Upcoming News: This coming Saturday, March 9, 2013, at 7pm EST, I'll be a guest on The Kurdled Jew podcast over here. I'll be discussing "The Missionary Position" with hosts Arthur and Eli, and will cover all things related to dealing with missionaries, especially those of the kiruv variety. I hope you'll tune in. Later this week, The Beacon will be publishing an article of mine about one of the (many) aspects of kiruv/outeach that I find troubling. I'm particularly excited to have the opportunity to open up dialogue with the Modern Orthodox community on this issue. As soon as it is up on their website, I'll post the link.
This morning found me in the supermarket, doing my weekly shopping with seemingly everyone in my town. I was dreading having to run into the Passover aisle for a box of egg matzoh, one of two Passover weaknesses I have (the other being Polaner's seeded Raspberry preserves,) and must purchase weeks in advance of the holiday. I expected to find, amidst the holiday displays of matzoh and gefilte fish, young orthodox women giving out booklets on holiday observance. The thought of having to navigate already crowded aisles with a full cart was mind-numbing, and while I'm usually open to conversations with strangers, I was in a rush to get home. Much to my surprise, the section reserved for Easter and Passover shopping was relatively empty, save for two couples who reminded me of the parents of my childhood friends.
The slender woman with the large glasses and the most incredible brown Jew-fro I've ever seen, was discussing their Passover shopping with her husband, who held a case of Yartzeit candles. She stood with her arms folded over the shopping cart handle, listing the pros and cons of purchasing their kosher for Passover perishables during this shopping trip. The other couple stood by the immense stacks of matzoh, deciding which five pound box to take home.
The few minutes that I spent in that section of the store, observing these couples--both women in pants, their hair uncovered, talking with their husbands who wore neither kippahs nor hats, and filling their carts--these few minutes made a huge impact on me, and reminded me why I'm involved in anti-kiruv activism. Moments like these, when I catch regular Americans who happen to be Jews, engaging in something as mundane as shopping for an upcoming holiday, give me a feeling of contentedness that I don't feel when I see Lubavitch women standing behind a table, handing out literature. People should be able to shop in peace, without pressure to conform to an orthodox standard, without their own observance being undermined by a stranger pushing his/her belief system because he/she doesn't approve of anything not orthodox. With so many Jewish holidays celebrating how people managed to maintain their beliefs in the face of opposition, contemporary non-orthodox Jews shouldn't have to face opposition from their orthodox counterparts in order to celebrate in a way that is personally meaningful.
