STEPHANIE TSOFLIAS of Channel 11 NY reports the following:
CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (PIX11)— An all-girls Jewish school in Crown Heights, Brooklyn is getting backlash after fining students who had a Facebook account.
Administrators at Beth Rivkah High School said 11th graders were found to have Facebook accounts, which is against school policy.
“All the girls signed a contract at the beginning of the year that they aren’t allowed to have Facebook,” said Benzion Stock, the director of school.
Stock said the school principal approached the junior students and offered them an ultiminatum. To pay $100 dollars and take it off or keep it up and get suspended.
“They have a certain punishment. They will get the money back at the end of the year,” said Stock.
Stock said the crackdown on Facebook was meant to stop students from breaking school code and to restore the Jewish Orthodox code of morality.
will have a certain punishment which they will get back at the end of the year 100 dollars, yes 100 dollars
Benzion says the crackdown was meant to stop students from breaking school code and restore Jewish Orthodox code of morality.
“It’s a regular school rule. They need to obey rules,” said Benzion.
i think that you don’t make any sense by saying that your not allowed to go on fb if you have one yourself
Its not nearly as bad as ur making it sound. Im not gonna say my opinion on fb or not BUT, its not like theyre banning internet altogether at all..
BS”D
Here, in Jerusalem, at the high school, the girls are more likely to be suspended (or worse) if caught with Facebook. Not only the girls have to sign the contract with the school, but so do the parents – to enforce good middos on the home front and continue to try and help them express themselves in a more kosher environment.
There are so many coment’s i want to point out but will not. As chabad chassdim we use the internet grow up with it ect. WE ARE NOT AMISH . Out of every other chassduis in the world we are the ones who use internet. The min we close all the doors then תאוות start kicking in and kids will go behind closed doors ect and do things without other knowing. In a time where most thing today are run and done on the internet facebook twitter ect. Closing the doors will not help as many pointed out here once… Read more »
I agree with you 100%! School or parents should do s/m about this! None will stand for it!!! We cant take it!
A while ago you wanted your fellow br’ers to vote for BR. How would they do it? How would you get the money? Well thanks to facebook they had 2 votes and chose it for BR, their fellow school.
But now, your backfiring and abanding facebook. When two years ago we voted for you? And paying fines?! What have we got to deserve this?!
S.T.
School rules are school rules. If there is no reason or point to it, none should follow it! Tznius infractions should not be tolerated. Some should speak up. Our teachers are unfair. When we get in trouble we are always wrong and none will ever listen school will always be right. They will always listen to teachers no matter what anyone says or does! We are always wrong. Some school rules are past the limits and will not be stood for! We need someone to fight back. Infractions are not the proper respect given to an innocent child. If a… Read more »
it actually says “commandant,” not “commandment.”
quit dissing on my school.
I believe you meant to say “Commander Stock”. Commandment refers to an instruction, while commander refers to the one instructing.
She is a bais rivkeh girl after all
i completely disagree with Rabbi Stock! so many Lubavitch girls in this world have Facebook. why should it be banned? it can be used for good use! i think it’s a horrible thing to do to fine girls that are just in high school $100. they are just kids. I’m sure there are so many teachers in this school and other girls in the high school as well using facebook. and i’m sure you don’t even know about it, because they are doing it secretly! i think it’s ridiculous!
why did you wait until the middle of the year to enforce consequences? I agree 100% with this rule, students should find more productive ways to socialize with other girls but the way it was in force isn’t proper… A. it punishes the parents bc the average h.s student doesn’t work and B. it should have been enforced from when the rule came out not in the last trimester of the school year…. Don’t you think? If I were a parent, which currently i am not, I would send my child to a smaller school. For some reason staff in… Read more »
Sending my kid to BRHS. the spelling over here from the girls is appaling to say the least
I have read quite a few of the comments here, and I find it utterly unbelievable there are ppl in defense of their daughters using fb. Would it not bother you if these same girls were running around 42nd St. as well???? FB is wrong for chassidishe girls and anyone who says differently is just kidding themselves. Don’t we have enough problems without opening up the community to new ones. Yes, the school is where chinuach is supposed to be coming from. If parents aren’t going to reinforce certain ideals at home, then the school should be the ones to… Read more »
bnose menacham is also good and if you were never there you cant say that br is the best
what the heck happened to articulate spokespeople for lubavtich schools?
“the school gave them a punishment that they can get back at the end of the year” my gosh…
With so many other things going on, I’m sorry but what in the world?
To 188#, you really need to get a sense of humor!
185# was joking, for crying out loud!
Research on Facebook and see who in the administration’s family have accounts. Beth Rivka encouraged people to get Facebook accounts so BR could get MONEY!!! When all is said and done, MONEY!!!! is what rules here, regardless of whether it’s proper or not. Rabbi Stock, don’t be a hypocrite!
I highly doubt that was a shliach.
a) Shliach?! I hope you don’t label all your congregants the way you just labeled a whole grade of Lubavitch girls.
b) Money Fines for kids?! that’s a copout for educators who can’t find a creative and educational means of discipline. Unless all girls are expected to be earning their own money on a regular basis (same goes for bochurim), Having money knasim is wrong.
Get ur facts straight! That is not quite what happened it was way more serious than watching a rebbe video. Sneaking out of the dorm @ 1 o’clock freaking the dorm counselors out! 80 of the knas was also just a mashkon.. Besides the whole lubavitch doesnt need 2 hear what happens in chicago… (not even mentioning the girls scool….) To #185 what a loser..
