I'm really beginning to feel my age. I'm Charley-horsed and the aches and pains seem to persist for days. I'm noticeably weaker than i was just a few years ago. Even if it was not the sure precursor of old-age , infirmity and death middle age would stink in it's own right.
Observing and experiencing the deterioration of my physical plant wouldn't be nearly so troubling if at least I saw some sort of trade-off in terms of spiritual or even professional advancement. I'm well past the age where one can take solace in koikhos, talents and future opportunities. My future opportunities are all in the past. At my age one would like to take pride in a full and significant resume. Mine is underwhelming and sparse.
Perhaps part of the allure of the Mystical tradition is that it teaches that the humdrum, workaday acts of a Jew for good or bad, are grave and of cosmic import. And while I believe this to be true on an intellectual level I think that I lack the visceral emunah that would allow this particular opiate to relieve the pain of a mediocre and insignificant life.
It's tough growing older but not better. And please don't mistake this for an Elul or t'shuva schmooze. That's a whole different project. Teshuva isn't about getting better, it's about getting different.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Imitation...the Sincerest Form of Parody
Or...Blackout Windows
Harmless? Hardly. This is marketing done corporate style. Rather than taking a principled stand and giving those Polak two-bit ainiklakh of Nazi collaborators what-for Microsoft prefers to manipulate the facts to fit some preconceived notion of the ideal White, Female and Yellow (Vietnamese??) society. And then ...botch the job with a tell-tale melanin-enriched hand to boot! In their imagination-land black skins are unprofessional, or not IT savvy and the fact that some corporations employ computer-literate Black executives must not be revealed. This is categorically the same as letting your kid think that President Obama is ethnically White, or pretending that every White robber baron was a philanthropist and a prince. It is also categorically the same as what some low-level fund-raiser running Chaim Berlin’s direct mail campaign did when he opted for photo shopping a blue shirt white.
The other blogs are making Polish jokes about but I see nothing funny about Microsoft’s sin. And make no mistake; I think the error is grave. With one click of the mouse, they airbrushed an African-Americans head and announced themselves, as cowards, frauds, liars and panderers to racists in a monoracial, backward, jingoistic society. I don't see how any IT consumer can continue to trust that software designer and manufacturer. What computer user with half a brain would word process, power-point or sheet-spread with software made by people who cavalierly delete inconvenient facts? And why would you wish to improve the bottom line of a company that judges a black face something that ought to be hidden?
Posted in homage to a great post by a great blogger.
Like seemingly every other obscure blogger with fewer than three regular readers, I, too, read the article by Peter Lauria, business writer for the NY Post, about the latest shenanigans at Microsoft.
In brief:
In an ad campaign targeting the US market a Microsoft ad showcasing their IT business software carried a picture of a typical boardroom in corporate America with a white woman, Asian man and, uh oh, a black man seated around a conference table.
In brief:
In an ad campaign targeting the US market a Microsoft ad showcasing their IT business software carried a picture of a typical boardroom in corporate America with a white woman, Asian man and, uh oh, a black man seated around a conference table.
But for the Polish market Microsoft ran the same exact picture in the ad only now, the black business executive has magically been turned white. All except his hand that is.
Harmless? Hardly. This is marketing done corporate style. Rather than taking a principled stand and giving those Polak two-bit ainiklakh of Nazi collaborators what-for Microsoft prefers to manipulate the facts to fit some preconceived notion of the ideal White, Female and Yellow (Vietnamese??) society. And then ...botch the job with a tell-tale melanin-enriched hand to boot! In their imagination-land black skins are unprofessional, or not IT savvy and the fact that some corporations employ computer-literate Black executives must not be revealed. This is categorically the same as letting your kid think that President Obama is ethnically White, or pretending that every White robber baron was a philanthropist and a prince. It is also categorically the same as what some low-level fund-raiser running Chaim Berlin’s direct mail campaign did when he opted for photo shopping a blue shirt white.The other blogs are making Polish jokes about but I see nothing funny about Microsoft’s sin. And make no mistake; I think the error is grave. With one click of the mouse, they airbrushed an African-Americans head and announced themselves, as cowards, frauds, liars and panderers to racists in a monoracial, backward, jingoistic society. I don't see how any IT consumer can continue to trust that software designer and manufacturer. What computer user with half a brain would word process, power-point or sheet-spread with software made by people who cavalierly delete inconvenient facts? And why would you wish to improve the bottom line of a company that judges a black face something that ought to be hidden?
Posted in homage to a great post by a great blogger.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
What's Holiness Got to Do With It?
Just to clarify there is nothing holy about my blog. Unlike some Bloggish Holy Warriors I don't delude myself into thinking that this is some kind of Kiruv tool.
What started as a fun hobby has morphed into a sick obsession. Plain and simple i have a need for attention that is not coming from a healthy place. That's why I blog. I have come close to admitting as much several times on the blog itself. I now do so explicitly.
Qedusha Havdala...have YOU had YOURS today???
What started as a fun hobby has morphed into a sick obsession. Plain and simple i have a need for attention that is not coming from a healthy place. That's why I blog. I have come close to admitting as much several times on the blog itself. I now do so explicitly.
Qedusha Havdala...have YOU had YOURS today???
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Waking Up is hard to Do....
with apologies to the Rambam and Neal Sedaka
ז [ד] אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁתְּקִיעַת שׁוֹפָר בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה גְּזֵרַת הַכָּתוּב, רְמָז יֵשׁ בּוֹ: כְּלוֹמַר עוּרוּ עוּרוּ יְשֵׁנִים מִשִּׁינַתְכֶם, וְהָקִיצוּ
נִרְדָּמִים מִתַּרְדֵּמַתְכֶם; וְחַפְּשׂוּ בְּמַעֲשֵׂיכֶם וְחִזְרוּ בִּתְשׁוּבָה, וְזִכְרוּ בּוֹרַאֲכֶם. אֵלּוּ הַשּׁוֹכְחִים אֶת הָאֱמֶת בְּהַבְלֵי הַזְּמָן, וְשׁוֹגִים כָּל שְׁנָתָם בְּהֶבֶל וְרִיק אֲשֶׁר לֹא יוֹעִיל וְלֹא יַצִּיל--הַבִּיטוּ לְנַפְשׁוֹתֵיכֶם, וְהֵטִיבוּ דַּרְכֵיכֶם וּמַעַלְלֵיכֶם; וְיַעֲזֹב כָּל אֶחָד מִכֶּם דַּרְכּוֹ הָרָעָה, וּמַחְשַׁבְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר לֹא טוֹבָה
To the tune of Breaking up is Hard to Do
Don't take Your love away from me
Don't You leave me cause of my insanity
If you go then I'll be even a worse excuse for a Jew
'Cause waking up is hard to do
That slippery slope sure is steep
One misstep drags another till I fell asleep
I’m in hibernation; don’t know when I’ll come to,
'Cause waking up is hard to do
Remember at Sinai you held me tight
And you tagged me “Chosen-swell-allright”
Forget the present just remember the debut
'Cause Waking Up Is Hard To Do
They say that waking up is hard to do
Now I know, I know that it's true
Don't say that נעילה is the end
Instead of a halfway messy cleanup,
I wish that I was waking up again
I beg of You,
don't write or seal that I will die
Can't You give my T’shuva another try?
Gutt in Himmel I’m deep in stew
Gevalt-waking up is hard to do
ז [ד] אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁתְּקִיעַת שׁוֹפָר בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה גְּזֵרַת הַכָּתוּב, רְמָז יֵשׁ בּוֹ: כְּלוֹמַר עוּרוּ עוּרוּ יְשֵׁנִים מִשִּׁינַתְכֶם, וְהָקִיצוּ
נִרְדָּמִים מִתַּרְדֵּמַתְכֶם; וְחַפְּשׂוּ בְּמַעֲשֵׂיכֶם וְחִזְרוּ בִּתְשׁוּבָה, וְזִכְרוּ בּוֹרַאֲכֶם. אֵלּוּ הַשּׁוֹכְחִים אֶת הָאֱמֶת בְּהַבְלֵי הַזְּמָן, וְשׁוֹגִים כָּל שְׁנָתָם בְּהֶבֶל וְרִיק אֲשֶׁר לֹא יוֹעִיל וְלֹא יַצִּיל--הַבִּיטוּ לְנַפְשׁוֹתֵיכֶם, וְהֵטִיבוּ דַּרְכֵיכֶם וּמַעַלְלֵיכֶם; וְיַעֲזֹב כָּל אֶחָד מִכֶּם דַּרְכּוֹ הָרָעָה, וּמַחְשַׁבְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר לֹא טוֹבָה
To the tune of Breaking up is Hard to Do
Don't take Your love away from me
Don't You leave me cause of my insanity
If you go then I'll be even a worse excuse for a Jew
'Cause waking up is hard to do
That slippery slope sure is steep
One misstep drags another till I fell asleep
I’m in hibernation; don’t know when I’ll come to,
'Cause waking up is hard to do
Remember at Sinai you held me tight
And you tagged me “Chosen-swell-allright”
Forget the present just remember the debut
'Cause Waking Up Is Hard To Do
They say that waking up is hard to do
Now I know, I know that it's true
Don't say that נעילה is the end
Instead of a halfway messy cleanup,
I wish that I was waking up again
I beg of You,
don't write or seal that I will die
Can't You give my T’shuva another try?
Gutt in Himmel I’m deep in stew
Gevalt-waking up is hard to do
Qedusha-havdala-have you had your today??? Hmm??
Monday, August 24, 2009
Division of Labor
Apologia
"Ya know Leibish… I mamish can’t believe it. Today by lunch the cook served soy protein balls and had the chutzpah to call them meatballs. Such a liar!!! I think es failt eppes in the nekudas haEmes in this mokom. I don’t know if I can be mamshikh over here. "
"Meir I think this might be the end. You remember that shevrer RebKivaEiger we were tummeling about yesterday? Well I went over to the Director of development and he tried forcing a teretz that not only I couldn’t be mekabel but hr himself knew az ess laigt zikh nisht off’n kop. Meila when someone is making a tous but doesn’t see it.. meheykhe teisa. But to be so dishonest in learning that you’re trying to farkoif someone else on a doikhek you don’t believe in yourself… (Shakes his head in disappointed disillusionment)".
These stories are of course absurd because there is a division of labor and delegation of authority within a Yeshiva structure. One shouldn’t blame the Yeshiva cook if the bukhrim are late for minyan or the yungerleit are spending too much time in the coffee-room nor the director of development if the cook under-salts his food or the vekker isn’t getting the dormers up in the morning.
So to lay the blame on the yeshivas educational/spiritual leadership for some low-level historical revisionism that some low-man-in-the-totem-pole in the Yeshivas administrative offices hatched is at least equally preposterous.
Ay.. you’ll cite for me the 60 year old mayseh (scroll down to page 2..."the false tree")of Rav Ahron Kotler and the imbalanced trees in the receipt book...
A. He was genius enough, and his Yeshiva small enough, that the could still micromanage and sweat all the little details.
B. This is an obvious מדת חסידות of integrity, a level of honesty that not only seems beyond our ken but which seems to us, lacking his level of sensitivity nothing more than obscurantist and/or metaphysical mumbo jumbo.
That story is hardly comparable to the current cause celebre'. That packing empty tables or blanching blue-shirts might be seen as somewhat less than truthful packaging for THE PRODUCT ITSELF is almost reasonable. But the number of trees in the yeshiva walkway? I mean admit it . If this weren’t the sainted Rav Ahron Kotler that we were talking about (and if we didn’t have the ulterior motive of another axe to grind against Chaim Berlin) then we’d write the whole thing off as the anxiety attack of an OCD, pedantic crackpot.
Here's a plausible scenario for how I imagine the whole thing may have gone down:
Middle manager: “Hey, great (eye roll) job you did on the weekly planner last year. Not only did we take flack from our right wing over the guy…”
Low-level schnook in charge of really low level direct mail fund-raising: “ bu…bu..but the left wing may have actually liked it…”
Middle manager: So what? Look at our student body… The tuition base and the main donors want white shirts…not blue. And besides were you paying the photographer overtime? What … he couldn’t wait another five minutes into the seder when the Bais Medrash is full? Look at all those empty tables. When’d he take the picture? At 9:16?”
Low-level schnook; “OK… I’ll call the guy back and have him wait till the middle of seder to shoot the picture”
Middle manager: Are you kidding? The dinner and raffles campaigns were disasters this year. You think we can afford another photo shoot? Just go with a plain cover with the Yeshivas logo
Low-level schnook: But it’s b’etzem such a nice image...
Middle manager: Ya know what?? You do what you want…but if I hear any more flack from our right wing it’ll mean your job.. there’re plenty of guys out of work now would grab it in a second.
How many of us under that kind of pressure might have failed the integrity test and taken some shortcuts to make nice to our managers?
