I have always wondered about the effects my writing and videos have had on people. Am I going to get up to the big guy/girl in the sky and have this huge scale of demerits for all of the people I gave a negative view or orthodox Judaism to, or are there going to be a bunch of white bearded fellows who after decided to become frum after spending some time on this site? Both options are entirely possibly, though if I truly believed the first one, I probably wouldn’t be doing what I do – although I have trouble not throwing the whole gan eden thing out the window as a conspiracy for Jews to give their money away to rabbis who want to study rather than work, but that’s for another time.
Someone recently told me that they attribute me for them becoming frum, not mentioning names but you know who you are and I shepped mad nachas from that, even though I make fun of the brainwashing tactics of kiruv organizations I find this great pride in the fact that someone did teshuvah and became orthodox because they got onto my blog – craziness.
I once got this email from someone who couldn’t deal with the fact she couldn’t hug her male friends anymore and didn’t realize that people who were orthodox struggled with that same concept until reading this here blog and then there was some woman who told me I made her divorce a little happier because she liked what I wrote – strange I know.
Then most recently there was that guy who is seriously getting into Judaism and orthodoxy because he found this blog – strange – I figured it would make non-Jews look at us like we’re are insane and that’s the truth – we are insane, no more than any other fundamentalists or religious fanatics, but still our restrictions blow.
So I wonder if anyone actually became frum, stayed frum or went off the derech because of my site or anything else interesting.
Anything is possible
sometimes we expect something to go a certain way and the opposite happens
At least they are aware that Orthodox individuals are only human and make mistakes too. That’s amazing when people see that and still want to religious themself. I see the benefits as twofold. The mitzvos nourish my soul and connect me to Hashem, while Also bring blessing to the world. Thereby I help both myself and the world.
lol good work! i’m not suprised, the shiddach posts are pretty attractive
not me but this blog makes me feel nostalgic. and sometimes the nasty anti-judaism comments make me feel defensive – so if i ever become frum it is credit for a. nuran et al 😉
lol
For some people, your blog is a connection to real frumkeit (The everyday kind that just lives with being frum as opposed to Aish frum dreamworld or something), especially where there aren’t that many frum things around. For everyone else, it’s just another insight into or shade of the frum world we deal with.
I love that term “Aish frum dreamworld”.
Aish gets bashed for no reason. I personally know people who’ve been through Aish and they weren’t brainwashed or whatever. My personal Rav was one of the original Aish rabbis.
I’m a Mormon and I love reading this blog. I send the entries about the shidduch crisis to my friends because we can identify with them (I’m single and 29 while my little sister has had three babies in three years).
I work on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, so I became curious about orthodox Judaism and I found your blog. Honestly, it has given me a really favorable opinion, because I can identify with having a lot of restrictions. Keep up the good work!
I have to say that it was quite a surprise to find out that Mormons have special Mormon underwear, known as temple garments.
I laughed so hard at the ridiculous idea that wearing certain clothing makes you holier, that I had to wipe the tears out of my eyes with my tallit katan!
Nice:)
Oh my goodness. ;^D Too funny Drew, I was so ready to be offended and riled up until the last half of the last sentence, LOL! ;^D
Haha, me too and then I looked up “tallit katan”
damn, that took me way too long
Frum or less frum, no. But it’s made me more aware that Orthodoxy is not a homogenous group – I like being reminded that there actually is a lot of diversity in our thought and action. It’s also refreshing to hear someone who does not pretend like all of the restrictions in our lives are great grand wonderful. Oh, and it’s funny!
As I was becoming religious, the frumgays mailing list was important to me to see how things really were.
Ditto what Janet just said. Your blog was an extremely helpful window into the sociology of the frum world as I was becoming more religious.
I’m still in two minds about the possibility of converting and this blog, more than many other Jewish blogs, has a really personal/slice of life feel to it – like SF2K1 said, it’s a more genuine picture of modern OJ. Also, I think what this blog does really well is putting a positive/humorous spin on a lot of bad things about the frum community, which is nice.
Its definitely possible. I’d say I’m slowly but surely moving in the frum direction and while its not 100% due to frumsatire, it definitely gets partial credit.
It is much more helpful to learn about Jews and Judaism from your blog, Heshy, than from official sources, for lack of a better term… I am forever grateful to a friend of mine who introduced me to it. I’ve learned and continue to learn alot. I’ve also been observing and practicing more than I have in the past.
Thank You, Heshy! Keep it up.
