Jewish History News

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Jonathan Rosenblum writes: I will never forget an address by Rabbi Ephraim Wachsman at an Agudath Israel of America convention on the topic "Living a Life of Ruchnios amidst Gashmius." There is no ruchnius amidst gashmius. "Pesach in hotels," turned out to be the winning answer. And my friend's central criticism was similar to that of Rabbi Wachsman: the Pesach hotel industry takes what should be one of the ultimate spiritual experiences of every Jew's life and encases it in a thick wrapper of materialism.
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"The chilul Hashem alone," he said, would be reason enough to close the Pesach extravaganzas.

That boy, my friend lamented, cannot possibly connect to the idea that Pesach cleaning parallels an inner process of removing the se'or she'b'isa ? the physicality and inner materialism that holds us back in our performance of Hashem's commandments. We may no longer exchange our old dirt floor for a new one every year at Pesach time, as they did in Europe. But if those ancestors could return to observe our preparations for Pesach, they would recognize their descendants and feel comfortable joining us for Seder.
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EVEN MY FRIEND recognizes that there are many perfectly legitimate reasons that families might go to hotels for Pesach. (In Eretz Yisrael , many yeshivos turn their dormitories into Pesach hostels.)

The issue of deluxe Pesach extravaganzas is, in truth, just one more aspect of an ongoing tension in modern Orthodox life. Rabbi Yehoshua Geldzhaler once described to me the pre-war Antwerp Jewry of his youth.

YourMoralLeader: chavi, are you the copy editor convert to judaism?
Chavi: Ha! Yes … I am. Who told you?
Chavi: Though, I have mostly defected from journalism for the time being
YourMoralLeader: DBerger
YourMoralLeader: what are you doing these days?
YourMoralLeader: for work?
YourMoralLeader: He sent me links to your articles on conversion
Chavi: I work at…as an assistant and sometimes editor, but am heading to grad school in the fall at UConn for Judaic studies
YourMoralLeader: i linked ‘em up on lukeford.net
Chavi: ahh! wow, thanks
Chavi: i’m just heading over there
YourMoralLeader: that’s awesome, why UConn?
Chavi: Well, it was Brandeis/UConn/UMich — and Uconn was the most welcoming and offered the most funds
YourMoralLeader: cool
YourMoralLeader: any particular professor?
Chavi: Stuart Miller was particularly enticing. He’s a second temple/talmudic scholar; just a really intelligent fellow
YourMoralLeader: do you want to be a prof or teacher?
Chavi: Definitely a professor, though we’ll see where it takes me. I could end up working in a day school or in the community somehow
Chavi: Did Dberger tell you about the jewsbychoice.org site?
YourMoralLeader: yes
YourMoralLeader: it’s cool
YourMoralLeader: i have a lot of friends who are converting
Chavi: we are truly the coolest of the cats
Chavi: Your site is massive! It might take me months to dig through everything
Chavi: See, and that’s something I’m considering .. when I head off to school I’m going to try to implement Chavi
YourMoralLeader: My Hebrew name is Levi
YourMoralLeader: That’s what my orthodox friends call me
YourMoralLeader: Luke ford is fine for the goyim
Chavi: Ahh! Levi is a stellar name
Chavi: True
Emma: lol
Chavi: My generic, Midwestern name will never fade into oblivion
Emma: Hi Levi
User guest19 left the room.
Chavi: Those in Nebraska/Missouri will always know me as such
YourMoralLeader: Hi Emma!
YourMoralLeader: yes,
Emma:
YourMoralLeader: I split up my life
Chavi: Although, I chose Chavi because it means the same thing as my given name
YourMoralLeader: I have friends in different areas and don’t seek to bring ‘em together, that makes me v. nervous
Chavi: Ha!
Chavi: You shoulda seen my mom at the conversion ceremony … oy she was so confused
YourMoralLeader: lol
YourMoralLeader: she was in the mivkeh with you?
Chavi: oh no! the public ceremony at the shul
Chavi: the naming and presentation part of the conversion
YourMoralLeader: lol
Chavi: The mikveh would have blown her mind
Chavi: "Are you being baptized!?"
YourMoralLeader: Emma’s a nice 18yo christian girl in ireland, I’m trying to lure her to the dark Jewish side.