Charedi Drug Mules

Sometimes I wonder about the values of the Charedi world. Not so much about the values they promote. But about the values that they don’t.

Obviously  the Charedi world cares about their obligation to God. In that sense they are almost by definition extremely concerned about getting that right.  And for the most part they do. They try and make sure that any Mitzvah they do is done in the best way possible even if it is more expensive doing it that way. Such as buying the most Mehudar (Halachicly beautiful) Esrog on Sukkos; making sure that they fulfill the Mitzvah of Maaser Kesafim by giving ten percent of their income to charity; or by spending as much of their time in Torah study as possible… and much, much more. The meticulous nature of their observance is where they shine above all other observant Jews.

As I have said many times in the past, they are to be emulated on that score. Speaking only for myself, I fall short on many those counts.

So what’s my problem? In this case it is the lack of instilling in their youth that committing a crime is against Halacha.Which is compounded by the Chilul HaShem that results when they get caught. And yet in dealing with the problem Mishpacha Magazine practically ignores it – focusing instead on the consequences of being caught.

The crime is smuggling khat (a plant that induces euphoria) from Israel where it is legal - into a foreign country where it is not. A crime that by their own admission, many of their youth have been increasingly getting involved with: 

In some cases it is done unwittingly as follows. A Charedi looking fellow who is a drug smuggler will dupe an innocent Charedi youth he encounters at the airport into taking take a package containing this substance and lie about it, telling them it is something like Parshiyos for Tefillin that someone in their country of destination inadvertently left behind. That actually happened as described  in the Mishpacha article.

That young Charedi believed that stranger because he looked and sounded like the people he grew up with and trusted. He found out the hard way that what was in that package was a drug that was illegal in the country was going to. Fortunately the inspectors at the airport that caught him believed his story. He was sent on his way and made his flight. 

It’s hard to believe that people would just accept a package from a stranger these days no matter what they look like. The first question asked of a traveler is whether anyone gave them a package. But I suppose they can be forgiven for their naiveté  - which can be attributed to their sheltered lifestyle. That their community has allowed  him to be sheltered to that extent is a problem beyond the scope of this post.

But what seems to be more common is the fact that many Charedi youth see smuggling dope a great way to earn some extra spending money in the country they will be visiting. They seem to have no moral compunction about doing anything like that. They apparently do it with complete abandon as though they do nothing wrong. In other words it’s OK to steal from Goyim if you can get away with it. 

Stealing is exactly what they are dong. G’nevas Daas  (misleading people ) – is as much stealing as is stealing money. Which is Assur whether it is being stolen from a Jew or a non Jew. Nor do they apparently think about the Chilul HaShem that occurs when a highly identifiable Jew gets caught in a crime. Especially when that crime involves international smuggling drug smuggling.

I understand why Mishpacha focuses on the consequences. Which can be pretty severe – as they have been of late. While the consequences used to be a reprimand by the foreign authorities that caught them and perhaps an immediate deportation back to Israel, it has been happening with such frequency that many of those countries ate now imprisoning them. 

I get that Mishpacha wants to prevent them form doing that by ‘scaring them straight’. A lot of heartache will be avoided if they succeed in doing that.

But where is the moral outrage? Where is the education that instills in these young people that smuggling dope is anathema to the very thing they identify as - Charedi Jews? Why are they not taught to be Chareid L’Dvar HaShem – to ‘tremble’ at the word of God on this issue as they do when they Daven Shemonah Esreh?

That is what was missing in the article. Do they think international drug smuggling is not that terrible? Is it only getting caught that is? Because by omission - that seems to be the message.