Orthodoxs girls should not have facebook there may be a point that they may find a boyfriend
How low have we fallen that the parents are defending their kids who have facebook. One thing for those who did it without their parents knowledge, but for a parent to not only condone it but to be angrry with the school for trying to enforce the rule which is only to protect the girls…its a real shame
Since I have qwerty keyboard on my phone, I don’t mind if my wife had facebook…
after all… my qwerty keyboard ruined my hiskashrus!
B”H I feel that the administration in Beit Rivka School is handling the entire situation incorrectly.You are dealing with teenage kids.Facebook should be banned from being used while on school grounds.There should be no money fines! if a student is found using Facebook. Guide kids to safely use Facebook.YOU CANNOT FORCE Stringency.THEY WILL,G-d forbid. REBEL What will end up happening, , is you will push them off the Derech of Torah!! THIS IS WRONG! SHOW THEM YOU CARE, about them. ARE THE BOYS THEY ARE TALKINGH TO jEWISH? hOPEFULLY THE ANSWER IS YES, IN WHICH CASE YOU MUST SAY Baruch… Read more »
thats just the point it is NOT ok to break the rules, think before you say what you just tiped because it is wrong, go to gan yisroel detreit they better they dont even let you have a mobile with you, now thats what i call chasiddish/good
Why is this even news? (outside of the community) REdiculous.
Shliach?
Give me a break.
Do kiruv with your own first, our girls in the eleventh grade!
Chana Leboeuf
Hymei brov “we takin ova” 🙂
wow ppl must b bored 2 comment on comment 102 66 comments later…. how much time can u spend reading comments! I got bored by no. 40 and read a 5 random ones after that….
Do you really think this is the way to mechanech them . its forcing them to do something. this wont make them appreciate you but get disgusted from you . from a students point of view , i would hate it . you think now that they dont have faccebook they wont contact with the same ppl from different stuff, ur wrong.
Listen Up: Nothing is entirely good or evil in this world- its how you choose to use it. Facebook is NOT bad, and if you have a facebook it does not mean that you do not have dignity or self respect. Facebook can be used to do great things! Communication with Jews all over the world, advertising for Jewish businesses, etc. We even learn in Chassidus that everything physical can be elevated to a spiritual level! As for a school rule, they have all the right to ‘fine’ the girls. That is their policy, just like any other rule. To… Read more »
this is the most pathetic thing ive ever heard, they have no right as to what the girls do outside of school.
Don’t worry, any person can comment on this blog pretending to be a shilach. The person who commented threatening that he will not take 11th graders is probably an unemployed person who sits in the mikvah until 12.
A Harvard Professor
benji you did a great job! all the people that are saying bad about you they will need your help one day and they probably also not pay tuition great job!
you are oblivious. you need to wake up to the 21st centuray
Over two years ago the Rabonim of CH (Rabbis Osdoba and Schwei) and other communities (Chicago, Monsey, Pittsburgh, Miami, Toronto, LA, Michigan) signed and endorsed standards for Lubavitch High Schools which included a “No face book Policy”. To Quote: “A Talmodoh of a Mosad Chabad should not have a facebook or myspace account, twitter, buzz, or any other broad social network account” In addition the following schools signed (Bais Chana, FL, Bais Chana, LA, Bais Chomesh, Toronto, Beth Rivka, NY, Beth Rivkah, Montreal, Bnos Chayua , Albany, Bnos Chana, Worcester, Bnos Chomesh, NY, LGHS Chicago, Beis Chaya Mushka, Monsey, Rohr… Read more »
benji’s a nice guy, but should not be a school policy maker and stick to administation of gashmiyus.
BR admin is so fragmented it’s par for the course to have it call the parents to open a fb acct to make money and fine the kids for having an acct.
the whole shtick of fining a student any money is so counter-productive as an educational tool. only in chassidishe school are they so stupid they don’t even realize how inappropriate it is.
the common thread is money.
Someone with some seichel and strength in this world. I wish it was in more schools around the world, namely my childrens one. Why was there such publicity about voting for all those competitions on Facebook? Never voted once for any of them.
meeting with mark zuckerberg
its not right that just because 11th grade was the only grade it mentioned in all the articles because we were the only ones that had to pay..that doesnt mean that we’re the worst girls and no1 should take any1 from 11th grade as councelors? im sorry but thats just pathetic
If indeed it is only a few loud mouths that created this commotion – it is the achrayos of all of you as a group to set the record straight and publicly apologize to Bais Rivkah.
11th grade was not the only grade that was cherged! it was 10th and 12th too! and i agree with br!! BEST. SCHOOL. EVER.
it’s funny you say that. At the start of this year Rabbi Freidman was brought down to school to talk to all the grades. Someone asked him the question of what is so bad about Facebook, and 99% of the grade cringed. Because theres as much that is ‘so bad’ for as much as there isnt, and if you can’t figure out what the ramifications are about Facebook, either you’ve got no idea about the site, or you are not very intelligent. On the other hand, Facebook itself isnt BAD. It’s the way you use it. The question was such… Read more »
To No.154- Shliach. I gotta say- I’m in 11th grade, I don’t have facebook, I don’t watch movies, I don’t listen to any non-Jewish music, I do the right things… And it’s not fair that now you say you’ll look elsewhere. Our grade is the same as any other. We were just singled out. Our entire school is made up of amazing girls. It just so happens that the very few girls who made a fuss, stuck out. Why should I, and other good girls, be punished and suffer because of what someone else’s assumption was? The girls in my… Read more »
Just like any other rule in any other school, if the school says something its every students responsability to obey. im not saying its not hard, and im not saying i am a perfect student. What i am saying is this is a RULE of the school, and i dont think it is wrong what OUR school is doing. Mrs. Teichtel is the most amazing principal, and always there for every student. Benjy, is amazing, anything you need he is there, from student programs to students personally. I dont think its even close to fair what the media is doing.… Read more »
Get your priorities straight, it must b hard 2 have a school with a 1/2 a million girls in that ,sorry, have no intention in following rules. witch r completely understandabl. they set the standerds NOT US if we did hate 2 say it ….If we did there would b NO standerds get real. i am saying this as a teenage girl . Most RELIGOUS girls FB DONT post not tznuis photos. ,
Educators, not Dictators! Make us, don’t break us! I love it!! Chaya Mushkie at 102, how do you come up with these??? Eleventh Grade ROCKS!!!!!
