I always wonder how the "typical" Jewfolk think about the purpose of life. The word, Robot, gets thrown around lots these days but really, it does seem to be the case. Have you seen the movie "I, Robot?" In it, the robots get a daily update from the server and then act according to the new instructions. In the movie, the robots got instructions to basically take over the humans (more or less).
I can see something similar in the Yeshivish community. We, as a community, are not allowed to think for ourselves. We must rely on our gedolim to do all our thinking, whether it's who to vote for, which minhagim to keep or how many people can be in a band at a simcha.
So what exactly is the point in living as a Yeshivish Jew? You're not spiritually growing, all you're doing is blindly following leaders, and some of the leaders are doing it for "other" reasons. Growing up in my home, this was not the case. I was always taught to question everything, get answers for everything. Isn't that what real Judaism is about? Seeking the answers and living with it? This blind faith in gedolim is wrong and also dangerous.
Case in Point:
There was once an episode with a "gadol" who did something wrong just so he can defend a criminal in a court case. I asked a relative how this gadol can do that and the response was "He's a gadol, you can't ask questions." Eventually, I got to a case where you see this gadol walk into a store, pull out a gun, rob the store and run. I asked this guy, now what? His reply was "He's a gadol, you can't ask questions. He obviously had a reason."
This scares me. Never in the history of Judaism has anybody retained so much power.
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10 comments:
Welcome Oxymoron Man.
Good post.
I often worry about the "drones" I see around me who seem incapable of independent thought. I hope they get good reception.
Thanks, and I seriously think one day there will be an implosion and it won't be pretty.
BTW, SK's wife really laughed at the picture of him playing in your band, good times, good times.
I thought I recognized that accent.
Azoy!
I have always found that it is better to live in Golus (meaning, outside NYC, Lakewood and Monsey.)
When you have to work harder at your yiddishkeit, these sorts of issues don't really come up. When you are living with people who are yeshivish, BTs, MOs and even Conservadox, you tend to have to think a lot more and blindly follow a lot less.
Just my 2 shekels.
I know that. I'm looking forward to the day when I say goodbye to Brooklyn.
That's why frumkeit is a cult. Slavish, mindless following of inculpable leaders is one of the checkmarks of culthood.
Callie, that's ridiculous. People who grow up Jewish don't "choose" to be Jewish. It's not like joining a club. If you are frum, then you believe there's an obligation to follow the Torah. You're like those people who give me grief because I "choose" not to work on Saturday or eat Kosher.
It's not a "choice". It's an obligation.
The gadolim have the power because the community gives them the power. If you all decided to obey a different law, the law of the land around you, for example, then this would not be the case.
Look at America as a whole, is it so much less robotic? Talking to many people, from many walks of life, one will find few viewpoints that come from the person (i.e. they heard and believed something from an authority).
just curious...for the uniformed, could you please enlighten me as to why you continue to call yourself yeshivesh? i mean, you obviously realize how ridiculous that lifestyle is!
Of course, but it's still part of my persona. I'm not modern, I'm not ultra, I'm not yeshivish. But I can be considered a mixture of MUOY.
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