Cops Now Act As Shabbos Goyyim In Heavily Haredi Lakewood, NJ

Police in Lakewood, New Jersey are now acting as Shabbos goyyim for the town’s large 60,000-strong haredi community, going to drug stores to pick up medicine for sick haredi children, turning lights on and off, changing hearing aid batteries, turning up furnaces and air conditioners, and performing other tasks Orthodox Jews either cannot do on Shabbat (the Jewish sabbath) or could only do if no permitted options – like having a non-Jew do task –  are available.

 

Cops Now Act As Shabbos Goyyim In Heavily Haredi Lakewood, NJ
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

Police in Lakewood, New Jersey are now acting as Shabbos goyyim for the town’s large 60,000-strong haredi community, the Asbury Park Press reported.

Lakewood cops are now more "culturally sensitive" to the unique needs of haredim, the town’s police chief told a gathering, titled “Bagels, Lox & Cops,” last week, noting that they go to drug stores to pick up medicine for sick haredi children, turn lights on and off, change hearing aid batteries, turn up furnaces and air conditioners and perform other tasks Orthodox Jews either cannot do on Shabbat (the Jewish sabbath) or could only do if no permitted options are available.

"I encourage community policing where if they're riding around during a holiday or during the Sabbath and someone is requesting to give them assistance, I encourage officers to do that. Whether it be turning on a light switch, an air conditioner, or going to a drug store to get medicine for a young child that's sick. That's the kind of community services that I encourage the officers to assist with. As chief, I've tried to change the culture of the police department to be more friendly. Not only to the Orthodox community, but the various cultures in Lakewood, whether it be Latinos, African-Americans and I've reached out to leaders of those communities and built relationships with them,” Chief Robert Lawson reportedly said at last week’s meeting with haredim, which was held to discuss how police could increase the already mostly positive interaction between the haredi community and law enforcement.

The event focused on various religious laws haredim follow and addressed issues like handling a Jewish body at a crime scene and problems with doing an autopsy.

"If you're stuck driving on the highway [at sundown on Friday], an individual will pull his vehicle to the side of the highway and not go any farther. He cannot transgress in the violations that we have for the Sabbath. I’ll never forget being in Lakewood Township and being in front of an officer and someone flags him down and asks 'could you come to my house and turn on my light switch? He says 'turn on your light switch? I'm a police officer' and of course we rectified that. It just took a little sensitivity,” Lakewood mayor Rabbi Menashe Miller reportedly said.

Comments

[MG]

How dare cops do favors for civilian members of the community!! They are there to be stern looking and unhelpful unless it is part of their job description per union rules. Any other type of help outside of regulations is not to be tolerated.

[Bob]

Well, if it keeps the cops off the firing range playing with their submachine guns, or surfing government surplus sites to buy armored personnel carriers (my local PD in a town of 12,000 bought some grenade launchers), then I don't have a problem with them extending a *courtesy* to the citizens as workload permits.

[David]

Watch how this generosity will be massively exploited.

[flatearth]

Hey New Square, KJ, Lakewood, etc...

Can you do me just one little favor and get off welfare?

Thanks

[Moshe from NJ]

The only appropriate time to cut my lawn is Shabbos. Can I please get a police officer over to do the mowing?

[Mickey Rosenfeld is a Joke]

Why stop with cops? Why not have laws that force gentiles to turn on lights for the haredim?

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

I bet these cops are goyyim not just on Shabbos, but 24/7.

[Justice]

This is basic sensitivity training. This goes on in every segment of society. I'm sure these cops prefer turning on a light once in a while as oppose to dealing with more violent crimes.
It should go without saying that people should understand that if the officer chooses to help, he is doing them a favor and should be treated with the utmost respect and gratitude.

[old time brooklyn]

cash is the best kick back

[David]

"Officer, can you light my candle?"

(No "please", because it is not in the vocabluary of most frumma.)

[David]

To return the favour it was announced that all those in receipt of Shabbos Goy services will polish the shoes of any police officer on demand, except Shabbos and Yom Tovim.