I agree that chabad has become extreme in the last 10-15 years. Every year there is a new ban etc. However, one can compare this to America where many people with agendas have taken over. Now are you going to say America is a bad country, and therefore I’m leaving, or are you going to try to stay and keep to the American values that are beautiful?
Stop blaming the brhs 11 th grade they are just as good or bad as any other grade. And I thnk that 50 would have been just enough of a lesson 100 dollars is slot of money especially for people can’t afford it. Also if Fb is used in a normal way and all your stuff are on private then I think it’s ok as long as u don’t post your whole life story and everything you are doing every second of the day. If parents are monitoring the Fb account and kno exactly who their daughter is friends Whitt… Read more »
bais rivka didnt put this on the media the media foun out and put it up them selvs
Let me begin by saying that I returned to Judaism because my wife was befriended by the wife of a “shilach” who has a facebook page. Since that time, we have become Shomer Shabbos as well as kosher. Over the past few years the largest gift from our family foundation has gone to Chabad programs. Many Jewish friends of mine believe I have drunk the “Cool Aid or Gone Off the Deep End” because the change in my life style. They have stated that their are many elements within the inner circles of Chabad that are reminicent of Taliban practices.… Read more »
Ye, I am a little upset about it BUT, You sign a agreement +You go against it= Fined….Also, there was never a time that a student was asked to make an account for Kohl’s Giveaway! Also LEAVE THE DAUGHTER OUT OF IT! WHO CARES. Rabbi Stock, We really appreciate that u spoke for us.. You said exactly what i wouldve said.. BUT BETTER! Mrs Tiechtel, I really appreciate what you did Bc so many people do soo much innapropiate stuff and it is sickening! We really do care and we love that ur soo devoted and care about each one… Read more »
its the 11th graders all the time who are picked on!
I can’t agree more with #151. I suggest that the 11th graders jointly write a letter of apology to br for the chilul hashem they caused. I for one will not be hiring girsl from that class.
Where is the $100 going to
We wouldn’t mind the fine if we would know what the $100 is going to be used for
Is nobody’s business who has or doesn’t have Facebook unless that’s one of your criteria for a shidduch or seminary. Even a school cannot control it! The girls say they don’t and do it under a fake name…they do it all the time! The more rules, the more ways they will find to break them. As #48 wrote, teach your kids values and priorities and it will go with them in the streets and on Facebook. Garbage exists everywhere for our kids! Always did always will…the more emphasis hanholo or parents put on all of this, the more they crave… Read more »
Boy, the Beis Rivkah eleventh graders really messed up their name by the way they responded to the schools action with such chutzpah and rebellion. They will have a hard time getting positions in camps and the good seminary’s will look elsewhere for girls.
Is that your argument for everything?
Then your kid will never get a shidduch.
Facebook is a way of life today, everyone has it. GET OVER IT. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person if you have Facebook. People use it to communicate with friends overseas, to post pictures etc.
Good luck to you and your family.
Benji, you’re the best. Thank you for all your work and effort on behalf of BR
for taking a stand
Benjy is not a media spokesperson. His English is barely communicable. This is the quality of people that run our educational mossdos.
That was brilliant. But to bais rivkah I understand it’s a rule. But really you had to cause all this trouble and commotion right before pesach? And this being all over the news and every newspaper is crazy. And why don’t you focus on a liitlr bit more important stuff ( not saying this is not saying this is not important) like on education. Stop focusing on little things like what color the girls shoes are. Be a little nicer to the girls it won’t hurt.
To #126:
You are so right! This whole thing blew waaaay out of proportion! The gantze velt doesn’t need to know about BRHS’s Facebook issues!
However, the Kohl’s givaway could have sparked this machlokes. Whatever the reason, I agree and I don’t agree. Sure it’s a rule that Facebook should not be used. However, with the faculty’s daugthers using it, it’s hypocrisy. In addition, if they fine us for facebook, they might as well fine us for cellphones, g-mail, skype, etc.
In the Chicago mesivta Bochrim were fined 100$…… For watching a video of the rebbe past lights out
the actual thing called facebook is not the problem..girls without accounts talk to boys as well its the old evil inclination we’ve been dealing with since chava ate from the eitz hadaas..and really this should not be a public forum for opinions…hypocrite!
get the point now>? i sure hope u do!
if they dont suit you, dont go.
to blame the school is immature, especially only after you were caught.
if you felt it was unfair, either discuss it before you register, or leave.
dont listen to the rules, register, break them and then complain.
A Rabbi like Manis Freedman should be brought into our Mosdos to speak to girls and explains things to them so that they understand why something is right or why something may be wrong.
