The following article appears in today’s NY Times:
Standing on the sidewalk outside the Park Avenue Synagogue after attending a service on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, Joel Beeler said, “I feel troubled.”
Mr. Beeler is a real estate investor who has been trying to line up financing for a shopping center project. He said that an hour on the phone with a banker before the service had been fruitless. But he said he was not just thinking about the deal.
“I’m praying for the whole world and the country,” he said as he headed to his office.
Escaping the worries of a chaotic world is often difficult in New York — a single ringing iPhone can spoil the quietest moments of a concert at Lincoln Center; a vibrating BlackBerry can deliver a message upsetting enough to make someone climb over a row of people and leave a Broadway show to go back to the office.
But this week, perhaps more than most, it was hard to check one’s worries at the door, hard to concentrate on what it means to mark a religious holiday during a financial crisis.
Some worshipers arrived at Rosh Hashana services carrying The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times. Others slipped out from time to time to check their voice mail and e-mail messages.
“I would never do this inside synagogue, but I needed to put my mind to rest,” said Gary Herman, a hedge fund manager who stepped out of the Tuesday morning service at Temple Emanu-El on Fifth Avenue at 65th Street and switched on his BlackBerry to see how the market was doing.
Mr. Herman said it was trying to sit through a three-hour service on a nerve-wracking day for the markets. “Every time a person asks you, ‘How are you?’ what they are really eliciting are your thoughts about the market,” he said.
Some said they heard a low hum from cellphones, carefully set for vibrate mode, buzzing like bees swarming around a far-off rhododendron. Robert N. Levine, the senior rabbi at Congregation Rodeph Sholom, at 7 West 83rd Street, said he had begun his Tuesday sermon by saying that he was well aware that people attending the service were in “BlackBerry withdrawal.”
He said in an interview later that he was concerned about the economy, in part because a deepening downturn could affect the congregation’s social service work, in part because some members of the congregation had already lost jobs. “I think people are feeling both fragile and humble this year,” he said, “but every crisis is also an opportunity to assess your blessings.”
Rabbi Levine said that he had not seen people checking their hand-held phones during the services. But at the Park Avenue Synagogue, on Madison Avenue and 87th Street, cellphone signals apparently caused problems for the public-address system on Tuesday. The speakers crackled, a security guard at the synagogue said.
So on Wednesday, the guards at the entrance told people to turn their cellphones off as they entered the sanctuary. That forced those who could not let calls and messages go unanswered — or, at least, unmonitored — to go outside.
One investment banker who did so yelled into his phone during a 15-minute call. “I felt that I shouldn’t have come here today, but I needed to,” he said, refusing to give his name because his firm does not permit employees to talk to reporters.
The senior rabbi, Elliot J. Cosgrove, had mentioned economic worries on Tuesday, the day after the House of Representatives voted down the $700 billion bailout plan and the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 777 points. Rabbi Cosgrove had counseled the congregation not to be upset by the financial problems of the last few weeks.
“Let go of your white-knuckled grip on reality, and let a new reality present itself,” he told the congregation.
For some, that was easier said than done. One man in a gray suit spoke on his cellphone for nearly an hour before going into Central Synagogue, on Lexington Avenue at 55th Street, on Tuesday. When he emerged after the service, he was again on the phone.
Outside the Park Avenue Synagogue, a man with a BlackBerry in his hand complained about “a dysfunctional government and a dysfunctional Congress.”
“They don’t get it,” he said. He refused to give his name, saying he considered it inappropriate to talk business so close to his place of worship.
Joe Zicherman, who left Morgan Stanley in the late 1990s and now works as a private money manager and consultant, prayed at Congregation Rodeph Sholom.
“I felt it was more important to be here than it was to be at the office,” he said, “especially because being in the office doesn’t seem to be doing anyone any good these days.” He said that at the office, he tried to manage risk, but “the only thing you can manage is your blood pressure.”
Rob Blum, who sells medical equipment and lives on the Upper East Side, said that one message of the service he attended at Central Synagogue on Tuesday was, “Realize that you are blessed with the life you have.”
