crazy story.

A two year old boy disappeared from Bnei Braq the other day. The police put out calls with the kids description. He was found on a bus to Netivot, 95 or so kilometers away, with is bimba. All he wanted, he said, was to go on a trip with his bimba on a bus.
sources: Ynet and Ynet

How he got on without paying or anyone noticing that he was alone is strange. The driver must have thought he was with one of the other passengers - children under the age of 5 ride free when accompanied by an adult.

Anyways, the kid is ok and the visiting family went back to New York.

I admit that when I first saw the headline I thought that the kid had gotten on his bimba and rode on it all the way to Netivot which was both frightening and made me wonder how he could go so far without being stopped. The actual story was a bit of a relief.

Have bimba will travel!

The rabbonim of Mattesdorf have gotten together to ban, or prohibit, the use of bimbos on Shabbos in the streets of the neighborhood.



it seems using bimbos in the streets during the week is ok, as is using bimbos in private on Shabbos - just not in the street on Shabbos.

I do not know how many women in Mattesdorf are considered bimbos, but looks like things are going to be changing out there for them...

just joking, but that is what happens when a sign is written and they do not check it for spelling. They were one letter off, but it changed bimba to bimbo.

So, don't use your bimbas or your bimbos in public on Shabbos, just in case. We have to assume the "ksiv" and the "kree"..

Yes, those little innocent bimbas, with little innocent children on them, can be dangerous.

They go flying down roads on Shabbos at high speeds. Until now the main form of damage caused was to the kids shoes that are used as brakes. There was possibly the occasional injury as well. The main problem until now has been complaints about the noise caused by these bimbas, disturbing people resting in their homes.

This past Shabbos in Bnei Braq an 80 year old rav was involved in a bimba crash. As he was on his way home from shul on Friday night, was hit by a speeding bimba. The rav was knocked over and broke his nose in the process.
(source: bechadrei)

Maybe the State should regulate bimba driving and require licenses and driving regulations...

3.........2................1...........[gun shoots]. And they're off!

Shabbos in a religious neighborhood means you have very few cars, if any, driving on the streets. That makes it relatively safe for the kids to play in the streets.
One of the favorite pastimes of the kids is what I call "Bimba Drag Racing".

Those little plastic "bikes" pictured to the left are what we call in Hebrew - "Bimbas". I have no idea what they are called in English. They are normally used by 1-2 year olds who cannot yet ride a tricycle.


But on Shabbos they take on a new life. Kids, up to the age of 6 or 7, can be seen riding them down the streets. A real adventurous one will even have a passenger riding along. And being that Bet Shemesh and Jerusalem (and it is popular as well in Zichron Yaakov according to a fellow twitterer) are so hilly (I doubt the Bimbas are used the same way in flatter terrains), the popular Shabbos afternoon activity is rumbling down the streets at high speed on the bimbas.

These bimbas make a tremendous amount of noise, considering the thick hard plastic wheels, and the weight of the 6 year old kid (or two of them) on it, rolling down a paved street, and if the kid rides right by you it feels like the beginning of a mild earthquake.. The best is when the kid hits a speed bump, and it looks like the driver is destined to be thrown from the bimba, but he holds steady and hangs on. Very cool, but very noisy.

The real ruckus is when , as I saw this shabbos, what might be called the bimba drag race. Not just one bimba hurtling down the hill, but 3 bimbas, each with 2 kids on it, were hurtling down the hill at high speed. I nearly lost my stomach watching it, but these kids were in heaven!

Some want to spoil the kids fun. A psak was printed in the local weekly "mekomon" (local newspaper) Chadash that says riding bimbas on shabbos is prohibited. The psak was from the Rav of Kiryat Sefer/Modiin Ilit, Rav Meir Kessler. Rav Kessler bases his prohibition on the fact that it is dangerous (I dont know of any bimba injuries, though I can easily see it happening), along with the fact that it is noisy and robs families of the restful Shabbos. Therefore, Rav Kessler says, using bimbas is prohibited in public areas and Shabbos and holidays, both because of the disturbance, and because of the behavior itself.

Will this be the end of Bimba Drag Racing?