I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t read blogs much, like most writers my influence mainly comes from daily life – work, friends, wife and so on. When I need an added boost of things to make fun of I check out the frum news sites, forums and my facebook feed which is never ending when you have 5700 “friends”. Blogs are dead last, I used to read them more, but then I found myself and found less interest with blogs. Every once in a while I stumble upon something which makes me stop and read. Someone on Facebook sent me a link to a blog called Just My Very Humble Opinion and it immediately perked my interest.
It’s a blog run by an anonymous Chassidish or maybe formerly-Chassidish women talking about Chassidish culture and social society. Of course, I read all the way down in her posts and discovered that it was “just” another Chassidish skeptic getting into the blogging thing, but it seemed different than many of the skeptic blogs out there. FYI: There are a ton of frum skeptic blogs out there, but moist of the time they stay within the skeptic lines rather than talking about general stuff. When it comes down to it, we non-Chassidishe folks know nothing about random every day business in Williamsburg, KJ or Skvere.
Why did Heshy choose a blog that is totally negative about Judaism as having “good insights into Chassidish life”? That blog does not have one nice word to say about Chassidish life; it is all negative. Why is that the image of Chassidish life that Heshy Fried chooses to promote?
Why not instead bash so-called Reform “Rabbis” who “permit”: non-kosher food, public Shabbat desecration, homosexuality, lesbianism, atheism, adultert (remarriage without a Jewish divorce), intermarriage with gentiles, bogus “conversions” to Judaism, bogus “Jewishness” by patrilineal descent, etc, etc, etc, etc?
Dude, this is one of the first blogs in a long time out of the Chassidish world that isn’t negative. It’s fairly matter of fact and that’s why I chose to share it. Most of the blogs written by Chassidim and formerly Chassidish are fairly negative in comparison. I generally don’t bash , I criticize, I wish there were some blogs coming out of the Chassidish world that are 100% positive – I would love if you could show me one. By nature blogs are negative or at least critical, because those positive things you speak of are not being spewed online.
If you mean make fun of by your usage of the term bash, no one goes free on this here blog. You can read all about intermarriage, bogus conversions and so on, but the goal here is not about a community I have nothing to do with – I’m frum and therefore I write about frum stuff.
In terms of mainly positive chassidish blogs, I enjoy mpaths.com (which includes some interesting social and political criticism at times as well as uplifting stories).
Me?? what?? 🙂
thanks for the mention..
This blog looks really interesting, it would be even better if the blogger didn’t use so much Yiddish that I don’t understand!!!! (or at least provide a translation)
ok I take that back, this blog is very good and there was only one post where there was too much yiddish
So I bought a tent online, and now all my ads are for tents, instead of for asian zonahs. What the hey?
No problem. Go to http://www.thebagelboyclub.com “I’m only here in Sodom & Gomorrah because I like hanging with other 70-years old mensches who also figured out how to have a 23 year old wife who’s low maintenance”.
There’s a Chabad in Manila, but the wife-swapping is better at the Cebu branch.
Chana Gittel Meyerowitzerbaum said:
“The stories I tell may be fiction or non-fiction,
based on real thoughts.
I may make up a story to express a thought I may have had in my childhood, or recently.
If you try to figure out the details, you will be confused as hell.
One day I may have a 6 year old daughter,
and the next a 6 year old son.
I may live in tens of different locations.
Its hard to keep false information consistent…”
and..? its all true.. sometimes i have to botch up the details of a personal story so people don’t find out who I am.. If you’d like to convince yourself that I’m lying, knock yourself out. We all know what’s true.. no amount of digging head in sand will help.
I assure you the stories I tell (which honestly, I have about 2 stories there, the rest are just thoughts) are true. I’m writing to share my life experience and express my opinion on certain matters, not write a novel.
Der rebbetzin zul zich nisht meshiga machen fin yedder vus vil criticizen. Anonyjew doesn’t have an opinion on Chasidic Jews and how they live, at least he hasn’t expressed one here, all he’s done is criticized your portrayal.
Lu’dich up.
Takeh a good blog, and really well-written.
From that blog: “Eech darf doo shreiben yiddish az dee goyim zulen nisht kenin farshtein vus geit doo foor.. Men macht gelt, in mein get goornisht far Feter Shmiel, iz eins.”
Would a rough translation of this be something like: “I need to write in Yiddish so the gentiles cannot understand what’s going on. We make money and we give nothing for Uncle Sam.”
Please clarify.
Ooh you’re so cool.
I don’t see that blog representing the “inside” world of Chasidim. It seems like a generic blog with the standard complaints about Chasidish/Frum. Even if they aren’t articulated clearly or even meant as complaints.
On a personal note:I am a person who learned in kollel for many years, still ideologically believe very strongly in Yeshivishe haskafa (despite the endless blogs I read)However I went through many personal difficulties. Therefore I no longer live as Yeshivish as I believe is ideal. I sometimes toy with the idea of a pro kollel insider blog that also discuses the personal challenges life has given me (NONE are the fault of kollel)Without the judgmental blog advice.But I’m scared that (1)It would be too time consuming (2)It would end up kollel bashing and full of Motzey shem comments due to majority of the blog world make up