Such an event is anything but tzniut and it certainly doesn't represent anything authentically Jewish, unless Sedom is the new gold standard. If Dina were raped today, would Shimon and Levi hold fundraiser for Shechem? The brothers were condemned for their lack of emotional control, for endangering the place of physical safety and moral standing of Yaakov's family in the region. So to, there should only be condemnation here.
Last night at the other big splash, even people were giddy about the big show/Asifa at Citifield, the "achdus", the size of it all and there were some proclamations/predictions that more events in smaller communities would be forthcoming. Personally, I could do without all the "achdus" and posturing and I hope big splash events don't come my direction.
I simply do not see the value of joining up to make a big splash, especially when there is no way to know what will be shouted amid the emotion. I can't see the actual positive outcome, although I'm sure that many people left with warm feelings. On top of the fact that you can't actually have a "discussion" or implement solutions, there is so much independence to be lost and erroneous associations to be gained when joining together in "achdus".
I've had enough with gangster-like behavior and shows of force.
Kings I 19:11
ReplyDelete"And He said: 'Go forth, and stand upon the mount before G-d.' And, behold, G-d passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before G-d; but G-d was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but G-d was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire; but G-d was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice."
A friend of mine pointed out that last week's parsha stated that if we did not follow the Torah, we would eat the flesh of our own children. Given the events of the past week, this curse takes on a new meaning.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I'd like to think it is only a matter of time that such communities start to understand the nature of abuse. I believe many of our own parents and grandparents would have a hard time believing what perversion is out there (normally professed by charming people). But when you intimidate and hurt people, it will take even longer to absorb.
ReplyDelete"I've had enough with gangster-like behavior and shows of force."
ReplyDeleteI hear this a lot, but I don't really see anyone doing anything about it. They keep going to the same shuls, send their kids to the same schools, etc.
I went to the asifah and was thrilled to daven, answer "amein yehei Shemei rabbah...," say "Borchu" and "Krias Shema" together with tens of thousands of Jews. It was awesome.
ReplyDeleteAs for the speeches, read the comments on matzav.com and VIN - it's not nearly as monolithic out there as the MO community would like to believe.
if everyone who showed up simply donated a couple hundred to their favorite yeshiva, the tuition crisis could have been solved.
ReplyDeleteClooJew, was it worth the collective expenditure to say Yehei Shemei Rabbah? Should it be an annual event at the expense of whatever else might have been funded with the same funds?
ReplyDeleteThis really isn't about money, it's about values. It's not the amount of money that was expended that bothers you, it's WHAT the money was expended upon. That's why you keep noting the money could have been spent on something else.
ReplyDeleteSo, this isn't an orthonomics issue, per se. It's an orthodox issue. It's an issue of what Orthodoxy's values and beliefs are.
These gedolim, rabbis, askanim, and all of their followers are loudly saying that Orthodoxy is about covering up pictures of women (did you see the photographs where they covered up a drawing of a modestly dressed woman on an advertising for hot sauce?) and it's about not using the Internet unless it is solely for business. The protesters would argue it's also about ignoring and covering up child abuse.
So, these people put their money where their mouths (and values) are. But, it's the values, not the money that's really bugging you.
I'll just close by saying I hope this really sinks in. You see far too many people who complain and complain and do nothing and then wonder, years later, why their kids don't want to go to college, demand financial support, etc.
I'm fascinated by posts lauding the Asifa after the fact.
ReplyDeleteSince the declared decision of the Asifa was that use of the Internet for anything other than business would forfeit the world to come, I can only conclude that the people posting are either paid to shill for it, or have decided to forgo the world to come.
In the case of the latter, there are some really good restaurants you've been missing out on, start there...
A few days ago, Orthodox Jews held a mass meeting [asifa] against the dangers of the internet.
ReplyDeleteWhen will Orthodox Jews hold a mass meetings against:
cigarette smoking, the agunah crisis, 50% intermarriage, the high price of kosher food, the high price of yeshivah tuition, the high price of arba minim, discrimination against baalei teshuvah, discrimination against Sephardim, etc, etc, etc?
re the fundraising splash - this is the first I'm hearing about it. How big of an event was it? If it wasn't purposely oversized for the purpose of intimidation, I dont have a problem with the idea of raising funds for an accused offender. In short I totally agree with the Emes VEmunah article you linked, and it would be useful to know how big of an event it was.
ReplyDeleteP.S. among the (naive, overly trusting, yadayadayada) orthodox people I hang with, we keep hilchos yichud. what happened to that, rabbi w?
Chavi, Reports and pictures showed a large event. News reports said "several thousand" and the pictures back it up. It wasn't a tupperware party.
ReplyDeleteMr. Cohen:
ReplyDeleteI couldn't have said it better myself. There's money for these unneeded public displays of "unity." There's money for bigger shules but there's no solution(s) to the tuition crises. My wife & I had to put our kids in PS in order to avoid going into bankruptcy. The community response was to ignore the family who put their kids in PS! Let's scapegoat the internet, yeah that's truly the problem.
It is easy to get cheap hermes handbags for less from these online stores. The individual must, however, be on the look out for these discounts cheap louis vuitton handbags . If possible, the individual can subscribe to the site to receive emails whenever there are discounting sales of omega watches for women
ReplyDelete