Let the girls have open question and answers with Mains Freedman. You will see, this will go a long way! It will have a much better, long term positive impact on them. Its much better then when they are just told this yes this no without understanding and having it explained to them in a way they can appreciate it.
Do your kids have Facebook?
What about the rest of principals and teachers kids?
I understand that teachers are a different story but their kids…
PLEASE write with proper English and stop using text lingo which is soooo annoying!!! enuf of skewl lingo ..etc .
It is more impressive when you write properly and in the real world you will be respected for writing correctly and leaving the slang behind. kk??
the guilty conscience that one may have for having a facebook account does not change the truth , that for a regular religious girl and boy it’s better not to have one. We as religious jews , have this certain pride of who we are, and need not to be like goyim.
The interviewer lady here is so untznius… This feature is worse than the “facebook” topic itself… Terrible, Fuya, Fuya, Fuya… I’ll go back to facebook and shmooze with my pals.
hahaha
you need help!!
TO 4,37,58.
YOU ARE FULL OF IT.
the website that originally put this article up and caused the whole commotion should be ashamed of themselves…
i for one stopped going on that website for a while and i hope others will do the same!!
its no ones buisness what the school does…
how low can someone stoop to bashmutz on his website a lubavitch school in his very own community!!
i hope people just learn from this o be more careful about what they post and say about others!!
Y on earth does a Lubavitch website feel the need to bad mouth the Rebbes mosad… bc of them it went to all the other news sites and even got to the non-jewish media!!!!! BR DID THE RIGHT THING!!! but its not e/os buisness what goes on in school… and e/o shld just know that we were talking bout it in school and even the girls who have to pay the fine said they agree with school that they have a right to do what they did and they were sickened by the fact that it went onto a chabad… Read more »
Yes im an 11th grader in Br… and i must say i agree with the school on this one… even if i dont always like school policys, BR still has a right to enforce their rules! and if you keep to the rule you get your money back… so whats the big deal!! and to all those pple screaming hypocrasy – BR NEVER encouraged the students to open accounts, i CAN testify bc im a student! – they did ask the parents but not the students… theres a big difference there!!! And maybe to all those pple screaming at them… Read more »
This whole episode just proves the point about public access to whatever is put onto the internet. If a small item on an obscure shmooz-site becomes an internatiional news article, then isn’t that proof enough that whatever is posted anywhere is potentially public property???? Just because you don’t SEE the audience doesn’t mean there is nobody you don’t want accessing what you put up. Do you think you are anonymous and no one will know who wrote what? There is a record of what came from which computer, etc. Internet is the biggest ‘reshus harabim’ possible!
This is a load of rubbish!!!! There is nothing wrong with having FB. It depends on what you do with it. You can put very little info on it and you can protect yourself from all the things people say are dangerous about it!’
#5
You are SO close minded! Most normal people have FB! Welcome to the 21st century!
I think it is really sad that many PUBLIC media outlets are busy writing stories and doing interviews about this private matter of students breaking rules. In the future, I sincerely hope that the website that first originally wrote this”story” (its not even worth calling it a story) will be more careful with what they publish. I really hope they learnt their lesson and are ashamed of themselves.
k this is totaly blow ou of proportion!!! in skewl it wa toatly not a big deal kids were called out of class told they need 2 deatvite thier acount as part of SKEWL RULES which they singed a contcart which they WOULNT have 1 and that was it! everyone agrres wheater they have a acont or not t hat they went agaiast skewl rules! done! wats the discusting part bout this is that a lubavitch site goes and toatly blows it out of prpopation and puts it on thier site! comple lloshon harah! then it gets to other frum… Read more »
I Do NOT have a FB account!!! but Im a mom…….
The rule to forbid girls of BR to have a facebook account is a correct one. But the way the explantion for it was presented left a lot to be desired. There are very strong legitimate reasons for such a ban which wasn’t explained. Like wastage of time, Inteference with studies, potential dangers of connecting with undesriables. inappropriate advertising etc etc etc.
EDUCATORS, NOT DICTATORS. In this day and age teens make their own decisions and do not like following orders. Maybe in the olden days teens were more obedient and it was a better society, but these days this system does NOT work. When my mom says “PUT ON SOCKS, OR ELSE..” guess what? I’M NOT DOING IT!!!!!!!!!! When my mom says “put on socks because it’s the right thing to do and it’s aidel” then maybe I will listen a little more. We need to be taught with love and if we don’t do something don’t stare and criticize, let… Read more »
So the media is avidly focusing again on their obsession- Torah observant Jews. They have their own issues, agendas, fantasies that they need to project on frum Jews. So what? Since when is that a guide as to how we should live our lives? We have to live with the results of our choices so we do what works for US. So the media favors celebrities who bounce from one boyfriend/husband to another without ever being able to trust them, being let down time & time again, obsessing about looks as the most important aspect of themselves and being unable… Read more »
#22 you are so right and noone is talking about it
who understand what self-respect, and dignity means.
to #1,8,9,16,71,110,112
I once got a letter in the Igros to deactivate my account.
#111 – not a fine unless they break the rules again. If they keep to the contract they get their deposit back. Like Benjy said, boys and girls should not be on Facebook. I think Bais Rivkah did an amazing job and this definitely encouraged my respect for the school. I am a mother who is on facebook all the time, and I truly believe that there is no place for bochurim and girls on that. They will know how to handle it when they are older, and have the correct background because of this very story. I think this… Read more »
Fb is poshit a klipo that can ruin a girl and cause her to where a mini skirt!!!
