Rabbi Benzion Mutzafi, one of the leading Sephardic rabbis, ruled that it is a mitzvah (Torah commandment) to report to the police anyone selling or playing with firecrackers.
Rabbi Mutzafi issued the ruling as a response to a question by one of his students.
The student asked if it is permissible to notify the police because "firecrackers are being sold freely and many people are people using them.”
The rabbi replied with a definite yes: "Absolutely. It is considered a mitzvah of ‘love your neighbor as you love yourself,’ and also about saving the weak. There are many small children, mothers, babies, people suffering from heart disease, weak people, who might hear the sounds of the firecrackers, panic and scream," he said.
Kikar Hashabbat quoted Rabbi Mutzafi as saying, "In addition to all this, there are many people these days who have served in Gaza. They are suffering from anxiety and shell-shock. They are heroes and men of great strength, and even them, when they hear the sounds of explosions, will instinctively get a fright. It is a great mitzvah to avoid harming or scaring anyone in Israel, especially these days."