IMO in the spirit of Elul rather than making a war-criminal out of this guy we ought to be showing a little empathy and compassion.
Qedusha-Havdala...Have you had YOURS today???Hmmmm????
"Ya know Leibish… I mamish can’t believe it. Today by lunch the cook served soy protein balls and had the chutzpah to call them meatballs. Such a liar!!! I think es failt eppes in the nekudas haEmes in this mokom. I don’t know if I can be mamshikh over here. "
"Meir I think this might be the end. You remember that shevrer RebKivaEiger we were tummeling about yesterday? Well I went over to the Director of development and he tried forcing a teretz that not only I couldn’t be mekabel but hr himself knew az ess laigt zikh nisht off’n kop. Meila when someone is making a tous but doesn’t see it.. meheykhe teisa. But to be so dishonest in learning that you’re trying to farkoif someone else on a doikhek you don’t believe in yourself… (Shakes his head in disappointed disillusionment)".
These stories are of course absurd because there is a division of labor and delegation of authority within a Yeshiva structure. One shouldn’t blame the Yeshiva cook if the bukhrim are late for minyan or the yungerleit are spending too much time in the coffee-room nor the director of development if the cook under-salts his food or the vekker isn’t getting the dormers up in the morning.
So to lay the blame on the yeshivas educational/spiritual leadership for some low-level historical revisionism that some low-man-in-the-totem-pole in the Yeshivas administrative offices hatched is at least equally preposterous.
Ay.. you’ll cite for me the 60 year old mayseh (scroll down to page 2..."the false tree")of Rav Ahron Kotler and the imbalanced trees in the receipt book...
A. He was genius enough, and his Yeshiva small enough, that the could still micromanage and sweat all the little details.
B. This is an obvious מדת חסידות of integrity, a level of honesty that not only seems beyond our ken but which seems to us, lacking his level of sensitivity nothing more than obscurantist and/or metaphysical mumbo jumbo.
That story is hardly comparable to the current cause celebre'. That packing empty tables or blanching blue-shirts might be seen as somewhat less than truthful packaging for THE PRODUCT ITSELF is almost reasonable. But the number of trees in the yeshiva walkway? I mean admit it . If this weren’t the sainted Rav Ahron Kotler that we were talking about (and if we didn’t have the ulterior motive of another axe to grind against Chaim Berlin) then we’d write the whole thing off as the anxiety attack of an OCD, pedantic crackpot.
Here's a plausible scenario for how I imagine the whole thing may have gone down:
Middle manager: “Hey, great (eye roll) job you did on the weekly planner last year. Not only did we take flack from our right wing over the guy…”
Low-level schnook in charge of really low level direct mail fund-raising: “ bu…bu..but the left wing may have actually liked it…”
Middle manager: So what? Look at our student body… The tuition base and the main donors want white shirts…not blue. And besides were you paying the photographer overtime? What … he couldn’t wait another five minutes into the seder when the Bais Medrash is full? Look at all those empty tables. When’d he take the picture? At 9:16?”
Low-level schnook; “OK… I’ll call the guy back and have him wait till the middle of seder to shoot the picture”
Middle manager: Are you kidding? The dinner and raffles campaigns were disasters this year. You think we can afford another photo shoot? Just go with a plain cover with the Yeshivas logo
Low-level schnook: But it’s b’etzem such a nice image...
Middle manager: Ya know what?? You do what you want…but if I hear any more flack from our right wing it’ll mean your job.. there’re plenty of guys out of work now would grab it in a second.
How many of us under that kind of pressure might have failed the integrity test and taken some shortcuts to make nice to our managers?
IMO in the spirit of Elul rather than making a war-criminal out of this guy we ought to be showing a little empathy and compassion.
Qedusha-Havdala...Have you had YOURS today???Hmmmm????
Chaim Berlin DEFIANCE and Apologia
first DEFIANCE
Well the J-Blogosphere is in yet another tizzy lambasting it's favorite Yeshiva-Whipping boy again. This time it's over an airbrushed and/or photoshopped cover photo on some fund-raising material. Ay yay yay...There are so many different "takes" on this issue and so little time. But I'll limit my responses bl"n to the blog that banned me where this tempest in a teapot is being treated by the utterly humorless Baal haBlog as a Nazi war crime and as grounds for the immediate closing of the Yeshiva that perpetrated the "outrage."
DovBear writes:
"I don't see how any parent can continue to trust that school. What parent with half a brain would send his son to be taught by people who cavalierly delete inconvenient facts? And why would you wish to associate yourself with a place that judges a blue shirt something that ought to be hidden? "
Well let's analyze this. First, a generic approach that could apply to any number of this genre of Yeshiva.
I don't see how any parent can continue to trust that school.
The Yeshiva boasts a top notch staff of lamdonim, yerie Shomayim who deliver intriguing shiurim designed not only to inform and educate the student but to develop their critical and resarch faculties so that, one day, they too can be lamdonim.
The yeshiva has Mashgiakh and kolleleit with whom the talmidim can thrash out their issues in hashqafa and seek guidance in their personal issues.
The students in the Yeshiva are a good crowd of boys. Basically diligent studious fellows with great She'eefos. they study till late into the night and, if not too frum to sin egregiously, are generally too busy with their studies.
And why would you wish to associate yourself with a place that judges a blue shirt something that ought to be hidden?
Gee I dunno. It's called group association. The same reason as a Yankee fan I wouldn't want to associate with those who find a Red Sox jersey innocuous. It's more than a shirt color. It's a value-system statement.
Now for some answers specific to THIS much-maligned Yeshiva.
It is an Ivy -league School with a colorful and storied history. It's been around for over a century. It's most influential dean was and is widely considered to be one of the twentieth century's seminal Jewish Thinkers and his works are best taught and studied there. It's produced some gigantic and widely influential talmidei khakhomim. It currently staffs a Rosh Kollel who has published, along with other important and serious works, a wildly popular and erudite commentarry on the Chofetz Chaim's Shemiras haLashon.
Along with a handful of other schools it is an institution that changed the face of American Orthodox Jewry. It's geographically convenient to the largest Jewish population centers in the USA. It boasts (by Yeshivisha standards) a very attractive physical plant. It has a summer retreat for it's students where Torah can be studied in a pastoral setting. Oh ya...IIRC it's also one of the few kharedi Yeshivas left that allow it's students to combine College with their Yeshiva studies in any way shape or form. Apparently all this people "who cavalierly delete inconvenient facts" are on to something and have been doing something right.
Let's play devils advocate for a moment and concede that very poor judgement and willful prevarication was exercised in the production of this FR material. I think that there are still MANY reasons someone endowed with perhaps even 7/8 s of a brain might choose to study, or enroll their progeny to study, there.
That DovBear would jump to this damning conclusion is far more revealing of his animus towards kharedim and utter disregard for the positive points, both generic and specific, that I've listed than of any passion for truth. It's kind of like saying that DovBear.blogspot.com is a worthless blog because of the occasional spelling or grammatical error. But if course only someone who hated DovBear might suggest this.
Qedusha -Havdala...have you had YOURS today???
Well the J-Blogosphere is in yet another tizzy lambasting it's favorite Yeshiva-Whipping boy again. This time it's over an airbrushed and/or photoshopped cover photo on some fund-raising material. Ay yay yay...There are so many different "takes" on this issue and so little time. But I'll limit my responses bl"n to the blog that banned me where this tempest in a teapot is being treated by the utterly humorless Baal haBlog as a Nazi war crime and as grounds for the immediate closing of the Yeshiva that perpetrated the "outrage."
DovBear writes:
"I don't see how any parent can continue to trust that school. What parent with half a brain would send his son to be taught by people who cavalierly delete inconvenient facts? And why would you wish to associate yourself with a place that judges a blue shirt something that ought to be hidden? "
Well let's analyze this. First, a generic approach that could apply to any number of this genre of Yeshiva.
I don't see how any parent can continue to trust that school.
The Yeshiva boasts a top notch staff of lamdonim, yerie Shomayim who deliver intriguing shiurim designed not only to inform and educate the student but to develop their critical and resarch faculties so that, one day, they too can be lamdonim.
The yeshiva has Mashgiakh and kolleleit with whom the talmidim can thrash out their issues in hashqafa and seek guidance in their personal issues.
The students in the Yeshiva are a good crowd of boys. Basically diligent studious fellows with great She'eefos. they study till late into the night and, if not too frum to sin egregiously, are generally too busy with their studies.
And why would you wish to associate yourself with a place that judges a blue shirt something that ought to be hidden?
Gee I dunno. It's called group association. The same reason as a Yankee fan I wouldn't want to associate with those who find a Red Sox jersey innocuous. It's more than a shirt color. It's a value-system statement.
Now for some answers specific to THIS much-maligned Yeshiva.
It is an Ivy -league School with a colorful and storied history. It's been around for over a century. It's most influential dean was and is widely considered to be one of the twentieth century's seminal Jewish Thinkers and his works are best taught and studied there. It's produced some gigantic and widely influential talmidei khakhomim. It currently staffs a Rosh Kollel who has published, along with other important and serious works, a wildly popular and erudite commentarry on the Chofetz Chaim's Shemiras haLashon.
Along with a handful of other schools it is an institution that changed the face of American Orthodox Jewry. It's geographically convenient to the largest Jewish population centers in the USA. It boasts (by Yeshivisha standards) a very attractive physical plant. It has a summer retreat for it's students where Torah can be studied in a pastoral setting. Oh ya...IIRC it's also one of the few kharedi Yeshivas left that allow it's students to combine College with their Yeshiva studies in any way shape or form. Apparently all this people "who cavalierly delete inconvenient facts" are on to something and have been doing something right.
Let's play devils advocate for a moment and concede that very poor judgement and willful prevarication was exercised in the production of this FR material. I think that there are still MANY reasons someone endowed with perhaps even 7/8 s of a brain might choose to study, or enroll their progeny to study, there.
That DovBear would jump to this damning conclusion is far more revealing of his animus towards kharedim and utter disregard for the positive points, both generic and specific, that I've listed than of any passion for truth. It's kind of like saying that DovBear.blogspot.com is a worthless blog because of the occasional spelling or grammatical error. But if course only someone who hated DovBear might suggest this.
Qedusha -Havdala...have you had YOURS today???
Sunday, August 23, 2009
The Antonym of חכמה
stupidity? ignorance? How about indiscriminate credulity or naivete?
My proof? Not an Assyrian contract or an Akkadain sacred text but a verse in the psalms
עֵדוּת יְהוָה נֶאֱמָנָה, מַחְכִּימַת פֶּתִי.=the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the credulous.
Now TBF the Mechon Mamre website that I just copied and pasted from has the last word as simple NOT as credulous. But my proof-text for the precise nuance of this simpletons simplicity is here: טו פֶּתִי, יַאֲמִין לְכָל-דָּבָר =
The Pehsee believeth every word. and so the power of "the testimony of the L-rd" AKA the Torah is to wisen up the pehsee so that he /she know longer believes everything.
I've forgotten which khokom m'umos haOlam said (I paraphrase) that "naivete' is the promiscuity of the mind." I think that this is a Torah-True hashqafa. Too much credulity lends itself to a lack of Havdala and can lead one down the slippery slope of Avodah Zarah in both it's gross and subtle iterations.
One of the popular canards about kharedim is that they are gullible and naive and have poor critical faculties. Nothing could be further from the truth . If anything the crisis in Kharedism today is the presence of too much hard-boiled cynicism and a dearth of optimistic credulity.
As the Satmar Rebbe once told the Squarer Rebbe when the latter told the former he found him insufficiently khasidish: "Please... you're being too hard on me. The only difference between you and me is the belief in one Rebbe. You believe in one while I believe in none."
In general this is what differentiates the attitude of the kharedi and secular Jew. The kharedi believes in only One G-d more than the secular Jew.
My proof? Not an Assyrian contract or an Akkadain sacred text but a verse in the psalms
עֵדוּת יְהוָה נֶאֱמָנָה, מַחְכִּימַת פֶּתִי.=the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the credulous.
Now TBF the Mechon Mamre website that I just copied and pasted from has the last word as simple NOT as credulous. But my proof-text for the precise nuance of this simpletons simplicity is here: טו פֶּתִי, יַאֲמִין לְכָל-דָּבָר =
The Pehsee believeth every word. and so the power of "the testimony of the L-rd" AKA the Torah is to wisen up the pehsee so that he /she know longer believes everything.
I've forgotten which khokom m'umos haOlam said (I paraphrase) that "naivete' is the promiscuity of the mind." I think that this is a Torah-True hashqafa. Too much credulity lends itself to a lack of Havdala and can lead one down the slippery slope of Avodah Zarah in both it's gross and subtle iterations.
One of the popular canards about kharedim is that they are gullible and naive and have poor critical faculties. Nothing could be further from the truth . If anything the crisis in Kharedism today is the presence of too much hard-boiled cynicism and a dearth of optimistic credulity.
