Shomrim Cards: A Modern Battle Over the Minds of Jewish Youth

Alongside some books I acquired, a fine collection of Shomrim Cards came in to my possession. In many Hasidic circles of late, Shomrim Cards are very popular among the young, traded, collected and promoted by all ages. The cards, brainstormed by a certain Rabbi Shaul Yitzchak Rabinowitz, who recently died a tragic young death after a long illness, have one motive and message: to win over the school-aged children in the fight against the smartphones.

examples of some Shomrim Cards שומרים קארטלעך

The people behind these cards and their supporters, are of the belief that owning a smartphone is of the greatest dangers to Jewish life today and the cards offer a way to show what they believe to be the horrors of the smartphone to the children in an illustrative and fun way, in the form of trading cards. The cards show the smartphone users looking like animals and devils, they describe them as being on the way to hell or to jail as a result of their iPhones, and other cards show them as ending up abandoning their religion as a result of their smartphone addictions. A recent fundraising blitz to promote the cards, collected over $50,000. A recent advertising campaign sought volunteers to give out the cards to children. 

Advertising the success of a fundraiser for Shomrim Cards, achieving $50,000

On the other side of the fence, are the growing number of people in the Hasidic Community fighting and protesting against the Shomrim Cards. Many people believe that the cards are instructing the children to be disrespectful of adults, lose all sense of proportion regarding good and evil and are a horrible way of educating children, even if they are in agreement on the danger of the smartphone. Recently, a fight broke out in Boro Park, outside a synagogue which had a Shomrim booth set up outside, promoting the cards, with their table being turned over by someone claiming that the cards were corrupting the youth. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Teitebaum, the son of the Satmar Rebbe (Williamsburg), though acknowledging the dangers of smartphones, is said to have come out against the cards in his Shabbat Hagadol sermon, saying that they lacked Rabbinic guidance. Several schools have now banned the cards, and many parents have voiced their concern against the cards, both online and within the community. Others voice the concern of bringing children in to a discussion that should be made between adults and that young school students shouldn't be exposed to such things.

examples of some Shomrim Cards שומרים קארטלעך

examples of some Shomrim Cards שומרים קארטלעך

examples of some Shomrim Cards שומרים קארטלעך

Interestingly, some schools, such as the Karlin-Stolin schools in Boro Park, have banned the trading of the cards for unrelated reasons, as some of the "rare" cards were being sold by children for upwards of $25. The cards have been banned in the Sanz Yeshiva in Union City as well. On the other hand, there are still many schools that reward good behavior with packs of Shomrim Cards. Certain stores have decided against selling the cards for fear of getting involved in the controversy, Eichler's in Boro Park being one example of a store that now refuses to sell them. In other stores in the neighborhood, the cards are sold, but are held out of sight, and are stored behind the counter.  It would be interesting to see how the success of such campaigns will be judged by history and what future sociologists and educators will make of such phenomenons.

Hasidim Battling over Shomrim Cards in Boro Park

Poster about Shomrim Cards

Rabbinic Proclamation by R. Yosef Binyamin Wosner of Satmar, London promoting the Shomrim Cards

Rabbinic Proclamation by R. Yosef Binyamin Wosner of Satmar, London promoting the Shomrim Cards

Promotion for Shomrim Cards

Promotion for Shomrim Cards

Promotion for Shomrim Cards

Promotion for Shomrim Cards

Promotion for Shomrim Cards