There is a certain chashuv Rosh Yeshiva Shlita in Eretz Yisrael who is very strict in the running of his Yeshiva.
Cell phones are totally prohibited,
Even “kosher phones” are not allowed.
Students may not have a drivers license.
All Talmidim must daven in the Yeshiva.
All Talmidim are prohibited from leaving Eretz Yisroel, period.
This week, the Rosh Yeshiva wrote a handwritten letter to the entire student body.
He has been battling cancer these last few months.
In the emotional letter, he describes how the doctors wanted to treat him with biological therapy for cancer.
Biological therapy for cancer is used in the treatment of many types of cancer to prevent or slow tumor growth and to prevent the spread of cancer. Biological therapy for cancer often causes fewer toxic side effects than do other cancer treatments.
As you can imagine, he was overjoyed over this new advance in treating cancer and was looking forward to benefiting from it.
However, when the doctors ran tests to determine his eligibility for the treatment they found that cigarette smoke had damaged his internal systems and he was deemed ineligible for receiving biological treatment.
The Rosh Yeshiva was stunned as neither his parents nor he had ever smoked a cigarette.
He asked, “how could cigarette smoke wreak havoc within his body?”
The doctor asked if he was ever exposed to secondhand smoke?
The RY recalled his many years in yeshiva when cigarette smoking was commonplace in every Beis Medrash, dormitory room and yeshiva dining room.
The doctor regretfully informed him that because of his exposure to cigarette smoke years ago, even though he himself did not smoke, nevertheless, the damage done to him was irreversible, thereby disqualifying him from receiving biological treatment for his cancer.
He concludes his heart wrenching letter with a personal and emotional appeal to all of his students.
"חוסו עליכם ועל בני ביתכם. לא סיגריות ולא אלקטרוניות"
“Have pity on yourselves and on your entire household. Don’t smoke cigarettes nor e-cigarettes.”
!קחו אחריות על עצמכם, החליטו ותבצעו – מהיום הפסקנו לעשן!"
“Take responsibility for yourself! Make a decision and declare: “From today onward we will no longer smoke!”
He ends his letter with the hope that “Words which emanate from the heart will penetrate the heart….”
Please daven for a Refuah Sheleima for Rav Baruch ben Tzivya among all of the sick of Israel.
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My question is - did we just discover the dangers of cigarette smoking? In September of 2019 [i.e. Elul 5779]? The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing more than 8 million people a year around the world. EIGHT MILLION!!! Count it one by one. And every one of those people left behind mourners. More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use, while around 1.2 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. This is OLLLLLD news. It has been decades since the dangers were revealed. On every package of cigarettes there is a message to the effect of "this will kill you" or "this may cause impotency" or other inspiring messages. There are approximately 250 harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke, 69 of which can cause cancer.
There are many poskim who hold that it is absolutely אסור to smoke. All poskim hold that it is not recommended. If a Rosh Yeshiva can forbid permitted actions such as driving and owning a kosher phone, he can also forbid smoking which may well be אסור מדאורייתא. The yeshiva would never serve boys a piece of chicken if many of the poskim held that it was treif. Smoking is treif. The Gemara says חמירא סכנתא מאיסורא - Danger is MORE severe than איסור. Here it is both likely אסור and definitely dangerous.
Not to mention the איסור of causing others discomfort when one smokes in their presence [see Bava Basra 23].
So to be מלמד זכות - Smoking is so strongly entrenched in the Yeshivos and it is hard to stop. Two weeks ago on Thursday night, I was standing on Amsterdam and 93rd street and I saw a group of Yeshiva Bochrim walking by. It looked like every one of them was smoking. It is a hard battle to wage and one must carefully choose one's battles.
But bottom line - May all Jewish men avoid this horrible habit and live in health and prosperity for many wonderful years.