As the Satmar Rebbe once told the Squarer Rebbe when the latter told the former he found him insufficiently khasidish: "Please... you're being too hard on me. The only difference between you and me is the belief in one Rebbe. You believe in one while I believe in none."
In general this is what differentiates the attitude of the kharedi and secular Jew. The kharedi believes in only One G-d more than the secular Jew.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Defamation of Masks
Recently an NYC Supreme Court Judge Joan Madden issued a ruling that has sent shock waves through the blogosphere and that is considered precedent setting in the field of libel and slander law.ומעשה שהי-ה כך הי-ה An anonymous blogger created a blog called skanks of NYC whose sole purpose (only post???) was to smear the reputation of a fashion model named Luskila Cohen. Ms. Cohen brought legal action against Blogger.com’s parent company Google to force them to disclose the anonymous bloggers identity so that she could then sue him or, as it turned out, her for defamation of character. The judge ruled in Ms. Cohen’s favor and now the anonymous blogger has been “outed” and slammed with a defamation suit by Ms. Cohen. In turn the formerly anonymous blogger's lawyer said he plans to pursue all her legal options against Google -- and could take the case all the way to the US Supreme Court.
I expect that Judge Madden's will be overturned at some point by an appellate court and /or that many of the underlying issues of privacy, free speech and defamation will remain unresolved until they are finally adjudicated by the Supremes. In the meantime, despite being in middle of the dog days of summer, the current ruling is a veritable blogospheric ice-storm sending us this free-spech chilling message : anonymous blogging will NOT protect the “anonymous blogger” from prosecution if they make malicious, defamatory or libelous claims on their blogs. As Ms. Cohen's attorney Steven Wagner, said he hopes the decision sends a message to bloggers, Twitterers, and whoever else would use the anonymity of the Internet for cowardly defamations. "The rules for defamation on the Web -- for actual reality as well as virtual reality -- are the same," Wagner said. "The Internet is not a free-for-all."
In this case the one hurling the defamatory epithets was anonymous while the victim was named. But I’m wondering if the same would apply in a case where the victim was ALSO anonymous. If someone shows up to a costume ball and I publish an article or blog post saying false and malicious things about their costume am I guilty of libel? Can a hollow mask sue a human being, or yet another hollow mask, for defamation of character? If I were to describe DovBear as a Qofer or NotBrisk as a fanatic could they, while keeping their own true identities secret, sue me for defamation while forcing me to reveal my own? Was Rabbi Fink thinking about any of this when he posted about "onymous" vs. anonymous blogging?
In a society where all morality is relative what even constitutes defamation anymore? After all we have had adulterers as State Governors and U.S. presidents, Drug addicts and alcoholics as top entertainers and athletes and killers (armed service veterans and hunters/trappers) in the U.S. Congress. In fact the most egregious act that Ms. Cohen was accused of is something that famed collegiate basketball coach Rick Pitino recently owned up to while keeping his high-profile job and marriage intact!
On the J-blogospghere is calling someone a Qofer, kanoi or a kal defaming them…or paying them a compliment for, respectively, their dispassionate rationality, passionate dedication or easy-going nature ?
Obviously, I who first turned to blogging in order to ventilate a severely suppressed spleen, to thaw out frozen free speech, have more than a passing academic interest in all of these questions.
Here are some quality posts that deal with the legal minutae click and absurdity of it all click.
Qedusha-Havdala...Have you had YOURS today???
Thursday, August 20, 2009
לכבוד ראש חודש אלול
I will bl"n take the day off. A break from רדיפת כבוד המדומה of page loads and comments. Respite from ביטול זמן . A sunshiny day absent אונאת דברים. Today I'll skip having to get in the last word, looking clever by comparison to another's ignorance, and refusing to acknowledge errors lest I lose the argument.
Is that the wailing and gnashing of teeth of my multitudes of readers that I hear ? Is it the hellish withdrawal torments of my teeming mosh pit of bloggish friends, fans and foes? Nah...I didn't think so.
Qedusha-Havdala...Have you had YOURS today???
Is that the wailing and gnashing of teeth of my multitudes of readers that I hear ? Is it the hellish withdrawal torments of my teeming mosh pit of bloggish friends, fans and foes? Nah...I didn't think so.
Qedusha-Havdala...Have you had YOURS today???
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Looking for Attention and Readers in All the Wrong Places
If a Blogger wants attention here is not the place.Khevra. I can bear every solitude except for being alone. I am weak. Has the time come for me to return to DovBear with bended knee and beg him to un-ban me from commenting and to restore my posting privileges? What are the relative likelihoods of success or of further humiliation?
Crow- have you eaten yours today? Hmmm? I've eaten mine.
Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places
Presenting a Clinic in how NOT to do Parshanus haMiqra last week DovBear pondered the Mitzvah of אהבת השי"ת= loving G-d. He began with a legitimate albeit hey pey question, one that was famously posed by the Ibn Ezra on the tenth commandment. How can G-d legislate emotions? It is understandable that there should be commandments governing our actions, speech and even thought But how can I be commanded how or what to feel?Dovie makes his first fatal error in resolving this question by turning to an ancient Assyrian Document. What is stated in the document and how it “answers” the question is something I will bl”n address later in the post. But for a Jewish mind and neshama looking first and foremost to Academia and ANE culture for an understanding in Torah would be laughable were it not so lamentable. The sadness is most profound as the post considers the meaning of not any old particular mitzvah among the TarYa”g but, arguably, the greatest mitzvah of them all, and among the few that can serve as the underpinning of all the rest.
Lashon Qodesh is muvdal qualitatively from all other languages. It is the language of prophecy, of revelation of creation itself. The first mans genius was expressed by his ability to intuit the proper Lashon Qodesh word for the בעלי חי-ים =animals, himself, his Creator and his helpmeet. If words in other languages bear similarity to those in Lashon Qodesh it is because the former was the universal language of mankind prior to the haflogah and presumably some residue of Lashon Qodesh remains in the 70 basic leshonos. But when making etymological comparisons one must never confuse the chicken with the egg nor forget that a chicken is alive whereas the egg represents a mere potential for life.
Torah and Mitzvos are muvdal qualitatively from all other disciplines and legal codes. Even when external similarity, to the point of identity, appears to obtain between a particular din of the Torah and a law of human invention we disallow being adjudicated under the latter
מַגִּיד דְּבָרָו לְיַעֲקֹב; חֻקָּיו וּמִשְׁפָּטָיו, לְיִשְׂרָאֵל.
He declareth His word unto Jacob, His statutes and His ordinances unto Israel.
לֹא עָשָׂה כֵן, לְכָל-גּוֹי-- וּמִשְׁפָּטִים בַּל-יְדָעוּם:הַלְלוּ-יָהּ.
He hath not dealt so with any nation; and as for His ordinances, they have not known them. (cp first Rashi in Parshas Mishpatim.)
We can never hope to apprehend the meaning of Torah unless we first turn to the bearers of the Mesorah who were plugged into the Sinai-given methodology for interpretation and who were acutely sensitive to the Qedusha and Havdala of the Torah.
The Rambam provides two paths to achieving Ahavas haShem; studying Torah and contemplating nature. In both cases the love begins with the spark of affinity one develops for a great author or artist when swept away by the beauty and truth of their works. Why such an approach would not resonate with DovBear and the cubbies is painfully obvious. Having accepted human, nay LATE human authorship of wide swaths of the Torah even if one is moved to ecstasy by Torah study there is now a disconnect between the Torah and it's true Author-the מלמד תורה לעמו ישראל. Having posited evolution as a fact and not as a theory many degrees of separation intervene between the בורא עולם and the עולמות that He created. I’d hardly be as big a fan of Mozart were I to discover that he’d only composed a five note basic melody for eine kleine nachtmusik but that the full orchestration was the collaborative work of a team of musicians spread out over decades or centuries.
The Ramban says that אהבה= the love of G-d is the underpinning of all מצוות עשה=positive commandments and that יראה = the awe of G-d is the underpinning of all מצוות לא עשה =negative commandments. And as love is the greater of the two modes of relating to G-d, in cases of conflict עשה דוחה לא תעשה =positive commands supersede negative commands. The Alter Rebbe (HT for correction to Not Brisk Yeshivish) explained that the Ramban is not describing psychological motivations for performance but rather the spiritual dynamic involved. Love is expansive and awe is contractive.
As G-d and His love are infinite any finite metaphor or allegory that we use to explain it will, of course, be inadequate. In Torah law and lore Yisrael’s love of G-d is, by turns, compared to that of a child for a parent, a sister for a brother or a wife/lover for a husband. When writing about the love of G-d the Rambam compares it to the obsessive, all-consuming, infatuation a lovelorn man has for a radiant woman.
The Rambam also writes that conscious erotic thoughts reside only in the hearts of Am ha’Aratzim, hearts that are devoid of Torah.
Per Khazal the love of G-d compels us to lay down our very lives rather than worship false deities yet only compels us to part with our property to avoid transgression of other sins. Per the Poskim the love of G-d prohibits us from kissing our children or anything other than a Torah Scroll in a synagogue. When pondering the meaning of the Mitzvah to love HaShem why didn’t Dovie turn to any and all of THESE Qeduhsa infused sources?
And now it’s time to set a well-deserved match to the house of straw that DovBear built. The very approach that the Assyrian document has any bearing at all on the definition of a Torah word is predicated on...
A. The notion that the word is a period based idiom addressed only to it’s “original audience” and thus has little or no relationship to contemporary meanings that we attach to the word “love” and that
B. Devarim is of later and separate authorship than the rest of the Torah.
Both these postulates are an anathema to שלומי אמוני ישראל who believe in...
A. Divine authorship of ALL the khumashim presented either megillah megillah or khasumah to K’lal Yisrael before they crossed the Yarden and
B. That the Torah is addressed to all generations of Jews :
כִּי אֶת-אֲשֶׁר יֶשְׁנוֹ פֹּה, עִמָּנוּ עֹמֵד הַיּוֹם, לִפְנֵי, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ; וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר אֵינֶנּוּ פֹּה, עִמָּנוּ הַיּוֹם.
but with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day--
The "loyalty" definition of love that DovBear proposes here will not work for the many other places in the Torah where the word is applied; love of the peer, love of the righteous convert et al.
Nor does the “new” definition answer the question any better than the old one. Loyalty is also an emotion or set of emotions. Is the commandment to emote? Or merely to behave in a way that one actually feeling such an emotion/ range of emotions would? IMO it is the former with this caveat; if one has opened their hearts to all that would fan the flames of Ahavas haShem and avoided all that might douse them but still does not feel the love viscerally - one has fulfilled the Mitzvah. But if, as DovBear seems to think, this is not necessary then love can mean behaving as one infatuated would just as easily as it could mean behaving as one loyal would.
I’m really disappointed in DovBear. I really expected much more from an avowed fan of piyut. Or has he never sung Yedid Nefesh with any feeling?
הדור נאה זיו העולם, נפשי חולת אהבתיך, אנא קל נא רפא נא לה, בהראות לה נועם זיוך- אז תתחזק ותתרפא והיתה לה שמחת-שפחת עולם
I would paraphrase Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt's review of the new Koren Siddur and suggest that "[Khazal and the Meforshim's understanding of Gottleib sings in King David's key instead of [DovBears understanding ]that clumsily sags under the weight of [Academic-philological] correctness and emotional impotence." "
Finally I feel so sorry for HaShem, kavayokhol. Nebikh! Due to the Mega-J-Bloggers krumkeit and דעות כוזבותHis infinite love for DovBear will go so unrequited.
Qedusha-havdala...Have you had YOURS today???
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
On the Street Where YOU Live
Finally, the article relates how the streets in KJ are named after famous Jewish Towns in the Alte Heim Kozhnitz Zenta (HUH???) Satmar, Sighet, Lizhensk, Dinov to name a few. I know that in many newer developments in Lakewood and Monsey this penchant for Jewish Street names exists as well. The most preposterous one of all is that counterintuitive intersection in Chicago Illinois of Torah V'Chesed Way and Golda Meir Boulevard.
I've been to SquareTown and there the streets are named after US Presidents; Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt. Why do you suppose that in Square they don't give the streets Jewish names? Is it the intuitive awareness that one cannot be Meqadesh the gass ? Is It the notion that naming mundane streets with their equally mundane homes and shops will blur the havdala that has kept these Alta Heim names sacrosanct in the historical imagination? I don't know... Your guess as good as my two guesses.
I've been to SquareTown and there the streets are named after US Presidents; Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt. Why do you suppose that in Square they don't give the streets Jewish names? Is it the intuitive awareness that one cannot be Meqadesh the gass ? Is It the notion that naming mundane streets with their equally mundane homes and shops will blur the havdala that has kept these Alta Heim names sacrosanct in the historical imagination? I don't know... Your guess as good as my two guesses.