BENJI HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS HE WENT TO WORK AND THEY WERE THERE SO HE ANSWERED THEM!! HE DID NOT NO ABOUT IT!! GUYS BENJI IS GREAT JUST BECAUSE HE SPOKE DOSE NOT MEAN HE DID IT! COME ON WHY WOULD HE DO IT!
On fb you could have everything blocked from a-z..
First know what your talking about….
Your example shows how clueless you are…
(no feelings)
calm down, your self-righteous chrep is ridiculous. do you think bais rivkah does anything without first consulting rabbanim? and what makes you think you can toss out pretty hebrew words while putting down the rebbe’s mosad? (there, i know some hebrew myself.)
by the way, there was never a threat of expulsion. it was SUSPENSION. big difference. get your facts straight, people.
You can’t be a BRHS student.
– You write too good!
– You write too clear!
But your words are true.
Girl, I wish I could write like you!
im telling u right now (from first hand experience..) that boys r not allowed either. Back when google had buzz my menahel told me 2 get rid of mine.. I might not hav been happy but u cant make an exception 4 one person and not someone else. For example chicago has a no text plan rule on the boys fns and most those boys would hav nothing bad come out of it but 4 the one or 2 exceptions these rules must b made.
Did the hanhola of BRHS (or any other mossad chinuch) EVER ask a competent Rov if imposing a fine (forcing the student/parent to pay an arbitrary amount of money under threat) is allowed al pi halacha?
I suggest that it is a REAL shayloh of gezel or chamson.
Is there ant difference between a robber demanding, “Your money or your life” and a principal demanding, “Your money or you get expelled”?????
this topic made it all over jewish news! not only chabad
to all the people that are saying about the teachers being payed well PAY YOUR tuition!
!!
I know half the people in bias rivkah that have facebooks and for that reason ended up having boy friends from it and doing what not and yes also boys shouldn’t have it as many of you know 2 years ago a lot of Lubavitch boys got girl friends 2 days in to the school year facebook is bad and should be banned from the world
who so brilliantly said:
16
to number 3
you are a mom in a 11th grader disguise. Not cool!
actually, it’s a girl in high school. nice try.
Your fake “chasidish” fluff that u are instilling in your students is the cause of pple today not believing…. It all starts with the staff!!!! YOU all have face book and only care about money but at the same time were called “chasidish” wake up Faculty it doesn’t work that way GET REAL!!!!! AD MOSAI!
Instead of explaining the rule and making a kidush hashem he keeps saying things along the lines of its a school rule and they signed a contract and sounds stupid.
WE’VE GOT MUCH BIGGER ISSUES HERE PEOPLE.
if girls are modest they would take the right precautions to avoid the bad which your referring to that facebook brings e.g. privacy settings etc. but taking away these kind of freedoms in a changing world of social networking which is a great template to spread yiddishkite is a outright disgrace to all yiddin alike.
Commandant Stock:
Make us – don’t break us.
Earn our respect – don’t impose it.
We listen to reason – not to orders.
Hostility evokes rebellion – not compliance.
Corruption and hypocrisy by the school destroys us.
How many more casualties before the methods are changed???
Get with the program before you lose all of us that are still believers!
Be Educators – not Dictators!!!
Signed,
Chaya Mushka
(If I gave my family name I’d be expelled)
ok…
so whats with school staff kids?
as a student in br iim gonna say that u ppl rlly dont know wath ur talkin bout! 1st of all all the students were called out not just in 11yh grade! im notin 11th grade and my classmates wwere aclled out!! sencons of all brhs NEVER said to open facebook acount for c=khols!!! idk where u guys got thats 1 from!!!! we all signed papper in the begging of the yr tht we woulnt have face book and they brike thier cointrct! its as simple as that ! its a well known skrewl rule! besides everyonesgetting thier money back… Read more »
u just lost urself an excellant girl. ….me!!! 🙂
her expression in the picture is priceless!!
what are you going to do about your own faculty’s daughters in school with facebook?
The media came to Benjy he didn’t call them to come that would be the last thing on his mind to do and not just that they said the found out about the Facebook Problem from other Jewish websites
Just google “is facebook good or bad” and you will get plenty of results from “the world” about the potential ill effects of of Facebook use, especially for teens, but for all ages.
Did the Vilna Gaon have Facebook (or Sushi)? But yet he did just fine.
Kudos to BR for sticking to its principles.
And yes, a school can demand whatever they want, you have a choice to go to a different school.
All frum Rabunim should come out with a strong letter stating that if a frum girl or bocher that has a Facebook account, it should be considered a blemish and negative note on their Shiduch resumé!
If a girl or bocher has a Facebook account it should be a red flag for parents looking into a Shiduch for their child, because of FB negative impact it very likely had on the bocher or girl with thet FB account.
Let’s not fool ourselves here – Be real!
exactly the point!
why in the world is a SCHOOL RULE being broken made into INTERNATIONAL news….
Kol Hakovod for standing up for what right.
go beis rivkah. ver nisht nispoel
#1: There was no fine. – $100 DEPOSIT to ensure keep word till end of high school, if you do not break the rule, you get your money back. #2: It was not just 11th grade – it was the whole school #3: If you do not like BaisRivkah, don’t send your children there. Bais Rivkah, as a private school has the right to make whatever rules they deem necessary. #4: Bais Rivka never encouraged girls to open FB accounts, if you listen to the recording they sent out, BR said although we don’t recommend FB, for this contest we… Read more »
the rule makes soo much sense. it wasnt specified in the media that they would get the money back
You have a point. But there is a significant difference between advertising yourself in a social setting (Facebook) versus having your picture appear in a non-social setting (such as a news website) where there is no intention of immodesty.
