboard-due to the overloaded car-where she obviously could have ended up dead. ("Ay, but she didn't....?")
Besides our obligation to follow the laws of the land that we are in, we are also obligated to protect our lives. "V'Nishmartem Me'od L'Nafshoseichem" ( or is it "es Nafshoseichem"?)
Don't give me a whole shpiel how they're going to get a Jewish education, or that it would cost more money another way, or that they'd have to sacrifice 15 minutes of sleep or primping everyday. This is safety we're talking about. It's important. And this kid just highlighted why, without knowing it. Why should you be anal about not overstuffing your car? Because of situations like this. Because you don't want yourself/your daughter/your sister/your friend on a dashboard C"V.
What makes this okay?
Riding an overloaded car over highways on a regular basis is by no means safe, legal, or halachically acceptible. And how about Chillul Hashem--what if they are caught one day?
That is just not for my nerves, I tell ya.
posted by Michelle @ 3:40 PM
14 Comments:
Um, duh? It is amazing how self-focused some people are... yet completely miss that certain things (say, LAWS) are meant to protect them. It is amazing that none of them are dead.
Thank God He protects the foolish.
You're gonna be such a great Mom. Can't wait.
ezzie-THANK YOU
lost-LOL
The idea that this happened because of this (i.e. cause and effect) is nothing new. Chazal discuss it, and of course, the Talmud that says that when something bad happens, one should examine his actions.
That said, I agree that perhaps their accidents are a punishment for breaking the local laws. I agree that for them to think it was gossip that caused their mishaps is foolish. OTOH, introspection is not always a horrible idea.
Gary--I know...I also take those opportunities for intraspection, but pehaps their finding is a different one than I found upon readin the story
Packing people into a hyundai exel for carpool was not fun. I agree with you. Its really dumb. There are no seatbelts on the floor.
heyy i read that article but i never got to the end. thanx!
For some reason it is in vogue, by chasidish and very yeshivish to just ignore basic laws like its goyish or sthing.
I see yeshiva guys crossing the street all the time w/o looking..
Maybe they're practicing to become circus clowns.
I read your blog but never comment. Nonetheless I urge you to read the article again, it said that normally the girls take a van to and from school, only when the first accident occured were they in a car with 7 girls in a car meant for 5 people. When the other incidents occured they were in the van, which one can assume has enough room to sit every passenger properly.
It is important to obey safety laws. It also helps though to read articles carefully and critically.
To see the article in the original go to http://www.jewishpress.com/page.do/19661/The_Rude_Awakening.html
I gotta agree with you. When I read that article I thought the same thing.
anon--it wasnt made clear.
I appreciate the correction, tho. Thanks
Just read the article and it seems that only ONE TIME did they pile into a car.
You can't legislate common sense.
As Mark Twain (?) said, "common sense is not so common".
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