Hatzolah makes many people cringe, I myself used to cringe when I was stuck in traffic on Friday afternoon and suddenly a big fat Chassidish hocker in a suburban with lights flashing and peyos thrashing about flying down the shoulder of route 17 on the way to a fictional accident. How do I know the accident was fictional? Porbably based on the countless times I have seen cops run red lights and do illegal things because the men in blue are above the law, or maybe because I have seen Hatzolah people do it as well, I may be wrong or I may be right.
Whatever the case may be, people love to hate on Hatzolah guys, or girls (can girls work for Hatzolah? Never even thought of that) Maybe more people would call Hatzolah if some hot Bais Yaakov girls were giving you CPR and pumping your chest. We love to hate because its so easy to hate hockers. Those rude guys who love to eat at greasy burger joints and never clean up their trays (wait that’s every frummy – my bad) so people love to hate and point fingers, but in reality we really don’t understand.
You see I never realized how kick ass Hatzolah really is, I always thought it was a bunch of nursing administrator types who could afford the gas it takes to fill up a suburban and were kind of off the derech in high school and wanted to give something back to the community and disturb people during davening because they love turning their walky talkies on high volume. But when you look at the bigger picture none of this makes a difference, Hatzolah provides an amazing service and its free, well its funded by tzedaka, but it does two things, it gives you a name brand choice at the oregano encrusted tzedaka box depot at every pizza store – because who really wants to give to some family who claims they cant find a job in Israel but could afford the plain ticket to America to come collecting, when you could give it to the proud white ambulance shaped tzedaka box. The other thing they provide is free ambulance and paramedic service, do you know how much it costs to ride in an ambulance? Its ridiculous and sometimes they force you even if you don’t want to go.
So it really makes no difference that someone wants to join hatzolah because its cool, hatzolah guys are kind of like hipsters because people love to hate them but really don’t have a good reason. Yes the loud mincha time walkie-talkie is annoying and their little gatherings on ocean parkway every time someone gets into an accident can do more harm than good, but in the end in order to get people to give up their free time to provide a free service they have to make the job somewhat attractive, so you get your uniform, free food at select Boro Park eateries and the knowledge that you can get pulled over and the cop probably wont give you a ticket because your one of them, sort of.
also, because they kill and maim more people than you would believe…
Ok, here’s what bothers me:
I’m a paramedic (in my paramedic class, I noticed that most of the case studies of classic mistakes centered around Hatzolah crews, but that could be a coincidence), I’ve worked in EMS for 10 years, I’ve been an agency chief for the largest suburban park-based department in the country, I’ve worked for some well-respected agencies – and Hatzolah didn’t even want to look at me when I asked to be a member because of the way I dress. That’s not a good way to run an agency.
Hey Hesh. Next time you’re in Israel, give me a call…
As a volunteer EMT for United Hatzalah in Israel, no one gives me free food. We get no breaks, no free meals, we did get a free jacket — and I understand that in the US, you have to PAY for your own jacket…
Trust me — the walkie talkie going off during mincha annoys me more than you. I just wish it would stay quiet all the time…
Besides — having met me — I don’t think you would consider me a “hocker”, right? 😉
Jameel, Hatzalah in Israel is much different than Hatzoloh in New York City!!! Trust me, the NY guys are predominantly hockers. Even the MO hatzoloh guy in NY are hockers.
Puzzled, part fo the reason they use Hatzalah crews as “examples” of mistakes is because of the ongoing rivalry that exists between them. How did you dress that put them off? Maybe they were just jealous and worried that you would have way too much experience and make them look bad?
The Law, what are you talking about?
1/ You do not have to pay for your jacket.
2/ Some members are hockers, some are not at all; it’s quite likely that they would be hockers were they members of the organization or not.
3/ Having been a member for many years, I can say that I’ve never seen anyone drive through a light, let alone a stop sign, without lights/sirens, without having been dispatched to a call.
