tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965506036256262699.post5049150981139305515..comments2023-10-23T14:16:46.342-04:00Comments on Jewish Outreach: What Your Rabbi Isn't Telling You: Rebellion, Zumba, and A Funny Outreach Speechbechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16146699715760197131noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965506036256262699.post-56224825725920214492021-04-28T05:02:48.094-04:002021-04-28T05:02:48.094-04:00According to Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, the goal of th...According to Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, the goal of the kiruv professional should be simply to help the baal teshuvah take on the mitzvos. He should not impose conformity or eradicate the essence of the person. Rav Yaakov said that it is important that the BT feel normal. He said that, for example, the typical BT will not feel normal if he does not complete his or her college education. Thus, he or she should not be discouraged from doing so.GPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15607644759658339566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965506036256262699.post-56582592741595452892014-02-04T08:18:13.115-05:002014-02-04T08:18:13.115-05:00Thanks for the link and for your comment, Warren.Thanks for the link and for your comment, Warren.bechttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16146699715760197131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965506036256262699.post-9083934625439074852014-02-04T07:21:05.040-05:002014-02-04T07:21:05.040-05:00A slightly more restrained version of the Zumba sp...A slightly more restrained version of the Zumba speech, but it still slut-shames and includes uncalled-for references to race. http://www.ishtetl.com/index.php?/topic/2961-tznius-overload/?p=103351Warren Bursteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09851196721637207769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965506036256262699.post-4533211348688483512013-12-12T16:58:34.859-05:002013-12-12T16:58:34.859-05:00Think of it this way: you have a new hire at your ...Think of it this way: you have a new hire at your company. You think you've got a geat company and that the new guy is pretty luck to land a position in it and you're probably right but after a few weeks he starts pointing out some design flaws in the way the office is set up, some of the policies, etc. Nothing big at first but you can respond one of two ways. <br />If you're a secure person you'd sit down and want to get his impression of the concerns he has. You could address them and explain where you think he's wrong and should adjust his expectations and where he's right and yes there's things you could do differently.<br />If you're insecure, however, you'll get defensive. Who is this rookie to you about your company? What does he think, that you've been waiting around for him to discover America? No, you'll sit him down, explain to him that this is an excellent company with excellent policies and if he wants to fit in he'll strictly adhere to them, otherwise he simply won't work out.Mighty Garnel Ironhearthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09571194550300367249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965506036256262699.post-54766779511566540682013-12-10T17:44:36.388-05:002013-12-10T17:44:36.388-05:00Good piece, I can see that Zumba would be threaten...Good piece, I can see that Zumba would be threatening for precisely the reasons you found it non-threatening; it's non-threatening for individuals, it is a context that is not the fruit of the community, and it is non-judgmental...'mental' here is the mind of the community, 'judge' is the orientation of maintaining parameters. All the rabbonim need do is allude to fears and assumed consequences that make only the slightest sense.<br /><br />On the previous comment, not all BTs have a charedi experience and that really should not have to be said. Not everyone was m'karev Chabad, et al ...BT yeshivot and seminaries know full well they can't stay funded on a handful of rich alumni alone! It's old news that many such larger places have programs precisely in a trajectory for those already on college/career paths, some no longer even offer smicha, etc (Shappell's), and facilitate you finding contexts in Israel and/or your home country compatible to your lifestyle ambitions. The institutional economics are such that poor alumni simply can't contribute! <br /><br />Seminaries/yeshivot aside, I was sold on Torah and moved to very large community outside the NYC orbit in 1998 and left in it all 2011 - the good number of BTs I've known over that time maintained their professional trajectories to one degree or another (especially married families), Charedim and r/lw Modox. The *family* economics are such that being 'poor' simply doesn't pay (and doesn't make for shalom bayit and lifestyle contentment), except Israel.<br />Noe (FB group, OTD)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3965506036256262699.post-43832545100648060242013-12-10T14:21:06.586-05:002013-12-10T14:21:06.586-05:00Your last sentence said it all: Judaism should no...Your last sentence said it all: Judaism should not have to destroy a life to enhance it. <br /><br />The problem with kiruv is that it does. <br /> <br />Whether a BT just "isn't hungry" for something Mom cooked (without mentioning that it's because Mom's food isn't kosher), or doesn't feel like going to the movies, (because most movies show immodestly clothed women, or kissing or “worse”), or decides to go on a free trip to Israel instead of coming home for Spring Break (because a kiruv rabbi pushes a Birthright trip with a kiruv agenda), the result is the same; a child giving up ambitions and important relationships for a cult like religious group. <br /><br />Many BT's are systematically broken down and their lives destroyed. <br /><br />The ambitions of college kids are frequently dumbed down for more “meaningful” and “spiritual” pursuits that are in line with Orthodox roles. Examples might include a boy with a gifted ability for public speaking who wanted to become a politician deciding to become a rabbi. A girl who set out to become a doctor deciding that Social Work is fulfilling. <br /><br />Relationships change dramatically once kids are kiruv’d. Old friends who are not religious or are gay are dropped. Parents who object to the influence of kiruv rabbis are labeled “haters,” “anti-religious,” and “hostile.” BT’s are encouraged to live in cloistered communities away from anyone who might ask “what happened to you?” <br /> <br />Eventually, a BT’s old friends are gone. Their old family is alienated. Their old community doesn’t know what happened to them. Their old lives are destroyed.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com