They are practically similar but have very different effects.
youre totally naive, if anything this interview should have included benjis comments on why facebook is not allowed. Just saying it is a rule that the girls are breaking makes him look silly and not addressing the issue on hand!
You dont see news reports on the fact that girls were late for class, so stop being so ridiculous!
THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT ITS FACEBOOK.
REALLY REA=LLY.
ITS JUIST THE FACT THAT WE BROKE A RULE. WHETHER THE RULE IS WEARING BLACK ASHOES AND I WORE WHITE SO YES THE SCHOOL HAS THE RIGHT TO PUNISH ME.
SO STOP FOCUSING ON THE DETAIL. THE DETAIL IS JUST FACEBOOK R=THE REAL ISSUE IS THE FACT THAT WE BROKE A RULE SO YES BAIS RIVKA AND MRS TEICHTEL IS RIGHT…
BTW IF U ARE IN BRHS PLS SIGN THE PETITION….
as a student in br ,everyone get your facts straight! the faculty NEVER told the students to open accounts to vote for the khols thing.they said very clearly that anyone who’s parents have fb should tell their PARENTS to vote. i am disgusted at how this was taken out of context!!!
why schools should pay their teachers on time
I’m sure BR is sitting on millions of dollars and don’t pay their teachers because they want them to starve. I’m sure you know exactly how much their budget shortfall is and that all of it is covered by large donations. For some reason, I never met a man who wanted the job of running Beis Rivkah. Personally I’m aware that my father who is an administrator in a very successful out of NY school turned down a recruit offer from BR because it’s impossible to raise so much money necessary to run BR.
They are 100% right for implementing this ban. However why talk to to the media and if yes it should be someone eloquent who can present our values nicely. The “world” expects more from educational executives.
Hey! It’s number 3 again! Thanks for making me smile! But yea, I AM an 11th grader, whether you like it or not, and I DID get busted for Facebook, but I think that the media should listen to our grade convos where we all sit and argue that our school rocks and that BR was totally right and we love our school. (: but yea, ur comment did make me smile.
did not sound defensive…. just not very eloquent!
Based on your logic having photos of girls or woman appear on websites is just as reprehensible as photos on Facebook.
The guy Cant even articulate what is inappropriate about facebook. As a board member he should be able to do a better job at conveying the message of modesty.
P.S. it was not inappropriate to create facebook for kohls competition…ay the message you send kids!
I don’t think children should be online (other than that required for school work), and these girls raise a stink about facebook? I think I know whose side the Rebbe is on.
I thank Bais Rivah for coming and doing this. Even through it may not make them the most liked amongst their students for doing this! For any frum girl or boy who is trying to be educated as a frum yid, Facebook is literally a killer! It silently – yet pretty quickly – kills every frum standard, easily crosses all frum lines and is a great hindrance to the spiritual growth of any frum boy or girl. This is the reality! I’m glad someone is taking a stand! I hope parents and other Mosdos follow Bais Rivah’s lead. Soon the… Read more »
you should have not gone to the media!! also make sure all the girls are dressed modest now!!
Kol Hakavod Cousin Benji, you stand up for what is right no matter what they say, just like Uncle Shimshon did!
to #18
girls in my class were also taken out and girls in other grades too
they just started with 11th grade cuz they had the most girls on facebook
The mark of a chazer is a school that gets huge donations and at the same time does not pay their teacher for months.
The school you never asked the students to open a facebook they send out a Phone recording that said since there is a money situation we spoke to the rabbonim and we came to a conclusion even though there is a rule that says no Facebook and we didn’t Encourage Facebook and never will encourage Facebook but we are asking the parent’s friend and family to open a Facebook to help YOUR school .So as you can see there were never students involved in opening a Facebook
wow, I cant believe you just wrote that facebook owners will be angry at people not having facebook. You are either a 12 year old kid or an Oholei Torahnic.
Trust me, Mark Zukerburg doesn’t care if a beis rivkah girl goes on facebook.
i happen to know the faculty’s own daughter has a facebook account.. his daughter is in brhs this year
i also lfet BR..but every skl has some rles that your ganna see as stupid. grass aint greener on the other side.
I agree and your wife and kids should NOT have facebook accounts either, even though they are NOT in 11th grade!!
Benji stock had nothing to do with the rule at ALL in fact there were some girls that came over to him that day and started screaming at him and he didn’t even know what they were talking about
The mark of a chazer is someone who asks for scholarships and use their free time to bash the school that gave them so much, despite the fact that they paid for only a fraction of the tuition.
Some yeshiva’s maggidei shiurim and roshe yeshivos’ own children shave. Some actually have children that are fry. Should those yeshiva’s in the name of “fairness” let everything go in their yeshivas? After all it would be hypocritical for the yeshiva to demand adherence when their own children… That’s stupidity. Some rehab’s employees have children themselves on drugs. Does that mean they should allow drugs into the rehab? Using the logic of some posters here, they should.
Have fun finding your son a shidduch!
If BR was really serious, the wouldn’t have encouraged their students to open FB accounts for their drive for money. If you ask me, they should ban BR girls from being on this site as well. Oh, and there should an all out ban on buses and subways. You never know what is lurking there.
