It is a problem, but completely restricting teenagers from drinking may cause them to rebel and take it too far. By showing your children it’s okay to have a l’chaim on Shabbos, they can learn moderation and responsible drinking. As for yeshivas, there needs to be more control and supervision. Rebbeim need to look out for the students as they would their own children.
Mati Jacobovits, graphic designer, Prographics
I never had this problem growing up in Russia and my children don’t have it today. In the Russian culture one would never think to drink in front of their parents. Kids respected their parents and would be embarrassed to get drunk in front of them. In America, children have no respect for their parents. In addition, in Russia the educators were very involved with each student’s life. Parents and rebbeim need to come together and exert more control and get more involved in the students’ lives.
It is the parents’ job to teach kids not to drink. Rabbis also must preach that the limitations Judaism upholds do not just pertain to food and activities but also to alcohol. Getting drunk on Purim is a chillul Hashem. It’s a shame that one day a year on the Jewish calendar many people choose to engage in such behavior.
Shuls
need to stop encouraging and thereby promoting teenage drinking on Purim. Drinking and being b’simcha are mitzvos on Purim, but this mitzvah has gone too far and has become an excuse for getting drunk and acting irresponsibly.Moshe Mark, manager