The Last Exile

I don’t have a dog in this fight but when did that every stop me from having an opinion? And no, it’s not because I favour hats, dresses on the longest side or on a really bad day I could be said to look like I stepped out of a 19th century Russian Shul.

Yossi Bielin was quoted earlier this week in the Jerusalem Post saying this:

Beilin, speaking from Egypt where he was on a diplomatic mission, said that he normally did not get involved in municipal-level disputes, but the Romema synagogue was different.

“When people told me about how a bunch of weirdo Breslav Hassidim forcibly took over a synagogue that was run by a group of liberal Israelis that wanted a place to pray where they could feel comfortable, I felt I had to get involved,” he said.

Here’s a little background:

The secular residents said that Beilin was the only MK they approached who was willing to get involved on their behalf. Beilin even visited the synagogue and gave a short speech denouncing what he called attempts to forcibly take over the synagogue.

The secular residents, who only attend the synagogue occasionally – during the High Holy Days or for family memorials – seemed more opposed to seeing their neighborhood overrun by men with beards and side-locks wearing long black coats and hats and women with head coverings than by the prospect of losing control over a prayer house which they do not attend regularly anyway.
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“They changed the prayer custom, they demand complete separation of men and women, they use the synagogue as a yeshiva all day long without permission, and they even proselytize among Romema’s younger population.” Bar-David, who said he never attended the synagogue regularly, “only on holidays and memorials,” does not like how the Breslavs “act as if they own the place.” Senderovitch added: “They are hysterical during prayer. They shout, they dance. At night they wander around the neighborhood looking for a place to be alone and meditate.”

And then there is Canada’s own Barbara Kay writing in the National Post this week commenting on a Hasidim group buying an old resort property in the Laurentians:

In Outremont, Montreal’s most beautiful neighbourhood, one enclave, the aforementioned Outremont kaschere, is home to thousands of Hasidic Jews, who live peacefully but separately, very separately, from their neighbours. As in any Hasidic quarter, you can walk about there in assured physical security, although you may leave it wondering if you have become invisible.

Since the Hasidic way of life demands a separate school system, separate butchers and other foodstuff provision (often purchased outside the communities they inhabit), and synagogues close enough to walk to (no cars permitted on Sabbath or holidays); and since Hasidic families are as large as nature allows, inevitably their presence makes a huge impact on whatever urban environment they settle in.
Herein lies the “problem.” Hasidim have zero interest in any social interaction with the outside world. By outside world I don’t mean only Gentiles, but any non-Hasidic Jew. Mainstream Jews are not only invisible to Hasidim, they are also seen as apostates, and therefore worthy of contempt, as opposed to the indifference shown to Gentiles.
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Neighbourhoods are about friendliness, trust and social interaction, as well as mutual economic support. What neighbourhoods get with Hasidim are voluntary ghettos in their midst, from which they derive modest economic benefit, and absolutely no social interaction. Hasidim may live as they choose, but they must understand that their cult-like presence is not, sociologically speaking, value added to a small and struggling community.

It is hypocritical to label St. Adolphans anti-Semitic. If Hasidim moved en bloc to my neighbourhood, I would worry “that [they] might not integrate into the [Barbara Kay] community with the result that the property would be ghettoized.” Does that make me, a mainstream Jew, anti-Semitic?

I once was employed by a Haisdic (not Breslov) family run business. I won’t go into the long story on how I came to work for the Father and Son team. It deserves a posting on its’ own but let me preface it by saying the son wanted to retire but couldn’t until Father decided it was time. When I eventually left, the Father was 82 years old and still working with no end in sight. It was one of the most unique experiences of my life.

It sure beat the secular boss I had who would fight with his wife first thing in the morning and then come into the office and throw a full coffee cup at the wall immediately behind me muttering about the “bitch” he was married to. Or the evangelical Christian boss, who would leave pamphlets on my chair for me to find every morning which threatened me with everlasting hellfire and damnation if I didn’t accept Jesus as my personal saviour. Let’s not even talk about having to dodge more than a few office Romeos.

I admit there was minimum personal interaction, and a great deal of our “inter-office” interaction was through written instructions left on my desk. I was the public face to the greater outside world for my bosses but I got to know their wives quite well. At first, I was a bit taken back when I would get calls from their wives inquiring about my health or the children’s since I apparently looked tired when I hadn’t laid eyes on the women that day. I had my chair, they had theirs and never would the two meet, but I got over it and accepted their ways were different.

Then there were all the perks –both big and small. Once it was observed I always had a book with me I would often arrive at work to find a great stack of books left on my desk with a note from one of the wives. Not one ever promised me a place in hell. I got fed regularly and had fresh home-made challah every Friday morning to take home with me when I left work. Not only was I paid fairly and promptly but I also got off all Jewish holidays with pay as well. Frankly, the job was heaven sent and I will always be eternally grateful for it.

The Hasidim are a large diverse community within the greater Orthodox Jewish community and it would be a mistake to assume all Haisdic traditions are the same. I will even admit to having been on the receiving end of a few harsh tongued Haisdic in my day but I don’t think it is fair to characterize the Haisdim as looking on all other Jews as “apostates” and I would suggest it goes against Haisdim tradition to even say so. The easiest thing to do in the world is to assimilate into the wider dominate culture. It’s far harder to keep the faith of the fathers and that’s why being a stiff-necked people often means standing apart and alone.

Now I live in the downtown core of Toronto and having to dodge a few Breslovers Haisdim looking for a quite place to mediate sure beats having to dodge the hookers, drug dealers and junkies. I could only pray that my neighbourhood would be “invaded” by the Haisdim though I admit gay pride week could get a little scary. And I will even admit to holding a special place in my heart for Breslovers – I find their optimism heartwarming and besides – they dance. How can I not love a people who dance for joy? But I guess the real difference is a Chabad House would welcome Barbara Kay or even Yossi Beilin but can the same be said for Barbara or Yossi’s house?