The best line I have seen used over and over again is how Facebook is a tool to break up people’s marriages and have caused the divorce rate to skyrocket. That being said, I could make a likewise argument that with the advent of the automobile, so too the cases of divorce increased because it made it much easier for a philanderers to meet. Could anyone in good faith make the argument that we should all stop using cars because they make cheating easier? Just as with an automobile, Facebook could be used for nefarious reasons or for good. Isn’t… Read more »
Rabbi,
If you want to discuss morality, perhaps demonstrate in practice moral priorities…
let’s wait until Kohls has their online contest next year and we will see how quickly they ask everyone to sign up again!!
Just look @ the comments… It’s long as a full report
Every day school and almost every mesivta has an annual banquet WHICH THEY DON’T ALLOW their bochurim to attend. It’s a fundraiser and banquets aren’t conducive to bochurim’s education and chassidishkeit. Period. I see no hypocrisy here. Fundraising venues and chassidishkeit don’t always work in sync. If you are so passionate about schools not needing to raise money “with hypocrisy”, donate the millions of dollars necessary so that they shouldn’t have to raise any money and they can do all things Btaharas Hakodesh mamash. If not, you so called parents (which are probably actually 16 year old girls posing…) are… Read more »
I love you Benji, but you should not the spokesman for Bais Rivkah. Its not your thing.
Whjether fb is right or wrong for the students, I don’t know. But I do know that if the school has a rule agasint it then they are obligated to follow the rules. That’s part of life. And its sad that the parents are showing their kids that its ok not to follow rules. U think this is the only rule your kids will want to break???!!
i happen to know that school staff’s own daughters in high school have facebook. if its so against rules, why do their own kids use it??
just so u know i left brhs cuz of the stupidity they have in certain rules!!
is this really the best person for the job??? … time to get some new blood in BR administration
Im sorry this should not be on the news! what a chilul Hashem!
now facebook owners will be angry at religious ppl
gentiles now have another excuse against the religious jews because they band facebook!
Speaking to my daughters, the issue at hand here’s seems to be the school’s hypocrisy.
If facebook is treif, its treif. Don’t use it to raise money, don\t encourage people to open facebook accounts so that they could vote for you.
If the school has absolute values, they have to support those values CONSISTENTLY. Using it when it suits YOU, and barring it when it doesn’t, is hypocritical.
And one thing young people are allergic to is, HYPOCRISY.
above and beyond everything involved, “saichel” is truly looking here. collive is the internet. why this is an open forum for people to make any sort of cmment is beyond me. if you have something negative to say, this is not the place. you have every impressionable youngster reading. we should not be feeding them negativity so that they form opinions too on who is honest and who is not….smarten up. keep your comments personally to individuals.
a kosher’n freilichin pesach to all
Just wondering….when will the schools & parents realize that we can not fight everything & win. We need to teach our children how to respect themselves enough to use all modern technology only for good. There is NOTHING wrong with facebook, there is something very wrong with the parent that never teaches their child to stand up for whats right & live in the present. Making the most of every mode of communication available to them will only allow our children to maxamize their own potential. Parents & schools need to unite & find away to educate in 2012…not pretend… Read more »
You can look for all that PLUS see if they had a fb account and were inapropiate with their posts, comments, “talking” to boys , etc.
i no that school staff has facebook thats ok ..he really stuck his foot in his mouth ….hyprocit
Benjy, I’m your childs friend on Facebook. POKE!
Rabbi Stock did a great job and it’s important to show the smol docheh side some times. My guess is he probably rather a principal respond to the media but didn’t want them to suffer the media, so took the discomfort upon himself. When 95% of girls are on scholarship and they are thus desperate for money, even if they had made mistakes during the facebook competition for cash, you must cut them some slack. The only reason they were desperate in the first place was to help educate YOU and put bread on the tables of the teachers, so… Read more »
For a high school student, it is unlikely they are using FB for shlichus. There are temptations on social networks that are very REAL and misuse of the such media is not the exception, but more often the rule (“horror stories” is not what we are talking about … compromising chasidishe standards of modesty is what we are talking about). Just because technology can be used for good does not mean that it is age appropriate for everyone (take driving a car as an example). The school does indeed have the right to oversee whether students are conforming to the… Read more »
grate job benji!!!
agree %100
It’s unbelievable, that such a big school, with so many girls representing our community, only makes it to the news to mock and embarrass our system. YES, this rule is a normal rule for a religious private school to demand of their students. NO, this is not a normal situation of students reacting to a punishment from their faculty. This is a pure demonstration of teenagers reacting when they see hypocrisy, and double standards. I know because I’ve been through the Beis Rivkah school system and they fail to give over a message of honesty and respect. Instead of implementing… Read more »
I think Benjy sounded maybe a little nervous but very reasonable. What he said makes sense. I just have a problem with the double standard the school had to get the girls to vote on FB to get money. That raises a lot more questions than this enforcement, at least to me.
Forcing the girls to not have accounts doesn’t really teach them anything. What happens in a couple of years when the leave school – they will then open accounts right away because they can, and will not have been taught the proper skills to using it appropriately.
just use someone elses account!!!!!!!!!!!
I totally agree! Would you allow your daughter to have her photos and details of her friends/life on a kingston avenue bus stop ad? Actually, on a times square billboard? The internet is open for all the world to see. Why don’t people get that?
Dont agree
While I am not quite sure that this is the correct approach, Facebook, together with internet, should not be left unsupervised. If you deem it necessary that your child have Facebook, monitor it well!