[Barry]

'Officer - light this candle so that I can read that I must not violate the sabbath to save your life'

[Jim]

This is a kiddush hashem. Halevai every community had cops like these.

[Michael-Meir]

It's a disincentive to making Aliyah. If you're in Lakewood, why move to Israel where the predominantly Jewish police force can't serve as your Shabbos goyim?

Somebody should send the Lakewood police chief a compilation of the rabbinic and kabbalistic teachings regarding the inherent inferiority of Gentiles.

[BeenThereDoneThat]

Moshiach must be coming (or here already), as I was taught that the non-jews will become our servants.

(Like I have said before - even as a young kid, these type of teachings disturbed me when they were being taught to me. I could write a list - but I think you already know the other parts of these teachings)

[jake]

As long as it doesn't take from the coffee and donut breaks.

Protect and serve.

[seth]

Why not compile a list of services rendered and have the haredim donate sum equal to the time spent, at prevailing union wages, to the general fund of the community. There could be a huge annual banquet and haredim notables could bid the price of tickets to the main table up, etc. It is better to give than to receive.

[Jeff]

"could you come to my house and turn on my light switch?"

I was told they can't ask, that they can do no more than imply. I've been in an elevator with an Orthodox rabbi and rebbetzen on Shabbat (we were visiting his mother in a rehab facility). The rebbetzen told someone, "We can't press the button", but she didn't actually ask that person to do it.

[JACK]

And what's Shmaryah's problem with this? LOL
Scotty,don't you realize that post's like this make you look like a fool,please do yourself a favor and get out of that stinkin basement and take a little vacation,
Shmaryah,was all bent out of shape and couldn't sleep the last two days for two reasons
1,because some cute little three year old chasidishe kids performed a play about yitzchock's wedding and ""alas" they wore shtreimlech,could you imagine this?
2 ,some police in Lakewood are nice enough to render some service to the jewish community,WOW what a scandal.
Shmaryah,and then you wonder why some of us call this site of yours a "jew hating Nazi like sewer

[YechielMalcha]

Jewish believers love god so much, that all they do is come up with ways to outsmart him. I though they're supposed to be the "smarter" ones.

[Reese]

While they are at it they can do a quick sweep of the local mikvahs checking for mikvahcams.

[Big Bill]

"[C]ould you come to my house and turn on my light switch?"

I can't believe it! The cop should have told her she was breaking the law! Not the sheketz laws, but G-d's law!

And, worse, she was trying to get the cop to conspire with her to break G-d's law.

Correction. I take that back. She merely asked him if he was physically able [e.g. "could you"] to turn on the light switch. She did not even ask him if he was willing to [e.g. "would you ..."].

I think it qualifies as a hint.

Good thing he didn't ask for clarification: "Are you asking me to turn on your light switch, ma'am?" If so, she would have been in a pickle!

Lucky the police are goyim!

[Jerry Z]

This is wrong. The Haredi in Lakewood should be paying either the police or hired "Shabbos Goyyim" and should not be freeloading on the social services of town. This is parasite-ism. There is no free ride.

[adam]

Doesn't the torah say servants should honor the Sabbath with us. Rabbinic loopholes is an insult to God in my opinion. In addition how is turning in a light "work". I am tired of this mentality of hating inventions by men that has made life easier for all of us and makes some activities no longer work. Rabbis plagurize from others and can't give credit to men like Edison they would no longer have to gather wood and do real work that you would pay someone to do if you could afford to make a fire and light and warmth.

[Catman]

Isn't using the phone also forbidden on the Sabbath?

So how do the police know which homes need their lights switched on?

[Moore Pork]

Faggots! Let them freeze or writhe in the dark if they're too lazy to turn on the switch or thermostat because "god" told them they were too holy. hahhahha.

[Stephe]

I have question and hope that someone can answer.

If its a transgression of Torah to turn off a light & other things on Shabbos, then having the police do these things, is that not promoting transgression of the torah?

When the Messiah comes, the tanach states Hashem's torah will go forth from tzion and that all mankind will be under His reign. If all mankind will observe the torah, who will turn on/off the lights then?

Puzzled,

Stephen