4/ I agree that sometimes, because of zealousness to participate, the number of people on a call could be a hindrance, the net effect is that there are always individuals available who are trained just like everyone else (if not more so), make themselves available 24/7/365, provide response times that rival the City or other Private ambulances corps tremendously, and yes, as you noted, provide free service.
Jameel this post was meant to highlight in backhanded way that we are hating om hatzolah but they do so much good. No Jameel your not a hocker.
Oh and I’m coming to Israel in 3 weeks
“Maybe more people would call Hatzolah if some hot Bais Yaakov girls were giving you CPR and pumping your chest. We love to hate because its so easy to hate hockers”-Hesh
Actually the whole beard and payos thing really turns me on.Ever got mouth to mouth from these guys? you can taste the residual shmaltz herring and gefillah fish in their salivah!!
No, hockers by this point in time aren’t defined by being street smart as much as they are defined by their annoying attitudes and modes of dress.
Intereting because I never knew Chasidish Hatzalah guys. But there were a ton of young dads on my block who were in Hatzalah when I was a kid/teen. Back then I gotta say I thought that seeing them run down the sidewalk on Shabbat, their walkie-talkies a-buzzing, their vans screeching out of the driveway was kind of hot.
On the other hand – my next-door neighbor was a Hatzalah bigwig who would literally seemed to go on at least 5 calls every Shabbat. He was married with 4 kids and I felt pretty sorry for his family. Every time they sat down to a meal or it was time to put the kids down for a nap – he was gone. I guess that meant that his wife could never leave the house on Shabbos to visit people.
-(continued).
But as annoyed as I sometimes felt at that dude, let me stress that I think that Hatzalah does a tremendous amout of good, and they really do come extremely quickly when you call them.
However, I do get annoyed when I think about how women have been banned from Hatzalah, at least the ones in Brooklyn, Teaneck, and almost every other nabe I know. There might be 1 or 2 nabes that allow women paramedics, but I don’t know of them. I guess women hockers are not considered tznius?
Also, I get annoyed – and this may be minor – and how they actually spell it Hatzoloh on several venues, including the ambulance pushkas in the pizza stores. I’m sorry, but I don’t like how people spell matzah as “matzo” or Yisrael as “Yisroel.” Just a pet peeve. 😉
No, hockers by this point in time aren’t defined by being street smart as much as they are defined by their annoying attitudes and modes of dress.
And the keys! Don’t forget the keys. Heshy, don’t you have a hocker post somewhere around here?
I have 2 close relatives that are in Hatzalah for many years (almost since the beginning). They are MO (though I suspect that one of them is faking it 🙂 and neither one ever attended YU) and over the years have turned into hockers, 2 or 3 cellphones, the radio, the keys, the hanging belt, all of it. Do hockers have bluetooth earpieces nowadays? Can you use one of those on shabbat for pikuach nefesh?
Mike
So your telling me the old shcool oversized-yarmulke-in-front-head,10,00-keys-jingling overweight over-dramatized-story-teller hocker types are a thing of the past?
I agree – hockers are definitely the keys, although the bluetooth also adds.
I remember the hockers in camp where always the girls with tons of keys around their neck that allowed them into all the cool secret places. Like cupboards in the kitchen and stuff. You were always at their mercy, and they would walk around with a bit of a strut and an “I am cool” kind of an air. It has since been my mission to accumulate as many keys as possible so I, too, can be cool. I have about 4.
Mark –
did i stutter?
I’m hoping that they dont open the Hatzola down by me, but if they do, i hope we keep our Good Samaritan law the way it is, so when they do kill people, they can get their pants sued so they get shut down…
Your right how could I forget the blue tooth.The “I am a slave to my money”bluetooth so I never have a spare second to relax the entire day. I could eat my fast food and close a deal at the same time,whilst Im supposed to be sitting at the dinner table with my family.WHAT AHOLES
Mark, you’re probably right on the reason it was used for examples in class. There are probably similar examples from FDNY/hospitals that could have been used, but teacher preferences run towards agencies the teacher has an issue with.
