Reply To: Being an individual

BT Guy you are right about our smart community, but that very smartness can cause problems. Sure there is always going to be a natural inclination to go with the flow but I guess I feel the sight of young and old feeling the pressure to conform has caused a significant number ” to go off the derech”,

Loyal Jew yes of course we need to observe one Torah and one halacha, but in reality there are a multitude of different groups and minhagim in orthodox Jewry. Real danger when young and parents feel they must fit in at all costs, at times fitting in with what is not Torah based but more ” the done thing” in certain circles. Happened for centuries but now I think the number of kids ” off the derech” is rising because sometimes these kids are the brightest of all, and the hypocrisy and emphasis on conformity for the sake of appearances wrongly gains priority over substance and true mitzvos, and often the brightest of young people can become the most cynical.

OK I am an old idealist, but seeing friends and students actually suppress their individuality for the sake of ” how it looks ” seems pretty sad.