As a member of a northern New Jersey Modern Orthodox community, it has been very interesting to read of the widespread concerns about scams plaguing the “mainstream” frum community. As someone who is a rather objective outsider, I want to give my two cents, if I may. I should note beforehand that I’m very familiar with Lakewood (I’m there often) and I work in an industry in which many “yeshivish” people do business, so I’m not completely clueless. That said, there was a recent mailbag article on YWN that decried materialism as the new Avoda Zarah, and lamented that too many people have bought into the concept that money equals happiness. However, the article didn’t provide a reason as to why this phenomenon is occurring. As an outsider who works with yeshivish people, I think I know the answer. It seems to me that oftentimes, people who are no longer sitting in yeshiva and go to work, in some ways try to identify more with the Modern Orthodox community than their own. They want to be seen as educated, worldly, and “with it.” The problem is, they have a very blurry perspective of what Modern Orthodox life is actually like. [MAILBAG: Scams and Schemes: Why Is Everyone Ignoring The Most Important Part?] For instance, my yeshivish coworkers were stunned that I wasn’t aware of the brands and styles they were into, the types of alcohol they drink, the types of vacations they go on, or even the latest plot twist in some hit TV show. I really don’t know, and nor does my wife or children. We might be less yeshivish than them, and there are certainly quite a lot of things about the yeshivish lifestyle and value system that I aspire to, but I can assure you that we don’t have the awareness of the things they think we do. Over the past decade, I have been floored by the behaviors aptly described in the mailbag letter and how it has permeated the yeshivish community, specifically those who enter the workforce. There is a certain level of money and brand “consciousness” that far surpasses the community I live in – all in an attempt, I think, to achieve the levels of materialism they wrongly they think the Modern Orthodox community has. [MAILBAG: Ponzi Schemes And Investors In Our Community: A Warning To All Involved] Frankly, it is very disheartening to see. Visibly financially successful people (achieved legally or otherwise) in the yeshivish community are treated like celebrities and in some circles have surpassed the notoriety, respect, and example to emulate, that was usually accorded to talmidei chachamim. It is a challenge with no magical fix but it is very unhealthy for any community, yeshivish or otherwise. P.T. – North Jersey. NOTE: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of YWN. DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE POSTED ON YWN? SEND IT TO US FOR REVIEW. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The post MAILBAG: Modern Communities Aren’t Wasting As Much Money As Yeshivish And Chasidish Communities appeared first on The Yeshiva World.