Also, I spoke too quickly on the dress question. I actually don’t know why Hatzolah won’t speak to me about membership despite several attempts to get in touch with them. I’ve just always assumed it was my less-than-charedi (to say the least) air, personality, and dress. It’s not my experience, because they haven’t spoken to me long enough to know anything beyond that I’m a paramedic wanting to join.
Mark I have the How to be a hocker post.
http://frumsatire.net/2007/10/17/how-to-be-a-hocker/
Hatzola only allows women as dispatchers. They also only allow married men to serve (at least in Montreal).
Despite some of them being in it for the “glory”, they are all very commited and do a wonderful job. With 6 kids, I’ve used their services often, and they are one of the causes I support on a regular basis.
Let’s face it, how many of us would run out in middle of you Shabbos dinner or jump out of bed in the winter to help someone out free of charge?
In my area, their response time is amazing, do to us having members living on almost every block and davening in every shul in the area. Yes they get to have the annoying walky talkies on Shabbos, but they don’t get to use flashing lights or sirens in Quebec, it’s against the law.
They always dispatch pairs of people, usually one more experienced that supervises the less experience guy, at leasty when injuries aren’t too serious.
1
Phil
Question:If Hatzolah only hires married hariedi men(which seems a bit sexist to me,but hey it’s a volanteer orginization for a good cause, so Ill let my liberal subjective sensitivities forgive them,this time)what happens when they must do mouth to a female,
+Random question
I am a Hatzolah member in NYC; I’ve been on plenty of respiratory/cardiac arrest calls. We do NOT make mouth to mouth contact with a patient. That’s what the BVM is for (bag valve mask).
the oregano encrusted tzedaka box depot at every pizza store
love the image!
Just out of curiosity, how many babies have Hatzloloh guys actually delivered?
I have a friend of a friend who refused to let the Hatzaloh guys deliver her baby, because she was embarassed.
during the big snow storm of ’11, we delivered 7 babies in the B alone.
& hey, dont believe ur friend-of-friend. cuz we have the traininng & meds to deal with women that refuse care.
Druggie,
I’m sure it’s happened in the past, but usually women can figure out they’re going to have a baby before it’s a last second emergency and need to call hatzola.
However, if it did happen and she no longer wait, she would be stupid to endager the life of her child because of the few minutes a friend or neighbor might see her bush / tush. It’s not like it’s that attractive when the head’s popping out of it.
Whatever you say but at the end of the day when you have a life or death real emergency on your hands and you call Hatzalah and they show up almost immediately after you hang up the phone….. As someone whos had such emergencies with my children.. you should know that a nice frum hatzalah member who offers to watch your other children while you go to the hospital with one, who gets you through the red tape to the best most immediate care in the hospital, and saves your childs life by their deligence. ( There were no hockers around just people doing chesed calling superiors to make sure they were administarting correctly) I think noone should say a word about them. Let them take illegal spots and run lights. I want them around when I need them….
kissmei’mshomer,
I don’t like how people use tzni’ut/s as an adjective.
It means modesty, not modest.
that was me before
There are women on Hatzolah in Washington Heights
Will hatzolah guys give mouth to mouth to a female?
If hatzalah is only employs hariedi men, I hope they give them the “hasid shoyteh”breifing before they take the job.I would hate to have an hatzoloh guy endager the life of a female because he is too frum.
Now if it was me Id probably volunteer to take the job just for the rare possibility.I can just picture the sceen.”Frum innocent Bais Yaacov girl recieves mouth to mouth from hariedi hatzoloh volunteer”, yeshivah world beat reporter questions of he was l’shem shamayim.
“There are women on Hatzolah in Washington Heights”
FALSE.
