DaasYochid – I agree with you that there are intolerant people on all sides. However, we are the G-d fearing religious ones. That brings more responsibility on us. Interesting (and unbelievably beautiful) thing about Judaism: In Judaism we don’t hold by the concept that I have rights or “something that I deserve.” Instead, we talk about our obligations. In other words, you don’t have the right to be treated with respect. Instead, it’s my responsibility to treat you with respect. This concept is a game-changer. We must always think about our responsibilities toward others and toward Hashem, not about our rights. I have the responsibility NOT to take money that isn’t mine or meant for me. It’s NOT that I deserve the money and it’s just a matter of me taking it because it should have been mine anyways.
superme – yes, that’s the beauty of Hashem’s Torah world – we are all different and with different minhagim. Shiv’im panim laTorah. The problem is that when we close our minds so tightly, we become stubborn as a people to see another side to the story. As many people have noted – the chareidi society has developed this way as a way to protect the people and the Torah. From that standpoint it’s a good thing but there has been a cost that should not be ignored. Judaism does not advocate a life of poverty like the non-Jews believe with monks & nuns. Hashem gives us halachot on how to earn a respectful living and He also gives us economic rules in the world that we must follow. In other words, if Hashem tells us that these are the ways to earn a decent living for our families in 2013, then we need to take that to heart. We can see this from each of the Avot and Gedolim throughout our history – they all studied and worked. Again, this doesn’t mean we should just work and still live in poverty because our jobs don’t earn enough. It’s our mandatory hishtadlus to look into the facts of how to earn a respectable living and strive toward that.