HT Fred MacDowell
Language alert for both videos:
This morning I saw two videos of mass Shabbos protests over the past two weeks to “restore Kavod Shabbos at the Lake.” Apparently, Lake Carasaljo, near Lakewood, NJ, has become a hangout for troubled teens, who find respite from long Shabbosim in a community they feel increasingly alienated from. Their presence has been making frum families feel uncomfortable, so the men of the community decided to make a peaceful protest to discourage the teens to “desist from spending time there.”
As the videos show, the marches might not have had the desired effect. In the videos, the teens can be heard jeering, laughing, and marveling at the numbers of men in full Shabbos attire, who turned up to the park. Their marches were seen for what they were – passive aggressively attempting to reprimand and shame the teens for violating Sabbath restrictions.
If the video clips are any indication, the marches didn’t cause the teens to vacate the premises of the public park. I suppose if this large group of protesters come back every week, it will either inspire a counter protest (the latest word is that there is a counter protest planned for this Shabbos, 5/30, at the park) or maybe the kids will eventually leave. However, if the teens do stop coming to the park, they will merely change venues. These protests won’t cause any of them to stop violating Shabbos. If anything, it will cement their decision to become less observant.
What was the goal of these men? Clearly stated, it was to kick the teens out of the park. It wasn’t to reach out to them, or show them the beauty of Shabbos, or to approach them with kindness. Think of the difference between the kiruv folks who frequent the Kotel and reach out to any Jew who looks a bit lost. Think about how many kids have been invited to their first Shabbos meal, or been made to feel like they are important and worthwhile, by frum people who make it their business to reach out to disenfranchised Jews. One can argue about the motives of kiruv professionals, but their goal is to recognize the value of every Jew as an intrinsic part of Klal Yisroel. There are no throwaway Jews.
That’s not the message I saw in these videos. That’s not the message these teens received. To me, these protestors indicated very clearly that these kids were lost causes and no longer needed in Lakewood. Their very presence is a nuisance and a danger to their holy community and they need to leave. This message goes beyond leaving the park, and has larger implications for leaving their community altogether.
I can think of many creative ways to reach these teens that wouldn’t involve making them feel unwanted. How about starting some groups on Shabbos, specifically for these kids, so that they have somewhere safe to hang out other than the park? How about starting some groups in the park? Talk to these kids about issues they care about, find out what topics concern them, find out what’s bothering them and what can be done to help. Don’t condemn them for asking questions or expressing doubts. Show them that they matter and don’t attach any strings to it. Every person matters, whether they keep the laws of Shabbos perfectly or not.
These protests are the lazy way out. There is zero effort in trying to solve the real problem, which isn’t that these kids are hanging out in the park on Shabbos, but that they are hanging out on the fringes of a society that rejects them.
(HT to @MaleiRikud on Twitter who pointed out that there have been two protests over the last two weeks, and not just one protest last Shabbos, which I had previously reported)