There was a study popularized within the last few months that 25% of adult Americans practice a religion other than the one of their birth. Attrition and arrival have lot of different sources. In America I think the implosion of Conservative Judaism in the past generation is fundamentally rabbi driven, though maybe not.
The biggest incentive to participate or drive onto the exit ramp has to be actual experience. Kiruv, or pseudokiruv has its place. So does written description like frumsatire.net. But it is much like sending out resumes. They do not land you a position, only an interview and chance to assess the new environment.
I’d safely say that this blog is my only connection to the frum world. Cheers from Idaho.
Ooh can I come visit next time I’m around your way
Might there be Chabad outpost in Boise or at the state university in Moscow?
Stayed at the Boise Chabad – it rocks
Moscow has some awesome trails and one great used book store
I’ve been trying to become frum ever since I went on Birthright and some other things that happened in my life. Your blog has definitely helped me along that path.
I found your blog when the Jerusalem Post had an article about personal mechitzahs for airplanes and I was searching to see what those actually looked like and ended up finding your blog.
Wow Hesh or should we start calling you “reb” Hesh, these comments say “up yours” to all the negative folks that keep telling you that you’re gonna burn for this blog.
To all that do learn a lot from this blog, be sure to ask a real rabbi when it comes to halachic questions. Some frum users post comments in jest, others don’t necessarily know what they are talking about even if they may sound like they do.
I am FFB, so this blog didn’t change my religious level. On the other hand, it does tend to talk about many social issues that I think about/and/or are relevant to my life, and between its humorous presentation and other peoples’ comments/feedback, this blog is a good consulting and entertainment tool. It makes me see that there are other Jews like me out there with similar ideas/concerns/etc. It highlights one (not the only) thing I like about being Jewish…having a group of people to relate to, and Jews are quite an interesting group of people (this blog definitely highlights that aspect).
I think this blog is a cyber-blend of all kinds of people, and gives you the feel of the other cultural societies within the same religion.
I wouldn’t say this site made me more frum, but definitely more appreciative of what I am, because it showed that problems are common everywhere. Also when I read about Heshy’s divine prayers even though he is not the greatest believer, it gives you the perspective of religion from a different angle.
Hey Hesh,
I’ve been reading your blog for some time and finally decided to pseudo come out of the non commenting closet.
Shep that nachas. You tell it like it is, and I hope you keep at it.
This site has been incredibly informative for me about Orthodox Judaism. :^) The truth is I don’t even know a single Orthodox Jew in real life.
Reading Frum Satire has definitely influenced my opinion of Judaism for the better & made me a MUCH more open-minded person where the pro-Israeli standpoint is concerned, too. :^)
Reading this site has made me confront and overcome prejudices I had no idea I even harbored …. In all honesty, reading Frum Satire has made me a better human being. I really mean that. :^)
Just out of curiosity, what is your background? Conservative, Reform, Hiloni…?
She ain’t Jewish. Stay outta her burqa.
LOL Anonymous, I signed in just for the joy of answering your query with my avatar switched ‘on’ …. If I really wanted to get controversial I’d switch my pic to full-on niqab instead of just hijab, LOL. ;^D
For the record, neither qualifies as a ‘burqa’ which is a really specific type of sartorial hijab, and would not go over well in even the most conservative quarters of my native country (Iran), hee hee! ;^)
You know I went to FIT and soon after 9/11 they had an exhibit on Muslim clothing. I found it very interesting. I could never remember the friggin difference between niqabs, jilbabs, burqas hijabs, etc though. Though as far as I remember the burqa is the “full ninja”.
Yep, the word ‘burqa’ is thrown around a lot in the press these days in reference to the French legislation, but it’s a very specific garment. The Afghan one: integrated face grille and all, usually (but not always) blue.
The niqab is what you add to a hijab to cover the whole face (other than your eyes) …. I have a picture of myself wearing a niqab, and if I do say so myself, I think I look damn good in it too, but I think if I used it to comment on blogs people would flip out, LOL. ;^D
I had to look up jibab, I haven’t seen any women wear one. It almost looks more like what I see Muslim men wearing. Nobody up here wears burqas, but there’s tons of hijabs and a very, very small amount of niqabs.
Have you ever done this thing where you tuck your cellphone into a hijab and it stays there on your ear, hands-free? Girls here do that all the time and I’m jealous of their instant Bluetooth
Ha ha ha! I don’t own a cellphone, actually, Julie. :^) I’m something of a neo-Luddite, LOL.