What's Good for the Fisked is Good for the Fisker
A little while back I fisked an op-ed piece by Rabbi Washovsky of H.U.C. that was published in the Forward. By my red-tent standards the post evinced a passionate response. I had emailed the URL to HUC asking them to forward it to the Rabbi but to date have received no response.
So who should step up to the plate but my old nemesis from my former Blog Moabite (AKA Conservative) Apikores. he of the notion that Jewish continuity will best be achieved through dissolution and widespread scattering of precious Hebe genes throughout the gene pools of others.
In any event he went to the trouble of fisking my fisk. Click to read.
I want to thank all of my non-readers and shy commenters for making this post possible. Sheer boredom compelled me to review some older comment threads in which I discovered this touching tribute to my craft as a blogger.
Qedusha-Havdala...Have you had YOURS today??? Hmmm???
So who should step up to the plate but my old nemesis from my former Blog Moabite (AKA Conservative) Apikores. he of the notion that Jewish continuity will best be achieved through dissolution and widespread scattering of precious Hebe genes throughout the gene pools of others.
In any event he went to the trouble of fisking my fisk. Click to read.
I want to thank all of my non-readers and shy commenters for making this post possible. Sheer boredom compelled me to review some older comment threads in which I discovered this touching tribute to my craft as a blogger.
Qedusha-Havdala...Have you had YOURS today??? Hmmm???
Kiryas Shtet'l....NOT part II
Was the Rebbe zy”a trying to replicate a shtetl from the heim or an out-of-town Williamsburg???
Mr. Felberman (the Government relations coordinator) said KJ has a much higher population density than other villages in upstate NY. In other Orange County Villages a one family house is built on 1-3 acres of land, whereas in KJ up to 15 apartments are built on one acre!
…founded in 1974 comprising a mere handful of houses today it is home to more than 22,000 Satmar Khasidm…about 4000 families.
Eastern European shtetl’ekh , at least any that the Rebbe could possibly have known experientially, were small and diverse. Read any volume of the Yizkor Buch literature and you’ll find that the typical shtet’l boasted shteiblakh of MANY khasidic groups and had many secular parties including in many cases (SHUDDER) Zionist youth groups like Betar and HaShomer Hatzair. They also had non-Jewish residents albeit almost always as a minority and living in separate neighborhoods. Besides which, on market days when peasants would arrive from the countryside there was a daylong interaction between Jews and gentiles and men and women. and so in many significant ways interbellum stetlakh of eastern Europe were far less insular and monolithic than KJ.
In most cases the Jewish population of a shtet’l did not exceed 2500 souls. Once you got 3-4000 Jews living in a place you were generally talking about a Shtodt= city or town NOT a shtet’l.
And it seems that there are no plans for decentralization or more KJ type villages elsewhere. Square OTOH want to crates a second Square-Town on the site of the old Homowack. It seems that the only thing the town elders have in mind is expanding the current KJ.
Mr. Gedalye Szegdin (KJ Village administrator) said “They will have a housing problem because according to calculations the KJ population doubles every 11 years. This means that in a little over 22 years the population will be close to 100,000. "
Presuming that the current Rebbe and those in the community setting policy are hewing the Rebbes original vision then it seems clear that the dream of this so-called shtet’l was not to escape the blights of urbanity most people think of when imagining a rural village. No one moves to KJ to escape rush hour traffic, double and triple parking, the clamor of the EL trains, the tenement style architecture, humid summers and slushy winters. No one moves there with dreams of the split level ranch homes, a vegetable garden or farm animals in the backyard, good hunting and fly-fishing. No… the main attraction vis-à-vis Williamsburg or Boro Park seems to be the utter absence of Goyim, khasidim of other sects (non-khasidic Jews have long ago fled Williamsburg and Boro Park is increasingly Litvak-rein as well) or the stray runner or cyclist from artsy-Williamsburg clad in a tank-top and shorts.
Perhaps KJ is a materialization of the Rebbe zy”a’s dreams or perhaps it isn’t. But the facts on the ground point to a developing city that may or may not (depending on ones POV) incorporate the most valuable elements of shtet’l life but which is a far cry from an actual shtet’l.
While it is the height of presumption for me to opine…what’s a blog for if not to be a pundit in isolation? And so I conclude that KJ has failed the Rebbe’s vision. It is too large and insufficiently insular. A smaller village (or a string of 20-50 such villages) limited to a Khasidic elite willing to live by even higher khumra standards than the urban rank and file would’ve more in line with his dream. While a monolithic population of 100,000 will be a pretty impressive fiefdom and power base for the current Rebbe it will be too large for even an absolute monarch to micromanage and demand the highest standards from. I imagine that the Rebbe zy”a’s dream was exclusively for ריבוי כבוד שמים not for creating more גלילות for his great-nephew. So while it may not be his nightmare it can hardly be called his dream.
.
Mr. Felberman (the Government relations coordinator) said KJ has a much higher population density than other villages in upstate NY. In other Orange County Villages a one family house is built on 1-3 acres of land, whereas in KJ up to 15 apartments are built on one acre!
…founded in 1974 comprising a mere handful of houses today it is home to more than 22,000 Satmar Khasidm…about 4000 families.
Eastern European shtetl’ekh , at least any that the Rebbe could possibly have known experientially, were small and diverse. Read any volume of the Yizkor Buch literature and you’ll find that the typical shtet’l boasted shteiblakh of MANY khasidic groups and had many secular parties including in many cases (SHUDDER) Zionist youth groups like Betar and HaShomer Hatzair. They also had non-Jewish residents albeit almost always as a minority and living in separate neighborhoods. Besides which, on market days when peasants would arrive from the countryside there was a daylong interaction between Jews and gentiles and men and women. and so in many significant ways interbellum stetlakh of eastern Europe were far less insular and monolithic than KJ.
In most cases the Jewish population of a shtet’l did not exceed 2500 souls. Once you got 3-4000 Jews living in a place you were generally talking about a Shtodt= city or town NOT a shtet’l.
And it seems that there are no plans for decentralization or more KJ type villages elsewhere. Square OTOH want to crates a second Square-Town on the site of the old Homowack. It seems that the only thing the town elders have in mind is expanding the current KJ.
Mr. Gedalye Szegdin (KJ Village administrator) said “They will have a housing problem because according to calculations the KJ population doubles every 11 years. This means that in a little over 22 years the population will be close to 100,000. "
Presuming that the current Rebbe and those in the community setting policy are hewing the Rebbes original vision then it seems clear that the dream of this so-called shtet’l was not to escape the blights of urbanity most people think of when imagining a rural village. No one moves to KJ to escape rush hour traffic, double and triple parking, the clamor of the EL trains, the tenement style architecture, humid summers and slushy winters. No one moves there with dreams of the split level ranch homes, a vegetable garden or farm animals in the backyard, good hunting and fly-fishing. No… the main attraction vis-à-vis Williamsburg or Boro Park seems to be the utter absence of Goyim, khasidim of other sects (non-khasidic Jews have long ago fled Williamsburg and Boro Park is increasingly Litvak-rein as well) or the stray runner or cyclist from artsy-Williamsburg clad in a tank-top and shorts.
Perhaps KJ is a materialization of the Rebbe zy”a’s dreams or perhaps it isn’t. But the facts on the ground point to a developing city that may or may not (depending on ones POV) incorporate the most valuable elements of shtet’l life but which is a far cry from an actual shtet’l.
While it is the height of presumption for me to opine…what’s a blog for if not to be a pundit in isolation? And so I conclude that KJ has failed the Rebbe’s vision. It is too large and insufficiently insular. A smaller village (or a string of 20-50 such villages) limited to a Khasidic elite willing to live by even higher khumra standards than the urban rank and file would’ve more in line with his dream. While a monolithic population of 100,000 will be a pretty impressive fiefdom and power base for the current Rebbe it will be too large for even an absolute monarch to micromanage and demand the highest standards from. I imagine that the Rebbe zy”a’s dream was exclusively for ריבוי כבוד שמים not for creating more גלילות for his great-nephew. So while it may not be his nightmare it can hardly be called his dream.
.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Kiryas Shtet'l....NOT
In this past's weekend edition of HaModia the cover story of the magazine section was about Kiryas Joel, the Satmar enclave in Monroe, New York. Admittedly I am on pretty shaky ground blogging about it as I have been to the Rebbe's kever exactly once in my life and have never visited the village proper. And, as none of the organs of Kharedi Jewry are known for their hard hitting journalistic accuracy, basically all my information about Kiryas Joel derives from a fluff piece and various things I've heard over the years.
Still some of the data in the article gave me pause and made me wonder whether or not this enclave as it exists today is really the materialization of the great mans dream or if it ever was. Quotes from the Hamodia article are italicized in blue my comments follow.
Ever since the Rebbe set foot on American soil, he harbored the dream of building his own shtetl- a quiet secluded enclave where his Chasidim could lead their lives sheltered from the tumult of the city...."I believe I survived the war to be able to build a Yiddish Shtetl"
Other than the Skverer and Tosha Rebbes I cannot think of any other Gedolei Yisrael who thought that the success of Jewish communities depended on a flight from urbanity. OTC the vast majority of Jewish and kharedi enclaves were not even suburban, let alone rural. I write this not to position myself as a bar plugta on these illustrious Tzadikim but merely to point out that many personalities who deserved "an opinion of their own" thought otherwise.
In particular I think that whatever remnants of Pshiskha-Polish khasidus that survived the war eschewed rural flight as the preferred method of attaining Havdala min Ha'Amim. Insights like the Sokhachover's "The takhlis of nezirus is so that afterwards one drinks wine like a nazir" or the Kotzkers "Only Shlomo HaMelekh had the khokhma to be mesaken both ערובי חצרות and נטילת ידים " i.e. to be mixed into everything and to still have withdrawn hands. Or (I forgot which gitte yid said it) "You think it's a kunst to be a porush in a closet or a misboded in the forest? Real prishus is when you're both a geribbener soikher and a porush and real hisbodedus comes in a room packed with people".
A longtime Kiryas Joel dweller told me:Kiryas Joel is a geshmakeh shtet’l, both materially and spiritually, especially in the areas of tzedakah and chesed...A person who doesn’t have a car simply makes do with a local shopping Center. It's similar to the shtetlakh if yesteryear.
By geshamk materially does he mean it's a wealthy community? From everything I’ve heard it is not. And while poverty may be one of the ways that it approximates old-time east European shtetlakh is this something to be celebrated in this land of wealth and opportunity? As far as the local shopping center I'm sure that this is TOTALLY dissimilar from the way shopping was done in the Alte Heim or even in Wiilliamsburg 35 years ago. So why celebrate the lack of motor vehicles as old world simplicity and then, in the same sentence celebrate a modern up to date shopping Center that is as far fro that old world ambience as possible?
Kiryas Joel is an excellent place to raise children since they’re not exposed to the nisyonos that abound in the city. Especially now in the summer, the kids run around freely outside without fear of spiritual storm winds.
To me this is the most discussion-worthy passage of the whole piece. This is obviously the main selling point of Kiryas Joel to current citizens and prospective immigrants and arguably, just what the founding Rebbe had in mind when creating it. Without challenging the postulate-assertion that reducing ...nay ELIMINATING, nisyonos that abound in the city accrues to "excellent children" the obvious question is: has this experiment in social engineering been a smashing success, a crashing failure or a ho hum, inconclusive gray area in-between? I mean this is no longer a community in its' embryonic stages. It was founded in 1974 and with early marriage ages among khasidim 35 years represents 2+ generations of people born and raised in the secluded atmosphere of Kiryas Joel.
So it's only fair to ask the questions challenging the quoted resident’s opinion. Are the children raised in Kiryas Joel excellent adults? Are there middos more refined than their Williamsburg, Boro Park, Montreal or London brethren? Are they greater masmidim and/or TKs? Are they bigger oivdim? Are they more upgeheeten in חסידישע' ענינים ? Do they daven more ehrlikh and are they greater yirei Shomayim? Do they do better in business or professionally? Have they built unique or outstanding Mosdos of Khesed and Tzedaka that have no peers elsewhere? Do they have fewer dropouts and youth-at-risk? Or, to use a purely
Satmar-dika litmus test, is there anti-Zionism purer and more uncompromising?
I ask all these questions out of ignorance and curiosity NOT really as a challenge, though to be completely candid I've never "heard" that the generations of kids who grew to adulthood in Kiryas Joel were exceptional in any of these ways. So especially you Satmar or generic khasidish bloggers out there... (I know of at least one who actually lives there) I'd love hearing from you on this.
TO BE CONTINUED
Qedusha-Havdala...have you had YOURS today???
Still some of the data in the article gave me pause and made me wonder whether or not this enclave as it exists today is really the materialization of the great mans dream or if it ever was. Quotes from the Hamodia article are italicized in blue my comments follow.
