Religious Nitwits
Women might be temptation to sin to you Hasidic Jews (Hey, 1854 Poland called -- they want their look back), but to us, one of them is the Secretary of State.
Pathetically, a Hasidic newspaper removed Hillary Clinton (and one other woman) from the picture of the President, Vice-President, and other top U.S. officials watching the Osama operation.
How weird. I didn't realize Hasidic Jews had that kind of attitude towards women. I always just thought of them as the guys who walk around north Jersey in long overcoats in the middle of summer.
Cousin Dave at May 8, 2011 8:06 AM
That level of stupidity just amazes me.
Jim P. at May 8, 2011 8:45 AM
They didn't just remove Hillary. They removed the lady (can't remember her name), that is in the background as well.
I second what Jim P. said.
Steve at May 8, 2011 9:00 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/05/08/religious_nitwi.html#comment-2114941">comment from SteveSaid that above, Steve!
Amy Alkon at May 8, 2011 9:06 AM
Hillary might be flattered to be thought of as a temptress.
Martin at May 8, 2011 9:15 AM
If this level of Hasidity is uncomfortable you could try a little soda water and a saltine cracker maybe? Not that you should listen to your mother on Mother's Day, she only carried you for nine months, God forbid you should call and see if she's starving alone in the freezing darkness waiting by the phone.
Go ahead. Eat something! Eat!
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at May 8, 2011 9:16 AM
I'd like to hear Ben-David explain this here.. I know he's not of that sect but he may understand it. I usually attribute this craziness to Islamists, not to intelligent Jewish people.
Rojak at May 8, 2011 11:09 AM
So, they've learned the photoshoping tricks of Stalin and Tito? who knew?
I R A Darth Aggie at May 8, 2011 11:40 AM
Don't forget Mao, whose wife was removed from a photo of the Long March after she fell from favor.
Conan the Grammarian at May 8, 2011 12:14 PM
So, if it was a picture of Golda Meir and her cabinet, would they have removed her from the picture?
Sue at May 8, 2011 3:53 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/05/08/religious_nitwi.html#comment-2115851">comment from SueSo, if it was a picture of Golda Meir and her cabinet, would they have removed her from the picture?
Yes. It's not about Jewish or non-, it's about women as a source of temptation, being unclean, and all other sorts of ugly stuff.
Amy Alkon at May 8, 2011 4:20 PM
I read about a group of Hasidic men who physically attacked a woman who refused to sit in the female section of a bus in Israel. I was shocked to learn that Israel even had segregated buses.
ken in sc at May 8, 2011 5:13 PM
Rojak:
In a nutshell:
For centuries Jews in Eastern Europe were locked out of most agriculture and industry, and not allowed to dwell in most large cities. They were also subjected to waves of horrific violence.
The Hassidic movement developed to help Jews deal with this awful reality. It adopted mystical notions and popularized them, and departed from mainstream Judaism in other ways.
Most importantly - it fostered a turning inward. It replaced the core Jewish notion that the Torah is a moral guide for living in the here and now with the (paradoxically Christian) notion of transcending/turning away from reality. That was never Judaism's focus - but the reality was unbearable, and these ideas gave people strength and a reason to go on.
When the industrial revolution and political emancipation swept through Europe, many left these groups and returned to mainstream Jewish belief and practice - or threw over Judaism entirely, because all they knew of it was Hasidic mumbo-jumbo (= basically the history of most American Jews).
The remainder responded to the new challenges of modernity by doubling-down on their insular, other-worldly view. They slid even further from the mainstream Judaism of personal responsibility - treating their leaders as wonder-workers and modern-day prophets.
And they responded the same way to the shocks of the Holocaust and the birth of the State of Israel - circling their wagons against the real world, resisting the notion that Jews could shape their own fate, and waiting for the Messiah.
Obviously, in such a tightly-wrapped environment, all religious practices can be distorted by free-floating piety into caricatures of their original moral purpose. And so laws originally intended to counter the pagan world's denigration of women, and re-establish respect for women as souls rather than sex objects - have been distorted into the exact opposite.
No, I don't understand this. It is contrary to the core position of mainstream Judaism - that the Law of Moses, together with human free will, are the cornerstones of a good, just life here and now.
I certainly don't think that God "didn't know the 20th century was going to happen" - which seems to be these people's position... I think that the moral guidance of the Torah is still relevant to modern life, and perhaps more necessary than ever to preserve our humanity.
Many observant Jews would consider this kind of incident a "desecration of God's name" because this extreme, non-normative behavior reflects poorly on the Torah. Unfortunately many people see the funny clothing and long beards and assume these people represent "authentic" Judaism - when in fact they do not.
Ben David at May 9, 2011 12:27 AM
Well written Ben David. Thanks for taking the time.
Rojak at May 9, 2011 4:14 PM
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