There’s a halfway-decent amount of hijabs here, mostly on the U of O campus, and practically no niqabs, unfortunately. I hear it’s better in Portland. :^)
What I love about this blog is that you can laugh not only at others, but at yourself. For me, that is the height of modesty. Most Orthodox websites and blogs tend to take a preachy or holier than thou approach which some (i.e. me) find off putting. I also get annoyed when the kiruv sites, in an effort to appear “regular” have pictures of people dressed in clothing that would never be accepted in their communities and who don’t look anything like the RW orthodoxy they are promoting . Because people are not one-size fits all and different styles will resonate with different people, your blog definitely serves a positive role.
” I also get annoyed when the kiruv sites, in an effort to appear “regular” have pictures of people dressed in clothing that would never be accepted in their communities and who don’t look anything like the RW orthodoxy they are promoting . ”
I think the answer to that is for the BTs to continue to practice the religion they were attracted to–one that promotes a Judaism that generally appeals to modern westerners, and to not fall for the “bait and switch” of “suddenly you must put on a black hat, wear black and white, and not send your kids to college,” message that many will feel after they’ve kicked around the Jewish community enough. There are enough out there, and many of them would integrate with the MO.
Because From? Ur lack uf grammur skillz make dis blog sometimes hard 2 read
I’m very picky about words and English yet I read it as “I became frum because of reading your blog.” Give Heshy a pass because he didn’t get much (real) book-learnin’ education in yeshiva.
Hey this blog has 3 editors, unlike most professional bloggers you people don’t donate enough (anything) to allow me to pay them.
Hesh,
The downside of having a frum blog is dealing with stereotypically cheap Jews.
Reminds me of another joke:
Sheik Ali needed blood supply for transfusions during his surgery. As he had a very rare blood type, they sent out letters around the world. Sure enough, Yossele Cohen is a match, and grudgingly donates some blood.
A few weeks later, Yossele sees a truck pull up to his home, out rolls a brand new Mercedes, with a thank you note from Sheik Ali telling him to enjoy the new gift.
A short while later, Yossele gets another appeal for more blood from Sheik Ali, this times he runs to donate. A few weeks later he gets a box of candy with a thank you note from the sheik.
During his next conversation with the sheik, he asks why he got a Mercedes the first time and only a box of candy the second time. Sheik answers “I’ve got Jewish blood now”.
LOL, that’s hilarious Phil! :^)
I don’t remember how I found this blog. However I think it is hilarious and I’m Catholic. It’s unusual to read anything written by a person who tries to practice his faith but is so unsparingly honest about the hard parts. I don’t know why that is.
Most funny Catholic blogs are about horrible liturgy, especially horrible modern liturgical music. Kind of like “praise ‘n worship” music. At least you don’t have to deal with that!!
I like the blog and all of the interesting, insightful comedy. However, Orthodoxy itself would need to change quite a bit before I would want to become any part of it–especially local politics in my area. I really don’t have much respect for the local O rabbis after Rubashkin and other, much more local drama re: kosher meat industry and other such things. They have been either extremely intellectually dishonest or just plain delusional while my rabbi has tried to help people and better the world.
The whole Rubashkin situation has caused a lot of issues for me too. But I haven’t let it stop me from becoming more observant.
The problem with the kosher meat industry in general is the same as the banking industry, that a lot of the firms are too big to fail. It’s so vulnerable to price increases if one firm fails, that the certifying rabbis are afraid to revoke certification if there’s problems like with Rubashkin a few years ago or the situation with the slaughterhouse in Uruguay today.
Not far from me there’s an organic glatt kosher slaughterhouse that doesn’t have these issues. What needs to happen is for there to be more local smaller kosher slaughterhouses around the country so that if there are issues shutting down one firm wont be too much of a shock to the market.
I think of your blog as a release valve for the pressures of the frum world. My sisters and I are all FFB and all now wives and mothers who read your blog, send each other links and enjoy the few mintues of frum-related silliness and even a little self/community reflection. Thanks for your vital service!
PS- My husband feels a bit differently but I’ve found many of the things he finds so insulting are the same things I find him and his friends joking and snickering about. He just objects to it being out there for the whole internet world to see- the airing of dirty laundrey or what not.
http://heimishchat.com/
Come by and chat sometime!
I picked up on this blog before I started my conversion and reading what people said here helped me understand some things they dont teach in conversion classes. I’ve become increasingly observant and the other day when I was putting on my talit katan I remembered some post here about the tzitzit strings tickling your legs when you have em tucked in and just had to chuckle.