Ever since the Rebbe set foot on American soil, he harbored the dream of building his own shtetl- a quiet secluded enclave where his Chasidim could lead their lives sheltered from the tumult of the city...."I believe I survived the war to be able to build a Yiddish Shtetl"
Other than the Skverer and Tosha Rebbes I cannot think of any other Gedolei Yisrael who thought that the success of Jewish communities depended on a flight from urbanity. OTC the vast majority of Jewish and kharedi enclaves were not even suburban, let alone rural. I write this not to position myself as a bar plugta on these illustrious Tzadikim but merely to point out that many personalities who deserved "an opinion of their own" thought otherwise.
In particular I think that whatever remnants of Pshiskha-Polish khasidus that survived the war eschewed rural flight as the preferred method of attaining Havdala min Ha'Amim. Insights like the Sokhachover's "The takhlis of nezirus is so that afterwards one drinks wine like a nazir" or the Kotzkers "Only Shlomo HaMelekh had the khokhma to be mesaken both ערובי חצרות and נטילת ידים " i.e. to be mixed into everything and to still have withdrawn hands. Or (I forgot which gitte yid said it) "You think it's a kunst to be a porush in a closet or a misboded in the forest? Real prishus is when you're both a geribbener soikher and a porush and real hisbodedus comes in a room packed with people".
A longtime Kiryas Joel dweller told me:Kiryas Joel is a geshmakeh shtet’l, both materially and spiritually, especially in the areas of tzedakah and chesed...A person who doesn’t have a car simply makes do with a local shopping Center. It's similar to the shtetlakh if yesteryear.
By geshamk materially does he mean it's a wealthy community? From everything I’ve heard it is not. And while poverty may be one of the ways that it approximates old-time east European shtetlakh is this something to be celebrated in this land of wealth and opportunity? As far as the local shopping center I'm sure that this is TOTALLY dissimilar from the way shopping was done in the Alte Heim or even in Wiilliamsburg 35 years ago. So why celebrate the lack of motor vehicles as old world simplicity and then, in the same sentence celebrate a modern up to date shopping Center that is as far fro that old world ambience as possible?
Kiryas Joel is an excellent place to raise children since they’re not exposed to the nisyonos that abound in the city. Especially now in the summer, the kids run around freely outside without fear of spiritual storm winds.
To me this is the most discussion-worthy passage of the whole piece. This is obviously the main selling point of Kiryas Joel to current citizens and prospective immigrants and arguably, just what the founding Rebbe had in mind when creating it. Without challenging the postulate-assertion that reducing ...nay ELIMINATING, nisyonos that abound in the city accrues to "excellent children" the obvious question is: has this experiment in social engineering been a smashing success, a crashing failure or a ho hum, inconclusive gray area in-between? I mean this is no longer a community in its' embryonic stages. It was founded in 1974 and with early marriage ages among khasidim 35 years represents 2+ generations of people born and raised in the secluded atmosphere of Kiryas Joel.
So it's only fair to ask the questions challenging the quoted resident’s opinion. Are the children raised in Kiryas Joel excellent adults? Are there middos more refined than their Williamsburg, Boro Park, Montreal or London brethren? Are they greater masmidim and/or TKs? Are they bigger oivdim? Are they more upgeheeten in חסידישע' ענינים ? Do they daven more ehrlikh and are they greater yirei Shomayim? Do they do better in business or professionally? Have they built unique or outstanding Mosdos of Khesed and Tzedaka that have no peers elsewhere? Do they have fewer dropouts and youth-at-risk? Or, to use a purely
Satmar-dika litmus test, is there anti-Zionism purer and more uncompromising?
I ask all these questions out of ignorance and curiosity NOT really as a challenge, though to be completely candid I've never "heard" that the generations of kids who grew to adulthood in Kiryas Joel were exceptional in any of these ways. So especially you Satmar or generic khasidish bloggers out there... (I know of at least one who actually lives there) I'd love hearing from you on this.
TO BE CONTINUED
Qedusha-Havdala...have you had YOURS today???
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Gazing Inwardly
A khosid once stood at the Ri"m threshold gaping at him. The R"im asked him..."Why are you just standing and staring @ me?" He answered "I saw in Ohr HaKhayim HaQodosh in Parshas Reh-ay that the act of looking at a Tzadik brings a brakha".
The R"im smiled and said "True. But the posuk says וְעַמֵּךְ כֻּלָּם צַדִּיקִים and so we are all Tzadikim . Trust me. There is much more of a brakha for you to be gained By looking deeply into the Tzadik that stares back at you from the mirror than at gazing at me."
Qedusha-Havdala...Have you had yours today???
The R"im smiled and said "True. But the posuk says וְעַמֵּךְ כֻּלָּם צַדִּיקִים and so we are all Tzadikim . Trust me. There is much more of a brakha for you to be gained By looking deeply into the Tzadik that stares back at you from the mirror than at gazing at me."
Qedusha-Havdala...Have you had yours today???
Friday, August 14, 2009
The G-d of Cinema
All Malachei HaMovies…listen up.When I was but a lad I had the dubious z’khus of attending a number of “learnings” of Shlomo Carlebach. Here’s one of his stream-of-consciousness Divrei Torah on Re’ay that made so great impact on me when I fisrt heard it that I can say with underconfidence that my paraphrasing of it is, mamish, almost a verbatim repetition. This despite having only heard it once over a quarter if a century ago.
To preserve the flavor of his presentation I am exercsisng the artistic liberty, a la Eugene O'Neill, of phonetically spelling the words as he might have actually pronounced them;
"Ya know...among us heiligeh yiddelekh, going to ze movies is uncool. OK... so maybe I'm sneaking a peek at Superman when I'm on a transcontinental flight. But going to ze See-atre? G-d forbid.
But zis veek anyvahn who is wiz it... so G-d was mamish taking zem to ze movies:
רְאֵה, אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן לִפְנֵיכֶם--הַיּוֹם: בְּרָכָה, וּקְלָלָה.
LOOK-SEE, I am showing you today ze blessing and ze curse.
Vhy is G-d telling us to look? How can ve "see" blessing and curse?
My holy sveetest freinds.. You know vhat is heaven and vhat is hell? So zeh Rebbelekh are telling us zaht heaven is ze most beutiful angels on gossaamer vings playing zeh harps or , if zey're lomdim, so maybe zey're saying zat heaven is a shtender viz a gemura nedurim.. And hell? Hell is vhen zey're toiveling us in boiling pitch.
It's all very sveet and cute but... brahzers and sisters, Gevalt zis is not heaven and zis is not hell. Do you vant ta know vaht is REALLY heaven and hell? So here I vant you to open your hearts;
After 120 or 150 years -vhenever it is vehn you're mamish taking off and getting up zhere- so G-d is seating you in a big See-atre and giving you a private screening of a gevalt double feature. Ze first movie is your life ze vay it vas and ze second... your life ze vay it could have been. If ze two movies are ze same zen your mamish in paradise...but if zey are NOT...Oy Gevalt you can't bear it...
you just can't bear it.
So zis veek ze Ribono shel oilem is mamish taking us to ze movies and ve ourselves are making ze brukheh or, shouldn't happen to my virst enemy, ze keluleh. I vant to bless all of you zat you should live lives vhere ze second movie is mamsih a gevalt rerun of ze first and zat your whole lives your eyes should only see ze good in yourself and in every holy yideleh. Gevalt is zis ze highest brukeh from ze deepest deps of my heart."
Shkoyakh Brother Shlomo for your strong words that mamish are "giving me strehns" 25 years after the fact (actually knowing the disparity between my two posthumous films has made my life since then a living hell on earth!). I repeated the strong words here בשם אמרם so that they should ממש bring גאולה לעולם . Also that when your Torah is said over then ממש שפתותיו דובבות בקבר . And if hunble me could add something then I'd like to say that in your case the lips are not just moving to speak...they are also moving to kiss just like בחיים חיותך you were getting us drunk on Toireh and your learnings were ממש יִשָּׁקֵנִי מִנְּשִׁיקוֹת פִּיהוּ, כִּי-טוֹבִים דֹּדֶיךָ מִיָּיִן.
Qedusha -Havdala Have you had YOURs today? Hmmm???
Fear and Loathing in Toevah-Land
The other day I was so intent on highlighting the positive of our fellow Toevah community that I omitted what is arguably the greatest of all the lessons that we can learn from them. Namely, that we must master the art of transforming loathing into fear just as they have!
Isn’t it odd that hostility towards Jews is known as anti-Semitism or Jew-hatred whereas antipathy for the LGBT community is known as Homophobia? Whereas the Jew is hated the gay is someone we have an irrational phobia of. So the first insidious message that these diverse words subliminally convey is that you’ve got to be a bit neurotic to despise gays but to hate Jews is far more reasonable, maybe even completely rational! But even if hatred was viewed as being as irrational a psychodynamic as assorted phobias are, there is still a relative advantage in being feared rather than loathed.
Amalek; the arch-anti-Semite and, essentially , evil-incarnate in Jewish Law and lore is identified with the opposite transformation…the one that turned worldwide Judeo-phobia into ubiquitous Jew hatred.
The Torah declares that in the immediate aftermath of the miraculous Exodus from Egypt and, in particular the parting of the Sea of Reeds a dread of the Bnei Yisrael took hold of the ANE :
יד שָׁמְעוּ עַמִּים, יִרְגָּזוּן; חִיל אָחַז, יֹשְׁבֵי פְּלָשֶׁת. }
14 The peoples have heard, they tremble; pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
טו אָז נִבְהֲלוּ, אַלּוּפֵי אֱדוֹם- אֵילֵי מוֹאָב, ֹאחֲזֵמוֹ רָעַד; נָמֹגוּ, כֹּל יֹשְׁבֵי כְנָעַן.
15 Then were the chiefs of Edom affrighted; the mighty men of Moab, trembling taketh hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away.
טז תִּפֹּל עֲלֵיהֶם אֵימָתָה וָפַחַד, בִּגְדֹל זְרוֹעֲךָ יִדְּמוּ כָּאָבֶן
16 Terror and dread falleth upon them; by the greatness of Thine arm they are as still as a stone;
The Amalekites got their collective noses bloodied in their brazen and reckless military adventure against us . The first military adventure ever against us. Yet our sages teach us that in so doing they exploded the myth of Jewish invincibility and “cooled us off” in the eyes of the balance of ANE civilization. Therein lays the secret of Amalakite “firstness” , רֵאשִׁית גּוֹיִם עֲמָלֵק ,and the reason we debit all subsequent anti-Semitic violence, including genocide, from Amaleks account.
In an Orwellian masterstroke Kenneth Smith coined the term "Homophobia" and the grounbreaking LGBT theoretician George Weinberg popularized it and in so doing defined the parameters of Gay vs. Straight conflict. Among other messages this term communicates the idea that all negative feelings straights harbor towards LGBTs is rooted in fear and that, as fear-worthy beings, they are NOT to be trifled with.
*SIGH* If only we, of the “other” Toevah community, had the Orwellian linguist who could coin the term Judeophobia and make it stick. Such a momentous victory in the war of words would go far towards "erasing the name of Amalek from beneath G-d’s heavens." It would be an especially sweet conquest of the hearts and minds of the JEWISH anti-Semites, those among us who due to millennia of relentless Jew-hatred internalized the worst of the canards of out blood-enemies. Once it took root and gained widespread currency such a word would cause an epiphany among them. It would initiate a sea-change in their consciousness as they finally came to realize that their loathing for all things holy and separate was really never anything more than their phobia of their own inner Jew!
Qedusha-Havdala...Have you had yours today???
Isn’t it odd that hostility towards Jews is known as anti-Semitism or Jew-hatred whereas antipathy for the LGBT community is known as Homophobia? Whereas the Jew is hated the gay is someone we have an irrational phobia of. So the first insidious message that these diverse words subliminally convey is that you’ve got to be a bit neurotic to despise gays but to hate Jews is far more reasonable, maybe even completely rational! But even if hatred was viewed as being as irrational a psychodynamic as assorted phobias are, there is still a relative advantage in being feared rather than loathed.
Amalek; the arch-anti-Semite and, essentially , evil-incarnate in Jewish Law and lore is identified with the opposite transformation…the one that turned worldwide Judeo-phobia into ubiquitous Jew hatred.
The Torah declares that in the immediate aftermath of the miraculous Exodus from Egypt and, in particular the parting of the Sea of Reeds a dread of the Bnei Yisrael took hold of the ANE :
יד שָׁמְעוּ עַמִּים, יִרְגָּזוּן; חִיל אָחַז, יֹשְׁבֵי פְּלָשֶׁת. }
14 The peoples have heard, they tremble; pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
טו אָז נִבְהֲלוּ, אַלּוּפֵי אֱדוֹם- אֵילֵי מוֹאָב, ֹאחֲזֵמוֹ רָעַד; נָמֹגוּ, כֹּל יֹשְׁבֵי כְנָעַן.
15 Then were the chiefs of Edom affrighted; the mighty men of Moab, trembling taketh hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away.