Random,
Their is no such thing as endagering a females life because the guys to frum. I human being life comes first, and they’re all trained to know and internalize that. The frum BY girl is better off getting mouth to mouth than being dead.
What I would like to know is what happens when a Washington Heights guy gets his shmekel stuck in his zipper?
….yes, SOME Hatzaloh guy are complete losers and the line I hear sometimes is “Hatzaloh saves lives…sometimes the patient, sometimes the member”….but in every category of life there are morons….
but overall, they help us.
So basically, you ARE an AHOLE just like those few Hatzaloh AHOLES if you across the board bash Hatzaloh.
I bash the few AHOLE individuals frequently.
In my neighborhood, there is a shortage for hatzloah volunteers. When one of the rabbis found this out he joined and held the class at the shul. He urged people to join. He didn’t say if women could join but, I doubt it.
Fun tidbit: one of the pizza delivery guys is a volunteer. So corny, I told him I was *dying* of hunger….
I agree that Hatzolah is a good service, but sometimes they turn on the sirens to beat traffic, unlike what someone else said.
I was once going down Ave J, crossing Ocean Parkway and a Hatzolah guy who got tired of waiting to turn, turned on his siren and turned in front of me and a few others.
How do I know he wasn’t on a call?
Because immediately after the turn, he shut off his siren and he was not talking on a radio at any point.
It is guys like these that give Hatzolah a bad name.
In case said Hatzolah guy is reading it, it was on a Friday, you were fat with a white shirt, and were driving an old Chevy Lumina or something similar.
Arrghh! I am so pissed off by this blatant abuse of lights and siren. It makes me less likely to yield to a Hatzolah siren next time.
Another thing I have seen Hatzolah guys do is use their siren to intimidate other drivers. If you cut off in front of Hatzolah guy, he’ll turn on his siren and pretend to be a cop.
Tell me if that isn’t illegal.
y the hell do u give a crap if he ran the light?!? It’s not like he’s a cop & being a hypocrite & fining u 4 something he does as well. So occasionaly the member gets to use his lights for his favor. WHO CARES?!?! 98% of the times its being used for YOU. & 2% for himself, big deal!!
regarding faking to be a cop, thats plain BS
Phil,
The shmekie in the zipper thing is a classic scene in the movie Mother, Jugs and Speed with Bill Cosby and the sexy and gorgeous Raquel Welch.
The Hatzalah guy, is a great guy(I don’t know him personally, but I see him on ALOT of calls). I also saw him yesterday around the time of the incident on Empire WITH FLASHING LIGHTS. He is just doing his part as a yid to help others, that’s dedication, maybe PD can learn from him.
keep up the great work!
Thank You!!!
hatzoloh doesnt give mouth to mouth
the first guy that actually knows what he’s talkin about. we got AmbuBags for that.
Hatzola doesn’t just hire “chareidi” men. I know m.o, Chabads, bt’s and other that are long standing members.
Regardless, any man is allowed to give any woman mouth to mouth for resuscitation purposes.
So what if they use their sirens to beat traffic or burn lights? I see cops and ambulances doing it all the time, and I bet 99% of you would do the same if given the chance. I know I would.
J walking and talking on the phone while driving are illegal too, and just as if not more dangerous. How many of you do those?
Thanks for this post. You wouldn’t believe the stupid things people call for — they use Hatzalah as their 24-on-call doctor because they don’t want to wait in the ER. Someone actually once called our local Hatzalah FROM THE ER because they weren’t being seen fast enough. The dispatcher told them that Hatzalah doesn’t have privileges at that hospital.
Hatzalah is supposed to be for life or death emergencies, since most Fire Depts are too overburdened to respond quickly enough. Everything else can wait for 911. People don’t think about the fact that this is someone’s husband/father that they’re taking away from his family, or dragging out of bed in the middle of the night, because they have a stomach ache.