He said that the New Year is generally thought of as a happy time, but that this year, so much seemed overshadowed by uncertainty. “My wife works on Wall Street,” he said. “Who knows what will happen with her job?”
Joshua Levin, a manager at an athletic fitness company, said as he left Central Synagogue on Wednesday that just being inside had been an escape. “Outside,” he said, “we’re bombarded with all sorts of troubling news.”
(LINK to NY Times)
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50 Responses
Terrible.
No words to express.
Why be negative? At least they are going to Shul. Likely many stayed home this year. Perhaps in the zchus that these did, they will receive siyato dishmayo in their business or maybe even become more religious.
Boruch Hashem they went to Shul
That thing they went to is a hardly a “shul.” A Church of some foreign religion would be a more apt description.
How beautiful to see yidden even in the worst of times taking out time from their busy work schedule and going to what they consider religious services.
Why B”H they went to Shul????? If they needed to drive to get there.. Ask any Rov what they feel……….And talking on a cell phone of R”H????????????????????????????????????????????????????
yosif kesef yosif diagos
like the guy who ate ‘dover acher’ but had it shecht first..
There is no place for editorializing or negativity like this during the aseres yemei teshuva. We should respect the fact that there is a spark that gets these people to recognize Rosh Hashana and get them to some sort of religious service. Unless we can show that we love and accept our fellow Jews (some of whom may one day become shomrei torah umitzvos if treated properly), we will not achieve the ahavas chinam we will need to bring the geulah and achieve true kapara for all of klal yisrael.
Joseph, how welcoming would you and your chaveirim in your schul have been if those people arrived for davening in your schul as opposed to atending services at “a church of some foreign religion?” Would you and yours have welcomed these people in with open arms, Blackberrys and complete ignorance of how to properly daven and all? You are so quick to condemn and deride heterodoxy. But how quick are you to foster an Orthodoxy open and palatable to all?
To Joseph & #6,
It’s amazing how even on the aseres y”t you judge up your brother. Maybe you should dan them l’caf z’cus and hashem might do the same for you.
It could be these jews have a din of tinnuk shenishba and any mitzva they do- like not talking on their cell in their shul- is only added to their chesbon. Maybe we should take some mussar from the reform and learn how they respect their house of worship. Next time you go to shul and you want to shmuz or let the kids run wild, maybe you should think twice about where you are!
#4,
Your’e a complete turn-off to anyone who still has a spark of Jew inside them.
Reb Joseph B’mechilas Kovodecha:
Your comments are WAY out of line.
I do not want to begin the Nayeh Yuhr on a critical note but you leave me no options.
How dare you write that OUR BROTHERS Temple is “a church of some foreign religion”
Think for a second. A day after Rosh Hashana.
R’ Joseph I ask you the following: When you go to a Shul– a yiddeshe shul—do you always treat it with the utmost respect as it should be. Can you say with a straight face: I adhere to kovod beis hamedrash as it states in Shulchan Oruch.
What would you R Joseph say if some Real Chashuver person wanted to give your shul mussar about kedushas Beis Hamedrash and called the people in you Shul violating Halacha that they are praying in “a Church of a foreign religion.’
Would that be mussar? Would that be mekarev the people that are shmoozing?
R. Joseph: Who are we fooling? Our dear brothers need guidance. They need us to guide them; to show them the proper way. WITH SENSIBLE comments
Reb Joseph: They are our brothers.
If we read and weep how far they have fallen maybe we would take stock in ourselves.
V’yasu KULOM Agudah Achas. If they won’t be degraded you might have a chance of showing them the lichtikeit of Tora yiddeshkeit and then they will join us as Torah Yidden and we will be able to Vayasu KULOM AGUDA ACHAS lassois retzoncheh b’leyvov shuleim.
Maybe, as a zchus for acheinu benei Yisroel joining Torah yiddeshkeit we should think before pressing ENTER on our computers.
Thank you Yeshiva World for entitling this post “Read and Weep: what has become of our BROTHERS.”