טז תִּפֹּל עֲלֵיהֶם אֵימָתָה וָפַחַד, בִּגְדֹל זְרוֹעֲךָ יִדְּמוּ כָּאָבֶן
16 Terror and dread falleth upon them; by the greatness of Thine arm they are as still as a stone;
The Amalekites got their collective noses bloodied in their brazen and reckless military adventure against us . The first military adventure ever against us. Yet our sages teach us that in so doing they exploded the myth of Jewish invincibility and “cooled us off” in the eyes of the balance of ANE civilization. Therein lays the secret of Amalakite “firstness” , רֵאשִׁית גּוֹיִם עֲמָלֵק ,and the reason we debit all subsequent anti-Semitic violence, including genocide, from Amaleks account.
In an Orwellian masterstroke Kenneth Smith coined the term "Homophobia" and the grounbreaking LGBT theoretician George Weinberg popularized it and in so doing defined the parameters of Gay vs. Straight conflict. Among other messages this term communicates the idea that all negative feelings straights harbor towards LGBTs is rooted in fear and that, as fear-worthy beings, they are NOT to be trifled with.
*SIGH* If only we, of the “other” Toevah community, had the Orwellian linguist who could coin the term Judeophobia and make it stick. Such a momentous victory in the war of words would go far towards "erasing the name of Amalek from beneath G-d’s heavens." It would be an especially sweet conquest of the hearts and minds of the JEWISH anti-Semites, those among us who due to millennia of relentless Jew-hatred internalized the worst of the canards of out blood-enemies. Once it took root and gained widespread currency such a word would cause an epiphany among them. It would initiate a sea-change in their consciousness as they finally came to realize that their loathing for all things holy and separate was really never anything more than their phobia of their own inner Jew!
Qedusha-Havdala...Have you had yours today???
What Do Michael Vick and Sholom Rubashkin Have in Common?
...Neither one will be the opening day starting Quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles this season.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
לִפְנֵי-שֶׁבֶר גָּאוֹן
לִפְנֵי-שֶׁבֶר גָּאוֹן; וְלִפְנֵי כִשָּׁלוֹן, גֹּבַהּ רוּחַ. =Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.-Mishlei-Proverbs 16:18
I had to go and shoot my mouth off! Offline I crowed and bragged about my big triumph yesterday. And THEN...The Clock struck twelve. What a difference a day makes. מה יום מיומים
Yesterday I had 215 page loads...today as of this writing (aotw)=5:15 EST I'm down to 87. Yesterday I had 62 unique visitors...today aotw 35. Yesterday 26 returning visitors..today a mere 14 aotw. Yesterday I boasted, "Today I am a Blogger" well today I am, once again, a nobody in the red tent of isolation.
Why'd I have to be such a big-shot? Especially considering the fact that close to half the comments on my "great triumph" were of my own creation? And particularly when anything under 75 comments is considered "ho-hum" on the mega-blogs?
Answer: איסתרא בלגינא קיש קיש קריא= a lone coin in the pushka makes quite a racket (while a full pushka makes a discreet shuffle)
Cutting Edge Fund-Raising for These Troubled Times
The Financial Meltdown has hit non-profits particularly hard. When people review their personal finances and decide it's time for some belt-tightening charitable giving is usually the first budget item that gets cut.
So what's a Director of Development to do in times like these? Direct Solicitations? Grant proposals? Direct Mail? Rubber Chicken Dinners? Chinese Auctions????
NO, NO and NO again... Cruise the homeless shelters for some big time donors.
Ida Fischer passed two years ago and bequeathed 250K Hebrew University on Mount Scopus in her will while leaving nothing to her family. Initially a spokesperson for the University described the mystery donor as a homeless women. While the reports of her homelessness turned out to be incorrect (she lived in a subsidized 1BR flat in Turtle Bay-Manhattan) this is not the first time in recent years that oddball, eccentric loners many of them homeless, have left huge gifts to Jewish and institutions and other non-profits.
There was the frugal auditor who left a bundle to Y.U. The evicted nonagenarian subsidizing Chabad in Little Rock to the tune of 100K. The homeless guy who willed a small fortune to RSA-Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim because IIRC, "They were nice to me. They sent me Hebrew-English Calendars every year before Rosh HaShanah" (sorry haven't been able to find a link to that story.) Or the homeless Atheist with a $4 million dollar estate who left huge gifts for NPR ( לחי ) and to a Catholic Mission in Phoenix (Head Scratcher).
So though the Bowery, Hoovervilles and Skid Row might be easier targets what the enterprising fund-raiser REALLY needs to discover is "where do all the eccentric loner millionaires hang out?" A daunting challenge indeed as most eccentric loners are by definition recluses who don't hang out anywhere.
So what's a Director of Development to do in times like these? Direct Solicitations? Grant proposals? Direct Mail? Rubber Chicken Dinners? Chinese Auctions????
NO, NO and NO again... Cruise the homeless shelters for some big time donors.
Ida Fischer passed two years ago and bequeathed 250K Hebrew University on Mount Scopus in her will while leaving nothing to her family. Initially a spokesperson for the University described the mystery donor as a homeless women. While the reports of her homelessness turned out to be incorrect (she lived in a subsidized 1BR flat in Turtle Bay-Manhattan) this is not the first time in recent years that oddball, eccentric loners many of them homeless, have left huge gifts to Jewish and institutions and other non-profits.
There was the frugal auditor who left a bundle to Y.U. The evicted nonagenarian subsidizing Chabad in Little Rock to the tune of 100K. The homeless guy who willed a small fortune to RSA-Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim because IIRC, "They were nice to me. They sent me Hebrew-English Calendars every year before Rosh HaShanah" (sorry haven't been able to find a link to that story.) Or the homeless Atheist with a $4 million dollar estate who left huge gifts for NPR ( לחי ) and to a Catholic Mission in Phoenix (Head Scratcher).
So though the Bowery, Hoovervilles and Skid Row might be easier targets what the enterprising fund-raiser REALLY needs to discover is "where do all the eccentric loner millionaires hang out?" A daunting challenge indeed as most eccentric loners are by definition recluses who don't hang out anywhere.
Maybe he ought to cruise the J-Blogosphere. Especially HaMavdil. No one here but us loners.
Qedusha-Havdala...Have you had yours today???
Qedusha-Havdala...Have you had yours today???
OY GEVALT!!!!
Tragedy strikes again. Just weeks after the MVA that took the life of a teenage Yeshiva Bokhur a young child is fatally struck by a truck. It seems like no summer season passes in the Catskills without at least one korban.
In this day and age when infant mortality and childhood pandemic rates are very low the tragedy of parents burying children is all the more poignant. I can think of no worse fate. BDE. Our hearts go out to the mourning family and community. May HaShem provide them with a change of heart (נחמה) and strength to carry on.
In this day and age when infant mortality and childhood pandemic rates are very low the tragedy of parents burying children is all the more poignant. I can think of no worse fate. BDE. Our hearts go out to the mourning family and community. May HaShem provide them with a change of heart (נחמה) and strength to carry on.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
From the Ridiculous to the Sublime
For an intrepid, novice, independent Blogger with a lot more neediness for attention than talent for writing word-processing this post is especially daunting. I mean (for me) 50+ comments yesterday will be a very tough act to follow. So to ease myself back into creativity I turn to the source of yesterdays (for me) "smash hit." To wit; the actual sublime d'var Torah that yesterdays snarky, ridiculous send up was basically just a meme of.
Here's the source in Hebrew; The translation is the combination of some comment mining from JS (sorry I know how to link a comment in haloscan but not in blogger) as well as some editing of mine: The Rebbe Reb Zisheh of Hanipoli learned 7 lessons in serving G-d from burglars and thieves:
1) He works at night
2) If he's unsuccessful the first night, he tries again another night
3) Thieves love all thieves ("there is honor among thieves" code)
4) He risks his life for even small things-things of nominal value
5) Even so he doesn't esteem what he stole very highly. He'll fence his stolen items for way under there market value
6) He is beaten and jailed for his troubles and nonetheless doesn't waiver
7) His way of life is beautiful in his own eyes and he would never change it
Here's what I think the lessons in Avodas HaShem are:
1. Serving G-d should be done discreetly without an audience
2. If at first you don't succeed try again...but devise a different approach or strategy
3. Judaism is a team sport. We are all on the same team. Your success depends on that of your fellows. Try to diminish the competitive element while emphasizing the cooperative.
4. Be Moser Nefesh = slf-sacrificing even for "minor Miztvos" even for minhagim
5.
A. A reiteration of 1. get rid of the evidence so that the authorities will be thrown off your tail i.e. seek no human honor for your Avodas haShem after the fact
B. In terms of your own pride, forget that you ever did the Mitzvah, when you" fence" i.e. get rid of what you achieved through your Avodas haShem you're metaphysically erasing it from your own mental resume'. Don't dislocate your shoulder patting your own back for the Mitzvah you've done or theTorah you've learned.
6. Even if you suffer verbal abuse from anti-Semites or from freethinking Jews, even if you're branded a smelly, reactionary, parasitical, magical-thinking, cave-dwelling primitive...stick to your guns.
7. Self-explanatory but I'll explain anyway. despite living by numbers 4 and 6 don't succumb to a martyrdom complex and figure that HaShem owes you "big time" for all you've done for Him. OTC it's a labor of love and a privilege to serve.
Like I said...from the ridiculous to the sublime.
Qedusha-Havdala...have you had yours today???
Here's the source in Hebrew; The translation is the combination of some comment mining from JS (sorry I know how to link a comment in haloscan but not in blogger) as well as some editing of mine: The Rebbe Reb Zisheh of Hanipoli learned 7 lessons in serving G-d from burglars and thieves:
1) He works at night
2) If he's unsuccessful the first night, he tries again another night
3) Thieves love all thieves ("there is honor among thieves" code)
4) He risks his life for even small things-things of nominal value
5) Even so he doesn't esteem what he stole very highly. He'll fence his stolen items for way under there market value
6) He is beaten and jailed for his troubles and nonetheless doesn't waiver
7) His way of life is beautiful in his own eyes and he would never change it
Here's what I think the lessons in Avodas HaShem are:
1. Serving G-d should be done discreetly without an audience
2. If at first you don't succeed try again...but devise a different approach or strategy
3. Judaism is a team sport. We are all on the same team. Your success depends on that of your fellows. Try to diminish the competitive element while emphasizing the cooperative.
4. Be Moser Nefesh = slf-sacrificing even for "minor Miztvos" even for minhagim
5.
A. A reiteration of 1. get rid of the evidence so that the authorities will be thrown off your tail i.e. seek no human honor for your Avodas haShem after the fact
B. In terms of your own pride, forget that you ever did the Mitzvah, when you" fence" i.e. get rid of what you achieved through your Avodas haShem you're metaphysically erasing it from your own mental resume'. Don't dislocate your shoulder patting your own back for the Mitzvah you've done or theTorah you've learned.
6. Even if you suffer verbal abuse from anti-Semites or from freethinking Jews, even if you're branded a smelly, reactionary, parasitical, magical-thinking, cave-dwelling primitive...stick to your guns.
7. Self-explanatory but I'll explain anyway. despite living by numbers 4 and 6 don't succumb to a martyrdom complex and figure that HaShem owes you "big time" for all you've done for Him. OTC it's a labor of love and a privilege to serve.
Like I said...from the ridiculous to the sublime.
Qedusha-Havdala...have you had yours today???
Lessons from "the Love that Dare not Speak its Name"
The Rebbe Reb Zisheh of Hanipoli famously listed 7 lessons in ' עבודת ה = the service of G-d that he learned from thieves and burglars. There are good points to learn from everyone and everything.
In this vein and in response to the ugly recriminations flying fast and furious from one Toevah community to another over at the Mega-J-Bloggers place, humble me submits an incomplete list of things the Torah-True Community can learn from the LGBT community. When IMO the lesson in Jewishness is learned from a particular component of the LGBT community I’ve indicated as much with the appropriate capital letter:
1. What we find attractive others find unattractive or downright repulsive. So what? Who cares? They can’t possibly understand. We are wired differently.
2. While we may love and respect our families we ought not to hesitate to alienate our families if they stand in the way of our relationship with our One true love.
3. We need Jewish eyes to see and apprehend everything around us. Jewishness is not just one element of our identities or something that directs a particular sphere of activity/activities. OTC it defines EVERYTHING about us.
4. (T) We ought not to hesitate to undergo RADICAL transformations, including counseling, name changes and even surgery if our current identities don’t “feel right”
5. (B) It’s possible to live in two worlds at one time
6. (G) Lack of commitment may equate to disease and even death while monogamy and commitment is healthy
7. (L) We need a room of our own
8. Ideally we should prioritize vacation locales and activities that help us actualize our identities
9. Being closeted is unhealthy. Let the world know that you are Jewish
10. Sometimes showing our pride in our identity requires the wearing of outlandish costumes
11. (G) If the front door is locked try the back door
12. We’re Jews and in the News…ya better get used to it.
13. (L) Embrace Klezmer Music
Last and most obvious:
14. Serve the L-rd with gaiety and gladness of heart.
One thing that we must NOT learn from the LGBT community is that it’s all right to make statements that incriminate others while being parsed to keep ourselves innocent and blame free.