Doniel,
Saw that when I was a kid, still remember the scene. Of course there is also the famous Ben Stiller one in Something about Mary.
Heter for metzitza anyone?
I wrote this post as a test to see if anyone understood the humor behind the obvious complimentary nature of the post…
I love hatzolah, everyone has faults, lets look past all of it and see the good.
Yochanan – all right, I meant “not tzanua.”
I was once driving by on Ave I in Brooklyn which is usually quite empty. Anyways my brother and I noticed a man suffering from a seizure in middle of the street and we immediately called 911 who told us that they were sending an ambulance. The ambulance took way to long and we decided to call Hatzaloh which took a whopping (at most) 30 seconds to be at the scene. 5 minutes later after all the hatzaloh guys were finished helping out, finally a lame ambulance showed up. My advice to you is to call Hatzaloh before you call an ambulance which also does charge a ton of money as mentioned in the post.
has been nothing but helpful to me. I think there’s not much comedy to do, if all you can do is pick on the minority of hatzala drivers.
No, woman cant be hatzala paramedics, but that doesnt mean that hatzala wouldnt treat a woman, ffs.
I <3 Hatzolah
i dont have hatzalah where i live but if we got it…why the hell would i complain? it is a beautiful thing these men do. also, i think it is blatantly obvious why they only hire married men. it is not sexist at all, this is a frum jewish organization with standards.
and anyone who says that hatzalah doesnt give cpr is full of crap…so please stop talking.
Preface: I’m a girl (woman) from NY. There is no Hatzalah in my immediate area (currently not enough of a community to sustain it).
One of the reasons– actually, the main reason– I became interested in EMS was Hatzalah. I thought that it was awesome (in the literal meaning of the word) that there were these people who literally stopped in the middle of what they were doing– even Shabbos meals and sleeping!– to respond to a call. And I wanted to be part of that. Then I found out that Hatzalah didn’t take women to respond to calls, and I don’t want to do dispatch.
Last year I volunteered with Magen David Adom (in Israel) and discovered that Hatzalah in Israel does take women (in certain areas). I would like to find a way for women to volunteer in Hatzalah in the US, especially in underserved areas; I don’t think that any Hatzalah in Brooklyn or Queens will take women, but we’ll see what happens with some others. If anyone has any ideas or knows who to contact, please let me know.
It bothers me that Hatzalah won’t take women– I’ve heard the reasons, and I think they’re not good reasons. If someone is going on an ambulance on a call for chest pain/difficulty breathing/sliced hand or foot/allergic reaction/pick-your-favorite-call, it’s hardly romantic. It’s either a real call, in which case you’re concentrating on the patient and not the other/s in the ambulance or at the call with you, or it’s BS, in which case you’re thinking, “Really? They called Hatzalah for THIS?!” Maybe on the way back it could be an issue, but there’s nothing romance-inducing about coming back at some ungodly hour after either an intense call or a stupid call (which make up 90% of the calls). If it’s an unsafe area– it’s unsafe, no matter who is there. If it’s pikuach nefesh– it’s pikuach nefesh and someone who won’t work with/touch someone of the opposite gender is a chasid shoteh.
A very good argument for having women as responders in Hatzalah is a tznius reason– women would be able to be treated by a woman, especially if it’s a obstetrical or gynecological call.
Since your an EMT u’ll relate to this. Theres no compairison when the responding units corelate to each other & are from a tight knit unit. There fore, from the units prospective, we don’t want to have the intercommunication of women & men in tthe force.
therefore the restriction
But Lauren that would mean many people have to acknowledge that women have brains and that is assur as you know.
i’m a 16 girl and hatzala saved my life at least 5 times in the last 3 years. so if they want to run lights sometimes thats fine by me. and ye some of them are losers but i never actually had to deal with one so im guessing the majority of them are normal
Everyone keeps saying Mouth to mouth…… NO MOUTH RO MOUTH! We have Ambu Bags for that!