Since Rosh Chodesh Adar, there has been a non-stop (well, they stop for Shabbat at least) stream of kids setting off firecrackers in our yishuv. I imagine that they think it is pretty cool. However, for the neighborhood, it just stinks. At random times during the day and night there are sharp cracks made from the explosion of these fireworks.

I have even confronted some kids who were setting them off: one time I went to my next-door neighbor’s house after Adina saw their kid throwing firecrackers out the window (the parents weren’t home). Another time I saw a whole gang of ten year olds crowded around a table. One of them would set off a firecracker, they would all move back 10 feet. Explosion. Crowd around again. Rinse, lather and repeat. Each time when I went up to these little hoodlums nice young men I said: “This is forbidden! You are not allowed to do this! Not only is it disturbing to the neighbors and to everyone living here, but it is very dangerous! It can take off your finger, or worse if you are not careful.” And they would all say “I wasn’t doing it, we don’t have the dangerous ones here, the kids who were doing it went away”. So I would continue on my way and not 10 feet later — “CRACK”.

So there is not much to do about it. The parents of these kids really need to be the ones to stop them, but none of them seem to care. But it is so annoying. One time they even set one off about a foot in front of our door (I think because I had yelled at them before).

For more on the subject, read about the rabbi who banned fireworks.

Ok, time to make some hamentaschen. Have an easy fast.