פלוני רבעני לרצוני [פלגינן דיבוריה ו] הוא ואחר מצטרפין להרגו
I’m sure that this list would be much longer were it not for my being blissfully ignorant of more of the ways and mores of LGBT culture.
Next up “The positive side of Bestiality” (that’s a joke …only a joke)
Qedusha-Havdala…have you had your today???
In this vein and in response to the ugly recriminations flying fast and furious from one Toevah community to another over at the Mega-J-Bloggers place, humble me submits an incomplete list of things the Torah-True Community can learn from the LGBT community. When IMO the lesson in Jewishness is learned from a particular component of the LGBT community I’ve indicated as much with the appropriate capital letter:
1. What we find attractive others find unattractive or downright repulsive. So what? Who cares? They can’t possibly understand. We are wired differently.
2. While we may love and respect our families we ought not to hesitate to alienate our families if they stand in the way of our relationship with our One true love.
3. We need Jewish eyes to see and apprehend everything around us. Jewishness is not just one element of our identities or something that directs a particular sphere of activity/activities. OTC it defines EVERYTHING about us.
4. (T) We ought not to hesitate to undergo RADICAL transformations, including counseling, name changes and even surgery if our current identities don’t “feel right”
5. (B) It’s possible to live in two worlds at one time
6. (G) Lack of commitment may equate to disease and even death while monogamy and commitment is healthy
7. (L) We need a room of our own
8. Ideally we should prioritize vacation locales and activities that help us actualize our identities
9. Being closeted is unhealthy. Let the world know that you are Jewish
10. Sometimes showing our pride in our identity requires the wearing of outlandish costumes
11. (G) If the front door is locked try the back door
12. We’re Jews and in the News…ya better get used to it.
13. (L) Embrace Klezmer Music
Last and most obvious:
14. Serve the L-rd with gaiety and gladness of heart.
One thing that we must NOT learn from the LGBT community is that it’s all right to make statements that incriminate others while being parsed to keep ourselves innocent and blame free.
פלוני רבעני לרצוני [פלגינן דיבוריה ו] הוא ואחר מצטרפין להרגו
I’m sure that this list would be much longer were it not for my being blissfully ignorant of more of the ways and mores of LGBT culture.
Next up “The positive side of Bestiality” (that’s a joke …only a joke)
Qedusha-Havdala…have you had your today???
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
It's Not What you Import..It's What you Delete
As a Havdala Consciousness warrior I am ever vigilant for importations of all things Goyish via cultural osmosis or conscious co-opting.
Yet when considering the last several centuries of Jewish History and the ravages that the various "isms" have caused to our people I think that a reasonable argument could be made that truncating Judaism has caused us greater grief on a national level than foreign imports and a metaphysical trade imbalance. Simply put subtraction has been more injurious than addition.
Consider:
The Jewish Prophetic tradition of Social Justice is a beautiful thing. When you embrace it and emphasize it within a total Torah framework you get something akin to Rav Yisraoel Salanter's movement. When you make it the be all and end all of Judaism you get contemporary Reform.
"Love of the Land" is something all diaspora Jews shared throughout the ages. But when for want of a better word, you declare that the only "Mitzvos" still applicable are moving to Palestine and draining the swamps or making the dessert bloom you get Secular Zionism.
When you say "Torah has a pnimiyus to it" and that it behooves the sensitive and advanced student to delve sub-textually to discover the soul of Torah animating it's body you've done something that Hogei Deos have been doing since time immemorial. But when you say that the soul negates the body what you have is a bunch of antinomians like Phillip Berg and his halakhically challenged followers.
Additional fallout from the truncators has been the over-reaction of those claiming embrace of the entirety of Jewish tradition who tend to marginalize...sometimes to the point of nonexistence, those AUTHENTICALLY Jewish values that the truncators reduced their own Judaism too. I don't think anyone can claim that today's "Torah-True" Jewry have a visceral Khibas Ha'Aretz, sense of the mystical or empathy for the underdog that compares with that of their great-grandparents.
It's hard to swallow Judaism whole. But If it ain't תמימה then it ain't 'תורת ה.
Qedusha-Havdala...have you had yours today?
Yet when considering the last several centuries of Jewish History and the ravages that the various "isms" have caused to our people I think that a reasonable argument could be made that truncating Judaism has caused us greater grief on a national level than foreign imports and a metaphysical trade imbalance. Simply put subtraction has been more injurious than addition.
Consider:
The Jewish Prophetic tradition of Social Justice is a beautiful thing. When you embrace it and emphasize it within a total Torah framework you get something akin to Rav Yisraoel Salanter's movement. When you make it the be all and end all of Judaism you get contemporary Reform.
"Love of the Land" is something all diaspora Jews shared throughout the ages. But when for want of a better word, you declare that the only "Mitzvos" still applicable are moving to Palestine and draining the swamps or making the dessert bloom you get Secular Zionism.
When you say "Torah has a pnimiyus to it" and that it behooves the sensitive and advanced student to delve sub-textually to discover the soul of Torah animating it's body you've done something that Hogei Deos have been doing since time immemorial. But when you say that the soul negates the body what you have is a bunch of antinomians like Phillip Berg and his halakhically challenged followers.
Additional fallout from the truncators has been the over-reaction of those claiming embrace of the entirety of Jewish tradition who tend to marginalize...sometimes to the point of nonexistence, those AUTHENTICALLY Jewish values that the truncators reduced their own Judaism too. I don't think anyone can claim that today's "Torah-True" Jewry have a visceral Khibas Ha'Aretz, sense of the mystical or empathy for the underdog that compares with that of their great-grandparents.
It's hard to swallow Judaism whole. But If it ain't תמימה then it ain't 'תורת ה.
Qedusha-Havdala...have you had yours today?
I’m mehhhhhhhhhhhhhlting!!!
In the year of our fraud 2009 summer finally arrived in the tri-state metropolitan of NYC on August 10th. The tardy season quickly made up for lost time instantly transforming the region into an outdoor sauna bath. I left my home in the morning and walking to Shul felt the weather as if it were alive and warmly embracing me but after just one block that embrace tightened to the suffocating clinch of a Jewish Mother or a boa constrictor without an inch of me left that I could truly call my own. The rest of the walk to Shul was like wading through P’tcha.
I hate July and August. And to be frank, the invariable mourning of the three weeks is the least of it. I’ve always felt that July and August were made for heathens and aboriginals who can afford to cavort in loincloths and get away with it. But for those of us who must actually be attired in public these months are decidedly prickly. For those of us who are both clad AND obese they are impossible. I begin to feel great empathy for that most repulsive of the fictional characters of my childhood… the wicked witch of the west because I too am melting! When I come to power the first thing that I’ll do bl”n is to abolish these months.
I really believe that being overweight makes it harder for me to tolerate heat. I see many of my Kharedi coreligionists gadding about in full group dress regalia and, at least the wiry among them, don’t even seem to be breaking a sweat.
I’ll be candid. I’ve often thought of adopting a different look for בגדי שבת ויום טוב= Shabbos and holiday clothes. Partly as a sentimental retreat to the worlds of my ancestors and partly as an audio-visual Havdala consciousness aid. I’ve toyed with the notion of long-coated suits and even with trimming my cap with fur. But then I remember July and August. And what a laughing stock I would be if from Sukkos to Pesakh I wore a zaidehneh jupitza and Kolpek and from Pesakh to Sukkos summer weight suits and fedoras.
When I was a bokhur such seasonal changes were the norm. It was perfectly all right to wear light weight-light color suits, straw hats and short sleeve shirts in the summer. Now to do so would instantly earn one the "Harry" label at best or be taken for immediate confirmation of moral turpitude at worst.
Why do we all live in the Northeast anyway? How livable a place can NYC be if one must spend 10 weeks a year in the Sullivan County Catskill Mountains and 3 plus months a year snow-birding in South Florida? All this massive seasonal migration strikes me as animalistically instinctual if not insane.
Several years ago there was a power outage in my neighborhood. No electricity at all. No ACs…no fans. It was hellish. While some oifegkelerter bloggers doubt the veracity of התקטנו הדורות I need no greater proof than this. How did people as recently as 100 years ago survive summers without so much as an electric fan? And with far more clothing than we wear today? Obviously, they were made of sterner stuff.
As עובדי ה' we are supposed to look for lessons in עבודת ה' and physical allegories for רוחניות-דיקע' ענינים wherever they can. I am no Mequbal to say whether or not Khazal and post Khazal descriptions of Gehinom as a place of fire is to be taken literally or not or how literally. But whatever this hot place is about July and August ought to be cheerless lessons that it is a time and place to be avoided at all costs.
If such a tag existed I’d file this under “things that everyone complains about but does nothing about."
Qedusha havdala...have you had yours today?
I hate July and August. And to be frank, the invariable mourning of the three weeks is the least of it. I’ve always felt that July and August were made for heathens and aboriginals who can afford to cavort in loincloths and get away with it. But for those of us who must actually be attired in public these months are decidedly prickly. For those of us who are both clad AND obese they are impossible. I begin to feel great empathy for that most repulsive of the fictional characters of my childhood… the wicked witch of the west because I too am melting! When I come to power the first thing that I’ll do bl”n is to abolish these months.
I really believe that being overweight makes it harder for me to tolerate heat. I see many of my Kharedi coreligionists gadding about in full group dress regalia and, at least the wiry among them, don’t even seem to be breaking a sweat.
I’ll be candid. I’ve often thought of adopting a different look for בגדי שבת ויום טוב= Shabbos and holiday clothes. Partly as a sentimental retreat to the worlds of my ancestors and partly as an audio-visual Havdala consciousness aid. I’ve toyed with the notion of long-coated suits and even with trimming my cap with fur. But then I remember July and August. And what a laughing stock I would be if from Sukkos to Pesakh I wore a zaidehneh jupitza and Kolpek and from Pesakh to Sukkos summer weight suits and fedoras.
When I was a bokhur such seasonal changes were the norm. It was perfectly all right to wear light weight-light color suits, straw hats and short sleeve shirts in the summer. Now to do so would instantly earn one the "Harry" label at best or be taken for immediate confirmation of moral turpitude at worst.
Why do we all live in the Northeast anyway? How livable a place can NYC be if one must spend 10 weeks a year in the Sullivan County Catskill Mountains and 3 plus months a year snow-birding in South Florida? All this massive seasonal migration strikes me as animalistically instinctual if not insane.
Several years ago there was a power outage in my neighborhood. No electricity at all. No ACs…no fans. It was hellish. While some oifegkelerter bloggers doubt the veracity of התקטנו הדורות I need no greater proof than this. How did people as recently as 100 years ago survive summers without so much as an electric fan? And with far more clothing than we wear today? Obviously, they were made of sterner stuff.
As עובדי ה' we are supposed to look for lessons in עבודת ה' and physical allegories for רוחניות-דיקע' ענינים wherever they can. I am no Mequbal to say whether or not Khazal and post Khazal descriptions of Gehinom as a place of fire is to be taken literally or not or how literally. But whatever this hot place is about July and August ought to be cheerless lessons that it is a time and place to be avoided at all costs.
If such a tag existed I’d file this under “things that everyone complains about but does nothing about."
Qedusha havdala...have you had yours today?
Monday, August 10, 2009
Caption Contest
Saw this precious photo on on DovBear this morning. 3 times khai confederate HaMavdil Sheqels to the first commenter to submit a ROTFLMHO caption. Here are my own rather uninspired offerings: A Jury of his Fears???
WE'LL Decide who's gonna sit
12 of one a dozen of more of the same
Dehr Attorney General SHTELT BEER
Hmmm. way more comfortable than prenchkes and we don't even have to wear our hats...a bukhir could get used to this...
TBF last Fridays Times ran this cation under the photo:
In the State Senate gallery, schoolchildren listened to the debate over mayoral control of schools on Thursday. The legislation was approved by a vote of 47 to 8.