All it takes is one boy to find an unassuming frum girl, and unfortunately that may be the beginning of the end.
i wouldn’t consider my son going out on a shiduch with a girl without a FB account, because if she doesn’t, then she probably is living in a different world which wouldn’t suit my son. Of course i would check to see if her pictures (and other posts) are all betachlis hatznius, because if not, she also would not fit my son
did you ever think about what your son wants for a shiduch, or is it all about YOU and your quest for a model trophy daughter-in-law?
talk about a crisis….
It was not right for BR to ask people to use the medium of FB
to get them votes and funds. It’s a double standard on the part
of the school.
If only all other BR school rules were enforced just as strictly.
This article made it to most of the Aussie newspapers.
Kol Hakovod to BRHS.
When the powers to be do nothing about Chinuch or Tznius then everyone screams, When they take some positive steps then people scream again. Make up your mind.
why arent we teaching our children how to act like a proper bas yisrael online, just as offline. The internet is here to stay people, and we need to be teaching our sons and daughters that just as they are expected to act a certain way in the streets, the same is expected online. We arent giving them the tools they will need once they leave high school, when they will surely have unlimted internet access. Especially the girls in this story. In 1-2 years they will be free from “school rules” and have to live their life by their… Read more »
Firstly, why did you speak the news at all?
Secondly, once you decided it was necessary to speak to the news, why did you think you had to be the spokesperson?
I admire you for all your chesed and outreach in this community. But not for this…
Is face book also not okay for boys to use or is this prohibition only on the girls?? cos in that case it’s just wrong
While facebook can certainly be used improperly, it’s not always the case. Many young people I know use it in a kosher way. It’s really no different from the internet in general; both can be used for benign purposes, and both can be used deleteriously. Everyone feels what they do is ok but the next guy’s vice is completely assur. There are those that would not allow a shidduch with your son because you use the internet; does that sound fair?
he should not have done this interview. And if it was unavoidable for some reason, he should not have sounded so defensive about it. His tone, especially at the end, made him sound a bit like a control freak.
BR come clean!!!!
say u made a mistake telling girls to open accounts greedy for the money and it was wrong.
BR take responsibility be a leader.
Lead by example make a kidduhsh chabad
when i saw this, I thought “boy are the comments gonna be nasty…” meanwhile everyone’s all like “go BR keep it up!! $100 fine for using facebook is very appropriate and FAIR” I doubt half the people who forbid facebook even know what it is. I’ve heard some classics: “people can find out where you are at any moment of the day” or “everyone in the whole world can see all your photos” or “its just a collection of pritzus” really. REALLY. like anything in the world fb can be used for good or bad. Shlichus has become that much… Read more »
Im an outsider and I think this is ridicoulous! It is not up to the school to control what happens at home, its up to the parents! The parents are the ones enforcing rules at home, not the school.
The world is dirty.
DB
Why is only the 11th grade being picked on and fined? Why aren’t the students from all of the grades being fined? It is well known that at least half the school has an account, including some who were encouraged to open it to vote last year? I am also very well aware that teachers have a facebook account, one who told me in front of my daughter!!! Why aren’t they being fined or suspended, it is they who should be setting the example?!?!?!
I’m sure the thought would be mutual
you are a mom in a 11th grader disguise. Not cool!
i believe that Facebook or any other access to internet should be up to the parents of the respective child. Schools have no right to limit this access. THEY ARE SUCH HYPOCRITES because when the school contests were going on they came around to the hallways and asked the girls to sign up to facebook so they can win. and now that there is nothing for them to loose they fine you for using a program they encouraged most girls to sign up for.
and shame on whomever took this to the public media
facebook is just as dangerous for adults
there have several divorces caused by facebook
and lots more of untold improper relationships-on all age levels
by Yidden and l’havdil by goyim
it has brought about more harm than good
Did what they had to do.
Smart move.
I think it is such a chilul lubavitch that the first article was originally posted on a differant news website which then spread to other jewish new websites which then led to the non jewish media..
It was a school rule, every student commited to not have an account in the begining of the school year, and every student won’t disagree with what school is doing.
Mrs teichtel does so much for the school, its the Rebbes mosod, which will abide by the Rebbe and lubavitch standards.
When I look for shiduchim for my kids, the last thing I will look at is if they have a FB account. I will look at what sort of person they are, are they a mentch, kind, caring, would they make a good spouse, listen to their children, have time foer them etc. PLEASE DON;’T LOSE FOCUS ON WHAT IS IMPROTANT IN LIFE!!!
we may not agree with you, but we definitely support your right to maintain the standards you deem necessary.
i hope your son is ready for a long lonely life…
i have other complaints with beis rivka’s chinuch approach in general which often seems to break with explicit horaas vda”l
as a student in br i back br 100%
Go bais rivkah! With u all the way
if i would find out that a potential shiduch for my son had a facebook account in high school i wouldent allow it for my son
I am happy
I don’t think that there is at all a Junior who is mad at school for doing this. We broke the rules, and we don’t get suspended, we just pay $100, and guess what, we even get it back if we keep our word this time. If that’s not being extremely fair, try running a school on your own and see what happens when someone breaks the rules and you are too lenient. Believe me, BR is the most amazing high school ever!! We have the most amazing curriculum, the best teachers, and the most stupendous, fantastic, wonderful AWESOME extra… Read more »
I feel terrible how much the media has blown in out of proportion! This is a school rule like any other and should be respected, it’s something that means a lot to the school so why is it made into such a big deal? As if the school is so wrong for doing so!
As a parent of a high school student, I thank you for what you’ve done. This is the right thing for our girls, and we are with you 100%!!!!