It’s generally known that frum Jews are quite right wing politically, yet they rarely speak up with their wallets. Rare is it that we really get into the hearts of the matter by boycotting or speaking out against companies that don’t support our Torah way of life. Target is one such company, I know that in the Wal Mart vs. Target argument the true frummy will always favor Wal Mart, but that doesn’t mean that frum folks don’t patronize Target and Target is a big supporter of Gays and their supposed right to marry.In Israel the truly pious would threaten to boycott and then have a riot and burn down half the city, yet those same pious Jews spoiled by the riches of America probably wouldn’t go much further than yelling about it over herring at that weeks kiddush club. What’s a truly pious Yid to do?
I would like to compare the question above to the fact that smoking has never been officially banned by any gadol worth his weight in useless chumras. This is because banning smoking would mean that all those gedolim and pious Jews before us who smoked were wrong and this goes against the mesorah that each generation knows less than the last. Banning smoking could introduce more complication into the shidduch system because it creates one more way that nosy yentas could intervene into someone’s lives based on what their ancestors did. Same is true with boycotting companies like Target who are leading people down the path of immorality.
You see, once you boycott Target, a fine purveyor of fancier Wal Mart-esque items, you have to look into every company which supports the gay agenda o any other immoral anti-Torah ways. It’s like that somewhat popular commercial to educate those who want to boycott Israel, the commercial shows peoples cell phones, medicine and computers disappear because they all use Israeli parts – same to the frum American household
Imagine for a second that frum Jews started boycotting any company which supported gays, there goes half the fashion and technology industry right there. Google would be out and so would pretty much every liberal communist anti-Capitalist company in Silicon Valley. That’s without even approaching the topic of anti-Israel sentiment. This is why frum Jews merely have a loose minhag of not using German products, which is slowly dying with the previous frummer generation. My family doesn’t drive German cars, but I use their knives.
Now I wonder if those lefties from Tav Hayosher would boycott companies which are against Torah, or are they just against companies which don’t adhere to the post 60’s revolution’s interpretation of what is right?
Find out more about frum boycotts on 4torah.com
If Torah is Torah is Torah frum Jews wouldn’t support companies that were dishonest, lied, cheated, failed to pay their workers, owned fields that weren’t gleaned, so on and so forth.
But they do. So it’s obvious that being anti-Torah doesn’t matter to them.
Orthodox Jews continue to purchase THE JEWISH WEEK, even though that newspaper continually strives to present Orthodox Jews and Orthodox Judaism in the worst possible light.
Orthodox Jews continue to advertise THE JEWISH WEEK, even though that newspaper continually strives to promote: Reform, Conservative, gays and lesbians.
Those who are truly Orthodox will not purchase THE JEWISH WEEK or THE NEW YORK TIMES.
I heard that the Jewish week is so anti-Torah that they publish pictures of women and articles by women who are known to mechalel tznius by wearing pants.
I assume that you are being satirical when you appose all of “Torah” to gay rights. Also Tav ha-Yosher is hardly a ’60’s anachronism, migrant workers living in poverty & squalor is quite up to the minute, as I am sure you would know from being in the food prep industry.
Is it ethical for Orthodox Jews to support companies which are anti-Torah? or Rabbi, is it right to buy a Chrysler? Good thing you phrased it as an ethical question.
Such a business would likely be considered chanut stam — so to speak. I was told that the same was true of parnassah, when I inquired about the business I work for contributing to “charitable” organizations that further positions contrary to Torah. I was told it wasn’t a problem, but I’m still looking for a different job.
“That’s without even approaching the topic of anti-Israel sentiment”
I think you’re getting your priorities backwards. Gay marriage and its supporters in the US are not directly threatening any frum Jews (or any Jews). Opposing Israel does or at least attempts to do so. If anything, we should be boycotting them. But even then, we must ask whether the company in question has any real power to harm Israel.
Kavod Habriyot & Target Pride shirts for the win!
So let’s see, almost every Jewish Federation in the country and all the big ones like NY, LA, Chicago, Miami ( and of course SF), and every Jewish Family Service and povert agency and JCC are gay friendly… are you about to stop taking educational support from these places? Stop sending people for financial assistance? I think not… memo to the frum comunities: you need the rest of the world (particularly other Jews) as much as they need you.
oh and by the way, what do you think your boychik Romney will do to the government funding so dear to Boro Park and other frum communities.
When “frum” folks speak of “anti-torah” and “morality” they almost always are referring to matters pertaining to sex (homosexuality, tzniuis). When other Jews speak of “Jewish Values” and “morality” they almost always are referring to matters pertaining to fairness, justice and equality. I think this is a fascinating phenomenon. For the frum, it’s as if the whole way to judge the rest of society (non-frum) is based on sexual mores and practices. I do not know why that is the case. The beis hamgidash was destroyed not because women’s skirts were too short, buy because of sinas chinam. If you read the torah and the rest of tanach and then think about the frum obsession with sexual practices, you would be bewildered. Didn’t one of our great forefathers sleep with a woman who turned out to be his daughter-in-law because he was cruising in the sex district of town and happened to choose the wrong woman? Didn’t our great King David have a man killed so he can sleep with his wife? And these are the greats of our religion! And we are supposed to believe that a woman showing her elbows is a violation of something holy? As for same sex marriage, nobody is making anybody marry anybody else. What do I care if two people of the same sex want to have the same wedding ceremony that others have? It is of zero halachic significance.
This frum guy refers to all of the above when he discusses morality.
I’ve read the Torah and the Tanakh (well, most of it, anyways). If you think that Jewish values do not include sexual morality, I suggest you review Leviticus 18 and 20, Isaiah 3:16-24, and plenty of other sources. As for Yehudah and King David, no one ever said that the Tanakh hides the flaws of our heroes. And funny you should mention the Bet Hamikdash- our sages say that the first was destroyed, among other reasons, because of sexual sins. You need to realize that the fact that some are overly careful does not change the gravity of the basic sins and of the decrees which the nation of Israel *has* taken upon itself as a whole.
If your not gonna drive a German car you need to steer clear of ford, Henry ford was a personal friend and supporter of hitler.
Speaking of “women who are known to mechalel tznius by wearing pants,” you and/or your readers might find thisjournal interesting–I recommend particularly the article on page 40.