The holiday of Halloween is tonight, Tuesday, and Crown Heights Shmira has provided safety tips:
Halloween is tonight and although it is a generally peaceful celebration, there are occasional incidents of which the public should be aware. The Crown Heights Shmira Patrol would like to inform you of several safety tips to help protect yourselves and your property against criminal acts of mischief.
• While walking around, remain alert to your surroundings. Pay attention to who is walking near you
• Walk in groups
• Walk in well lit areas
• Children should be escorted and not walk alone
• Keep house doors locked
• Do not open the door to strangers. Ask “who is there?” before opening the door. If it’s children asking for treats simply respond with, “I am sorry we don’t have any treats/candy.”
• Keep valuable property indoors and out of sight.
Shmira will have numerous volunteer members on patrol walking throughout the neighborhood Tuesday night.
For emergency assistance call 911 and Shmira at 718-221-0303.
Video: Shiur with Rabbi Nachman Wilhelm of Online Smicha:
A Jew to celebrate Halloween?
It is never a chilul to keep the Torah even if the rest of the world doesn’t approve. Is bris mila and schita a chilul Hashem just because there are those who think Jews are bad for doing it?
The origins of this holiday were a very vicious, violent and filthy form of avodah zora: including killing innocent people (human sacrifice) , necrophilia, vampirism (add another “lav” of not eating blood) etc. Look at the symbols, witches, ghosts, goblins, trolls, skeletons celebration of death etc. Give your child a example of true Yiddishe chinuch and stay far away. If they had a minhag to go around with a “yoizel” and would give you (or your child) a kosher candy if you kiss it, would you do it? Would you let your kid do it? V’hameyvin yovin.
Who exactly told you that?!?
We don’t participate in pagan festivities. Period. End of story.
Those who think we are greedy and egoistic thought that about us even when we lived in the shtetel, at a time when there were no”tricky-creepers”.
I was told it was extremely improper to not have candy, as it causes Jews to be looked at as greedy and egocentric. Always just have some small candy, like lollipops, which you may keep in the house anyways, so that if there are extras, they aren’t wasted.