Shalom and thank you for your question! You rightfully ask why do people smoke when the Torah commands us to watch our health?
The sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Shneerson, who lived during the earlier years of the twentieth century, used to smoke, until the doctor told him that it was not good for his health. (This was at a time when it was not yet widely acknowledged to be unhealthy. Many people in fact thought that it was healthy to take a puff after a meal.) That very moment that Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak was told that it was not healthy, was the moment that he never smoked again. In fact after the doctor told him, he offered him a cigarette! Rabbi Shneerson told him that he no longer smokes…
This was an excellent example. Why don’t we all follow it?
There is no question that smoking is unhealthy for the smoker and those around him, and therefore does not jive with Torah values.
But the answer to your question lies in how you word it.
More than twenty years ago, my spiritual mentor, the Rabbi of my community, used every opportunity he had at every public event and gathering, to warn people, especially parents, of the dangers of the internet. He said it should be at home only if absolutely necessary for work/technical reasons, and then it should be filtered, and even then we should keep tabs on what our children are doing. It didn’t help much unfortunately. We are in the digital era and I’m not sure if there are many who have escaped negative consequences, be it due to some form of mild or severe internet addiction, or worse.
The Torah tells us of an ancient king called Menashe, who worshipped idols and encouraged the Jewish people to so as well. Obviously this did not find favor in G-d’s eyes. He did repent at the end of his days however. Once his soul appeared to a righteous Rabbi, who asked him how he could possibly have sinned in that heinous manner? King Menashe replied “Were you to have been in that generation, you would have lifted the hems of your robe and ran to worship idols!” The Sages of the Talmud explain that there were generations that had an ‘extra’ evil inclination to sin in that way. Today – we have substance abuse and internet. (There are still places in the world where idols are worshipped but most Jews are not interested. There are stories of gurus telling Jewish people to look for the truth in their own religion.)
So, back to your question…
“I see religious boys smoking.. “
Who is religious? Everyone and no one.
A basic text of Chassidic teaching called the book of Tanya explains many aspects of our relationship with G-d. At the moment when an ‘average ‘ kind of person (one who consciously has the goal of carrying out G-d’s will in every detail but nevertheless still has not completely conquered his evil inclination, ) commits a sin, he is LIKE a wicked person. However at the moment that he carries out a commandment of G-d he is righteous!!!
Every person is a combination of good and evil, sometimes the evil inclination prevails, and sometimes the good. The more good we do, (the anatomy of the brain can prove this,) the more we are predisposed to doing good in the future.
Every Jew has a deep inherent belief in G-d and His commandments which is mostly covered up by the demands and influence of worldly life. This applies to every Jew from every walk of life. So ‘religious’ boys or girls, men or women, can also become tempted by various circumstances to smoke or do other forms of substance abuse or other inappropriate or immoral actions, just as do people from different walks of life, regardless of warnings from Rabbis and Rebbetzins and parents. Each person has his own challenges within whatever culture or framework he/she lives, and has FREE CHOICE!
It is good to hear that people are sensitive to the issue of watching our health. May we all overcome temptations of various kinds, and look to sincerely carry out G-d’s will, whether it involves watching our health and that of our families, finding out how we can help our fellow, or how we can improve our relationship with G-d in Torah study, prayer and other Mitzvot. This will bring closer the era we are all waiting for, when evil will be removed from the face of earth!