No Bread-in-the-Basket
This blog has a completely different feel for me than the DovBear Blog did. And not just because I am routinely ignored here. It's because that was a group blog where many new interesting (for the most part) posts went up every day whether I wrote anything or not. Oh sure... there were days when I contributed multiple posts but more often than not I could go for weeks without posting anything. I never sensed any "deadline" pressure and generally only posted when the muse hit me or when I read something that made my blood boil. Here, for better or worse I am the whole show and there is something about having to produce that saps both my creativity and will to produce .Sadly this is not only true about blogging/writing but about life in general. Our sages teach us that
גדול המצווה ועושה גדול המצווה ועושה ממי שאינו מצווה ועושה= "one who is bound by a commandment to perform a Mitzvah is greater (i.e. earns more reward and/or rises more spiritually from the mitzvah performance) than one who performs Mitzvos voluntarily. " The sevara=logical explanation provided by khazal for this rule is that the מי שאינו מצווה ועושה the volunteer יש לו פס בסלו...שאם ירצה יניח = "Has bread in his/her basket...(a metaphor for one who doesn't NEED to work because they have "savings to fall back on") if they want to they can let it go." In other words for the volunteer there is no anxiety when performing the mitzvah. It's all "extra credit." If the volunteers Esrog doesn't meet halakhic specs, if their concentration wanders while donning T'filin, if they allot less for Tzedaka than is required...it's no big deal. And whatever they DO accomplish is all gravy. Whereas the מצווה ועושה= the one duty bound to perform, must sweat all these details and just doesn't have the option NOT to perform. This is what is known as performance anxiety in the modern parlance.
When we go to the circus we pay more to see the high wire and trapeze artists who perform without a safety net. And it's not just because of the lurid subliminal desire to witness a disaster. It's because we know that those who can perform without the net must consistently confront and deal with their fears and anxieties over the remote possibility of losing their grip or balance. It is exponentially more difficult to perform on the high wire and trapeze without a net than with one. Not necessarily technically...but psychologically.
IMO the sad state of Judaism today correlates to our insisting on living our lives "with a net". To wit, although we all go through our bar and bas Mitzvahs and the men lain krias shema i.e. קבלת עול מלכות שמים = accepting the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven/the yoke of Mitzvos twice daily we never REALLY feel bound by the Mitzvahs. With so many Jews living lives utterly devoid of Torah and Mitzvahs the few Mitzvah Observant Jews left delude themselves into a commitment free, "I'm a volunteer for G-d" approach. Many folks approach marriage and aliyah to Eretz Yisrael the same way. Easy come...easy go. If this doesn't work out there all always other options.
So here's the silver lining: Although the silence is deafening around here and the only scenery is rolling tumbleweed maybe doing this commenter-forsaken but flying-solo blog will finally teach me to live a more committed, performance-anxiety enriched life.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Some Bloggish Heresy
Ani Maamins for the J-Blogging Nation include these articles of Faith:
I beleive with perfect faith that whereas Kharedistan is where you go for Mohalim, Sofrim, Cholent and Kishka and good chopped liver it is also the place where you go for 9-Days Money laundering, sundry financial chicanery and black market kidneys
I believe with perfect faith that whereas ModernOrthodania is where you go for mixed swimming, moronic RW Zionism and suburban flight it is also the place where you go for Ivy-educated professionals, Academics, Wine and Cheese tastings, fresh Sushi, good citizenship, straight shooting and pristine business Ethics.
Well lo and behold it seems that in the Sepharadic Syrian Community עולם הפוך ראיתי where the "traditionalists" are the business sleazeballs and, in an inversion of 50s B movie Westerns, where the good guys wear the black hats.
Money quotes:
"Solomon Dwek took down the rabbis from the two main rival families whose leadership struggle divided the community some 15 years ago. And in damaging these pillars of the community, some say, Dwek may have strengthened the ultra-Orthodox “black hat” stream that has been a rising force, at least among the rank and file."
"The Deal Yeshiva and Deal Kollel, both headed by Dwek’s father, are the centers for the ultra-Orthodox in Deal and remain untouched by the scandal, as does Ateret Torah, the central ultra-Orthodox Syrian congregation in Brooklyn".
The source for this Bloggish Qefira, Formulaic Kharedi apologetics, circle-the-wagons defensiveness and distortions? The Yated? HaModia? Cross-Currents? Lazer Beams? NO...The Forward!
Qedusha-Havdala...Have you had yours today?!
I beleive with perfect faith that whereas Kharedistan is where you go for Mohalim, Sofrim, Cholent and Kishka and good chopped liver it is also the place where you go for 9-Days Money laundering, sundry financial chicanery and black market kidneys
I believe with perfect faith that whereas ModernOrthodania is where you go for mixed swimming, moronic RW Zionism and suburban flight it is also the place where you go for Ivy-educated professionals, Academics, Wine and Cheese tastings, fresh Sushi, good citizenship, straight shooting and pristine business Ethics.
Well lo and behold it seems that in the Sepharadic Syrian Community עולם הפוך ראיתי where the "traditionalists" are the business sleazeballs and, in an inversion of 50s B movie Westerns, where the good guys wear the black hats.
Money quotes:
"Solomon Dwek took down the rabbis from the two main rival families whose leadership struggle divided the community some 15 years ago. And in damaging these pillars of the community, some say, Dwek may have strengthened the ultra-Orthodox “black hat” stream that has been a rising force, at least among the rank and file."
"The Deal Yeshiva and Deal Kollel, both headed by Dwek’s father, are the centers for the ultra-Orthodox in Deal and remain untouched by the scandal, as does Ateret Torah, the central ultra-Orthodox Syrian congregation in Brooklyn".
The source for this Bloggish Qefira, Formulaic Kharedi apologetics, circle-the-wagons defensiveness and distortions? The Yated? HaModia? Cross-Currents? Lazer Beams? NO...The Forward!
Qedusha-Havdala...Have you had yours today?!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Is Gadlus in the Eye of the Beholder? III
There is no agreed upon set of standards that establish them as generational leaders. There is only a vague community consensus that is spread by word of mouth and popularity within certain communities which I am not part of.
This is generally accurate. However there are certain uber gedolim who transcend specific communities and who “belong” to ALL of K’lal Yisrael. In the last 150 years the Kitzur Shulkahn Aruch, The Arukh HaShulkhan, The Kaf HaKhayim, the Chofetz Chaim, Rav Chaim Ozer, Rav Moshe Feinstien and Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach come to mind. Feeling disconnected form a tribe-like community may work to your advantage. Pick your own Gadol…just don’t remain without one at all.
They almost certainly, on average, know far less science and classical literature than I do.They know far less about the business world than I do. They know less about economics than I do. They probably know less about politics than I do, other than in areas of specific concern to their communities.
Others have disputed the accuracy of these assertions. I will not but instead play the Devils advocate. Even though you are right YOURS is a common knowledge, a knowledge shared my literally millions of knowledgeable laymen who received higher education. And yet it is precisely this knowledge/wisdom that is found wanting when confronted with both the larger eternal questions and even the nagging humdrum vicissitudes of life. That is why you’d be wise to turn to a TK, versed in a rare wisdom shared by, at most , 3000 peers worldwide.
They certainly don’t watch CNN, so when they get information about what’s going on in the world, it’s secondhand at the least, filtered through followers who bring them this news.
ROTFLMHO
I don’t doubt that they are probably kind & generous individuals whose constituents are generally happy with the way they rule. But I am not one of their constituents. I barely know who they are.
Sad. You’ve neglected the mitzvah of
כ אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ תִּירָא, אֹתוֹ תַעֲבֹד; וּבוֹ תִדְבָּק, וּבִשְׁמוֹ תִּשָּׁבֵעַ.
20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; Him shalt thou serve; and to Him shalt thou cleave, and by His name shalt thou swear. and as Khazal interpret it: " is it then possible to cleave to the L-rd? Is He not a fire consuming fire? Rather the commandment is to stick to the kahkahmim and their students"
So let’s summarize. The “gedolim” are a group of people, who I don’t know,
Either inconsequential or B. on you to rectify
Whose halachic knowledge is probably superior to mine,
Admit it. That wouldn’t take much. The same could probably be said about your accountant
though I only know this through hearsay, whose knowledge is almost certainly inferior to my own in most other realms,
debatable and B. Beside the point
who I don’t know personally and whose communities am I am not part of, and who have no degree other than that of Rabbi, which is held by many thousands of others.
Already addressed
Exactly why should I be deferring to their opinions about how I should live my life, who I should vote for, where I should live, and how I should raise my children??
One needs to know both when and how to ask a shailah. If you know all the answers to all these vexing questions then by all means, don’t waste their time. They are very busy and put-upon people. But if you should ever need them to resolve a shaila and/or to guide you through your personal labyrinth then by all means avail yourself of this unique and invaluable resource.
Because someone tells me that that is what Orthodox Jews do?
Err…precisely. That someone sure knows the score..
No thank you. I am a thinking being, not a sheep.
O but you are...and you ought to be proud of it...Do you say hosannas on sukkos? Remember this stitch from אום אני חומה the paeon to the Jewish people in which we are metaphorically described as צאן קדשים "The consecrted sheep? and/or this pasuk
טו וידבר משה, אל-יהוה לאמור. טז יפקוד יהוה, אלוהי הרוחות לכל-בשר, איש, על-העדה. יז אשר-ייצא לפניהם, ואשר יבוא לפניהם, ואשר יוציאם, ואשר יביאם; ולא תהיה, עדת יהוה, כצאן, אשר אין-להם רועה
……And if I want to put my life in anyone’s hands, it’s God’s, not a group of guys I don’t know.
Does G-d speak to YOU? Clearly and unambiguously? If you needed life saving surgery and the specialist doling out advice wasn’t fluent in English would you balk at using an interpreter? Even one that you don’t know well personally?
Qedusha-Havdala...have you had yours today?
This is generally accurate. However there are certain uber gedolim who transcend specific communities and who “belong” to ALL of K’lal Yisrael. In the last 150 years the Kitzur Shulkahn Aruch, The Arukh HaShulkhan, The Kaf HaKhayim, the Chofetz Chaim, Rav Chaim Ozer, Rav Moshe Feinstien and Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach come to mind. Feeling disconnected form a tribe-like community may work to your advantage. Pick your own Gadol…just don’t remain without one at all.
They almost certainly, on average, know far less science and classical literature than I do.They know far less about the business world than I do. They know less about economics than I do. They probably know less about politics than I do, other than in areas of specific concern to their communities.
Others have disputed the accuracy of these assertions. I will not but instead play the Devils advocate. Even though you are right YOURS is a common knowledge, a knowledge shared my literally millions of knowledgeable laymen who received higher education. And yet it is precisely this knowledge/wisdom that is found wanting when confronted with both the larger eternal questions and even the nagging humdrum vicissitudes of life. That is why you’d be wise to turn to a TK, versed in a rare wisdom shared by, at most , 3000 peers worldwide.
They certainly don’t watch CNN, so when they get information about what’s going on in the world, it’s secondhand at the least, filtered through followers who bring them this news.
ROTFLMHO
I don’t doubt that they are probably kind & generous individuals whose constituents are generally happy with the way they rule. But I am not one of their constituents. I barely know who they are.
Sad. You’ve neglected the mitzvah of
כ אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ תִּירָא, אֹתוֹ תַעֲבֹד; וּבוֹ תִדְבָּק, וּבִשְׁמוֹ תִּשָּׁבֵעַ.
20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; Him shalt thou serve; and to Him shalt thou cleave, and by His name shalt thou swear. and as Khazal interpret it: " is it then possible to cleave to the L-rd? Is He not a fire consuming fire? Rather the commandment is to stick to the kahkahmim and their students"
So let’s summarize. The “gedolim” are a group of people, who I don’t know,
Either inconsequential or B. on you to rectify
Whose halachic knowledge is probably superior to mine,
Admit it. That wouldn’t take much. The same could probably be said about your accountant
though I only know this through hearsay, whose knowledge is almost certainly inferior to my own in most other realms,
debatable and B. Beside the point
who I don’t know personally and whose communities am I am not part of, and who have no degree other than that of Rabbi, which is held by many thousands of others.
Already addressed
Exactly why should I be deferring to their opinions about how I should live my life, who I should vote for, where I should live, and how I should raise my children??
One needs to know both when and how to ask a shailah. If you know all the answers to all these vexing questions then by all means, don’t waste their time. They are very busy and put-upon people. But if you should ever need them to resolve a shaila and/or to guide you through your personal labyrinth then by all means avail yourself of this unique and invaluable resource.
Because someone tells me that that is what Orthodox Jews do?
Err…precisely. That someone sure knows the score..
No thank you. I am a thinking being, not a sheep.
O but you are...and you ought to be proud of it...Do you say hosannas on sukkos? Remember this stitch from אום אני חומה the paeon to the Jewish people in which we are metaphorically described as צאן קדשים "The consecrted sheep? and/or this pasuk
טו וידבר משה, אל-יהוה לאמור. טז יפקוד יהוה, אלוהי הרוחות לכל-בשר, איש, על-העדה. יז אשר-ייצא לפניהם, ואשר יבוא לפניהם, ואשר יוציאם, ואשר יביאם; ולא תהיה, עדת יהוה, כצאן, אשר אין-להם רועה
……And if I want to put my life in anyone’s hands, it’s God’s, not a group of guys I don’t know.
Does G-d speak to YOU? Clearly and unambiguously? If you needed life saving surgery and the specialist doling out advice wasn’t fluent in English would you balk at using an interpreter? Even one that you don’t know well personally?
Qedusha-Havdala...have you had yours today?
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