I am in a non Jewish hick town at this time. here everything is very anti Jewish. If I want a job…I MUST be willing and able to work on Saturday, aka SHABBOS, for me, NO exceptions. I will NOT give in to temptation and therefore remain out of work and facing very probable homelessness here in a town with no Jewish support. Local Chabad shliach has been of no help. All here is complete gashmiyos. If and WHEN evicted to the street, I will loose all ruchniyos. Because I am so stubborn, I have no place to turn to for any help here. I steadfastly will not be available to work on FRIDAY afternoon or on Saturday. Ignorant goyim…have told me to just change my sabbath to a day later. then I can work, avoid pending homelessness, and still have a sabbath. To them, if I do not do so…I am committing suicide. Due to my complete stubbornness in not working on Shabbos i already have a court date very shortly, with no support, to be evicted to the street.Gashmiyos, already quite in control here will virtually eliminate all ruchniyos then. In addition….obtaining any kosher food here is both scarce and very over expensive. i have had to do without constantly, even basic items. There is very severe risk in such a place for ones neshama and ruchniyos. For me it appears that without immediate outside help, that gashmiyos will reign supreme. We are all at high risk in such an environment, JEWS, especially FRUM YIDDEN, need support to be strong in riuchniyos, as gashmiyos is present all over. We cannot forsake our own people, FRUM YIDDEN, who are very isolated in a gashmiyos environment. The Chabad Shliach CANNOT do it alone, he needs strong support from the entire Chabad community. And, of course, HIS ruchniyos must be like iron. It is a true sacrifice to live outside of any established FRUM community. I have personally known much too many formerly FRUM people who, after moving to a non Jewish area, have given into gashmiyos, and developed severe problems with ruchniyos. I am desperately trying NOT to succumb to this at all, ever. It is much too easy to do so. And, all that is for adults…..for children it is even easier to falter. All FRUM YIDDEN MUST have a strong support system and be united, apart they are naturally weak. I know that I have gotten weaker here, I only can daven alone, there is no shul here. There is no group to be part of….only goyim. Weeks can go by and I do not meet even another fellow Yid. A Frum Yid cannot be alone, we all need each other to help with the strength of ruchniyos, as gashmiyos is all around us. A huge challenge for Chabad is that they can be virtually alone, the adults have a hard time…but it us much more difficult for children. So, NOT only is it a problem for CHABAD, it is a huge problem and a huge sacrifice for ANY of us. As there is a CRISIS in NYC with the price of housing, too many FRUM Yidden are trying to flee….where will they go….will some wind up like me, in a totally Jewish desert? It is and has been a big problem in our community which only seems to be escalating. Chabad has paved the way in some areas, but they are often unprepared to take in FRUM outsiders.ANYONE….by moving away from an established FRUM community, is at very severe risk. Chabad must be linked together to survive, once the Rebbe was in touch with each shliach. Today they have the shliach office, and often more than one shliach is sent to a given place. Unless a shliach has been able to establish a school for his kids in his area at their level, they may still have to send their =children elsewhere for school. Once again, a sacrifice, for both parent and child. Chabad has developed a homeschool network that helps both shluchim and others. This has greatly improved and strengthened ruchniyos. But… living away from ones own people will still be quite a sacrifice and take quite a toll on ANYONE….no matter how strong they appear to be. I personally have suffered a great deal here and have had to sacrifice much. I was unable, for example to even get Chanukah candles, so I used tealights instead. Not the real thing….but all I had. Of course Chanukah oil is not here. Another sacrifice. YES, I could today ORDER such things on the internet, BUT I could not afford to. HERE, I have all too much experiences in doing without. A true sacrifice. Gashmiyos 1, Ruchniyos 0. WE NEED STRONG FRUM COMMUNITIES! With no one just having to look in….Ruchniyos cannot be winning!As a popular saying from long ago went…..UNITED WE STAND…..DIVIDED WE FALL……. The FrUM community needs to stick together.
Without support….we will have many of the conditions faced with all too many of our people when they were immigrants, newly arrived to these shores. The pressure was too great on most…and they had to survive in an alien land. That meant working on Shabbos for most, as too many Jews demanded of their employees. It was very hard then to have ruchniyos, and gashmiyos ruled. Ultimately we lost too many Yidden to gashmiyos. We cannot let that happen again. WE, as FRUM Yidden MUST strengthen our ruchniyos over the gashmiyos. NOT just ONE of us but ALL< of us, and together, not apart. ONLY Torah true environments will keep us strong and together. EACH new and isolated community MUST have outside continuous support to survive the Ruchniyos over the gashmiyos. AND….any leaders, especially the organizers, kiruv or Chabad, cannot do it alone. It is not only a sacrifice for them…but for the established FRUM community as well. A person needs their family and its support system to remain strong. And that family needs ruchniyos to keep strong as gasmiyos weakens everything. Once again a true sacrifice. Torah is our guide, without a strong Torah true community we are all in trouble. Until such can reasonably be established, WE ARE ALL AT SEVERE RISK. And, gashmiyos is the winner until then. RUCHNIYOS IS TORAH! Help us all….we all need it in this increasingly
.gashmiyos environment we all live in!
With the odds stacked completely against me here, I have so far endured. Without outside help, I am in deeper trouble than I can even imagine here. I know I am weakening. FOR ME….Shabbos is the strengthening glue factor If I were to loose or even change it in some minor way, all would be lost. HERE, in GASHMIYOUSVILLE, the SATAN is well at work. ONLY in RUCHNIYOUSVILLE is he defeated, and cannot enter our lives. WE all must be in RUCHNIYOUSVILLE to survive! Trying to survive ALONE in a goyishe gasnhmiyous Torah lacking community puts us all….including our families in grave danger. The faster such can be FIXED the better! WE are all dependent on it for our true survival. Without it, we are very much like the goyim and will not have the guidance to keep us the way we are and NOT follow their ways. One is usually very influenced by their environment.