Reply To: The Chillul HaShem in Lakewood

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#1309003
Avi K
Participant

Eliezer, I am willing to judge them favorably and assume that they get hand-me-downs from rich people who change their clothes every few months and have rich relatives who foot the bills for their vacations (I personally have friends whose lifestyles are more than what their incomes – from work – would allow because they have parents who would rather see them enjoy the money than leave it to them after they are gone). However, people should not be ostentatious even if they can afford it. Rambam says in Hilchot Deot that a talmid chacham wears average clothes, not expensive and not cheap. The Chatam Sofer adds that ostentatious living in Chutz laAretz arouses the jealousy of the gentiles (if I may I will add that in EY it is a kiddush Hashem as they want to learn from us).

Health, so cut down on the number of kollel guys to a few outstanding learners. The rest should get jobs. Ner Yisrael has a deal with Johns Hopkins to give a recognized BA in Talmudic Literature which can be used towards an MBA or law degree. The Aguda runs courses in Brooklyn for professions that do not necessarily require a degree. Why can’t they do that in Lakewood? Do they believe that poverty is a virtue (se Nedarim 64b)?