Notwithstanding Chief Rabbi Sacks's anti-charedi remarks at last week's dinner - (in our house we eat once a week) - the fact is that my revered hubby and I were shocked when we visited the so-called frum neighbourhood of Golders Green over shabbos pinchos. It might gladden Lord Sacks's heart to see so many women in sheitles and stilettoes, but it broke ours. "High class Mayfair Ladies of the Night they look like" said the Visionary (as if he knows). "Do they even know how to remove tissues from the box ke'halochoh on shabbos?? Do they go to any serious shiurim??? - (HOW DARE THEY?!!)"
We were walking down the main autobahn leading from one eidah charedissssss to the next, when we heard a woman talking (on shabbos!!) to the effect that she "doesn't think her daughter has ever spoken to a non-Jew". I should hope not! What is the chiddush in that? Why should her daughter have to speak to a non-Jew? Why should she have to speak at all? Isn't it enough that she is able to daven mincha and talk to Him? Just because there are goyim in the town doesn't mean we have to sell our holy neshomos. Only ask the Visionary about women talking - to yidden, goyim or even to themselves. Where is it written that this is permitted?
Anyway, we finally reached where we were going when suddenly the Visionary has a sha'aloh. Who is he going to ask in a place like GG in 5773 (may we live to see it), a place where there are no real rabbonim to talk of? But first you need to know the sha'aloh. It is this: if the Chief Rabbi of a Commonwealth of Nations calls a section of yidden "a danger to the future of the Jewish people", and there could chas ve'sholom be some truth to these words, is it permitted to mingle with such people, (especially on shabbos)? What could we do! Here we were right in the middle of Golders Green, on shabbos, and no-one to ask. So I said I would put out an appeal for guidance in this matter, which is why I am now blogging.
Not long ago a learned judge described a section of the mainstream community as having "religious schizophrenia", but my revered husband and I are of the opinion (and ours is the opinion that has stood the test of time remember), that there is religious schizophrenia in ALL sections of the communtiy. So we are getting the next plane back to our own world, where we only have to mix with our own kind of schizophrenics and where we are not subject to the witterings of intellectual giants (like the Chief Rabbi).
Gut Voch from my very learned husband, and his household.
Sunday 30 June 2013
Sunday 9 June 2013
PC Ben Yitzchok of the Sin'u Ra Division.
A letter appeared in the Tribune (6 June '13) entitled "Chief Rabbi's valediction", and it fell to Ben Yitzchok to offer a swift reply. The gist of it was that it is a duty on any Gd-fearing yid to "highlight the sinful lifestyle" of those who are, sadly, to be tolerated. This includes reform Jews, mechalelei Shabbos, homosexuals and possibly a few others. Whilst we must legally tolerate the actual people, we dare not tolerate the sins. Let me sharpen my sword and prepare to defend holiness to the hilt then:
If I must take chastisement from a fellow human being in matters of Jewish law, I expect my chastiser to be perfect. If my chastiser can her(or him)self be criticised, their criticism of me is of no consequence. This is in line with principles such as "let he who is without sin cast the first stone", or "he who comes to a Court of Equity shall come with clean hands". It is a kind of natural justice.
Now it is no secret that Charedim do not have such a wonderful reputation outside our own inward-looking communitiy. We cause heaps of trouble where-ever we touch down, and justify all of it using our own principles and values, regardless of the rights of others to their interpretations and values. A classic example is the farcical charedi reaction to the "Women of the Wall" prayer meetings. Instead of leading by example, thereby showing the beauty of traditional orthodox Jewish life, we demonstrate (for want of a better word!) how out-of-touch, intolerant, bigotted and arrogant we are. With our scorn we invite scorn. With our arrogance we invite contempt. With our intolerance we invite anti-Torah feeling (and by definition we cause the Name of Heaven to be brought into disrepute). "Gays Out of the Beis Medrash!" might tick all the right boxes for Ben Yitzchok and his ilk of zealots and fundamentalists, but if I was a gay yeshiva bochur this approach could be the death of me. (How self-righteous would my chastisers feel then?)
How do we think it looks (if we think about it at all) when we ask sha'alos about "how to change a nappy on shabbos", whilst at the same time looking down our noses at other yidden who might not be keeping shabbos halachically - (but who Hashem seems able to tolerate)?
Get off your high horse, Ben Yitzchok. You are what you are, like your gay chaver is what he is, and like your reform brothers are what they are. You don't have the monopoly on anything. Get your kop round that and you will be on the way to frum yiddishkeit.
If I must take chastisement from a fellow human being in matters of Jewish law, I expect my chastiser to be perfect. If my chastiser can her(or him)self be criticised, their criticism of me is of no consequence. This is in line with principles such as "let he who is without sin cast the first stone", or "he who comes to a Court of Equity shall come with clean hands". It is a kind of natural justice.
Now it is no secret that Charedim do not have such a wonderful reputation outside our own inward-looking communitiy. We cause heaps of trouble where-ever we touch down, and justify all of it using our own principles and values, regardless of the rights of others to their interpretations and values. A classic example is the farcical charedi reaction to the "Women of the Wall" prayer meetings. Instead of leading by example, thereby showing the beauty of traditional orthodox Jewish life, we demonstrate (for want of a better word!) how out-of-touch, intolerant, bigotted and arrogant we are. With our scorn we invite scorn. With our arrogance we invite contempt. With our intolerance we invite anti-Torah feeling (and by definition we cause the Name of Heaven to be brought into disrepute). "Gays Out of the Beis Medrash!" might tick all the right boxes for Ben Yitzchok and his ilk of zealots and fundamentalists, but if I was a gay yeshiva bochur this approach could be the death of me. (How self-righteous would my chastisers feel then?)
How do we think it looks (if we think about it at all) when we ask sha'alos about "how to change a nappy on shabbos", whilst at the same time looking down our noses at other yidden who might not be keeping shabbos halachically - (but who Hashem seems able to tolerate)?
Get off your high horse, Ben Yitzchok. You are what you are, like your gay chaver is what he is, and like your reform brothers are what they are. You don't have the monopoly on anything. Get your kop round that and you will be on the way to frum yiddishkeit.
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