A Gmar Chasima Tova to ALL.
cantoresq, Very welcoming. Would welcome them to shul and to home so they could get a taste of the Torah and Yiddishkeit. After being welcomed to my shul, I would expect that they would receive many open and warm invitations to homes for the Yom Tov seuda.
illini, The practitioners of these false religions are possibly in worse shape than are atheists. The atheist makes no claim to be practicing Judaism, as do these foreign religions (reform, conservative.) There is probably a greater propensity that an atheist Jew will return to the Torah, than will a reformed Jew who is under the false pretense they are practicing Judaism already.
Dear leonard613,
There is a major difference between “violating Halacha” and declaring halacha null & void, as have the reform and conservative religions. These religions have zero to do with Judaism. Most of the (non-leadership) adherents are ethnic Jews (some are plain out & out gentiles) that fall in the category of tinuk shenishba, unlike their so-called “Rabbis” and leaders who are plain Reshoyim.
And I completely agree with your comments regarding the title of this post “Read and Weep: what has become of our BROTHERS.” In fact, I personally chose it.
cantoresq, Very welcoming. Would welcome them to shul and to home so they could get a taste of the Torah and Yiddishkeit. After being welcomed to my shul, I would expect that they would receive many open and warm invitations to homes for the Yom Tov seuda.
Comment by Joseph — October 2, 2008 @ 11:26 am
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Sorry Joseph, unless you are a kiruv professional (womething I doubt given the tenor of your posts)I’m just incredulous that you would tolerate someone riding up to your schul, or taking public transportation there, walking in during davening, perhaps wearing khaki pants and a shirt but no jacket, or maybe even jeans and sneakers, carrying all types of muktzeh and acting like a “fish out of water” so happily, much less go to the effort to make this person feel welcome. Just how tolerant of this person would you be when he left schul to send some e-mails or talk on his blackberry? What would your reaction be to the his phone going off, even in vibrate mode, during Mussaf? (Remember telling him to shut it off is not halachikly so easy since it involves everal avot melacha.) Would you really be prepared to expose your children to this person on R”H and explain to them that he is as valuable and precious a Jew as are their machanchim? To be honset I know of myself that I’m not really capable of that magnanimity. Over R”H I was momentarily incensed when someone wearing jeans and a polo shirt was given a p’sicha. My instinct, even in an Orthodox schul whhere most the congregants were not at all observant, which I quickly overcame, was one of revulsion for this person who seemingly didn’t make the effort to even get dressed in a manner to honor of the day. Sorry my friend, I think you’re confabulating.
illini – That point about them being Reshoyim is not my own, but rather of men far greater than I. Btw, I did differentiate between their leadership and congregants.
cantoresq – My sincerest apologies for having disturbed your preconceptions. Additionally, I believe that everyone is responsible for Kiruv, not just “Kiruv professionals” as you referred to them. But yes, despite all your assumptions, they would be very openly and warmly welcomed with the utmost love.
most of you are missing the point. these houses of warship that these people went were not frum shuels.
THEY WERE EATHER REFORM OR CONSERVITIVE TEMPLES. PLEASE DO NOT CALL THOSE PLACES SHUELS.
3. Boruch Hashem they went to Shul
Comment by emesvyatziv — October 2, 2008 @ 9:51am
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4. That thing they went to is a hardly a “shul.” A Church of some foreign religion would be a more apt description.
Comment by Joseph — October 2, 2008 @ 9:59 am
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Joseph you have correctly stated that most of our Reform and Conservative brethern “fall in the category of tinuk shenishba”
Thus, those Reform and Conservative adherents who do not know any better, are in no way praying in a Church.
As far as they are concerned it is Rosh Hashana and they are praying in a Temple.
I say: Boruch H-shem.
They went to Shul. Temple. Synagouge. Call it what you want.
They did not go to Church.
In a church they pray to yushkeh. Our brethern do not.
For the sake of those tinokus shenishba I wish you would retract your Church comment.
leonard613 — If a tinuk shenishba enters a foreign house of worship, call it what you will, and a reform or conservative “temple” is no more than that (we certainly should not degrade Yiddishkeit by referring to them as a shul or synagogue), he still has entered a foreign house of worship. The flock (unlike the reform/conservative leaders) does so as a tinuk shenishba, but the structure that he enters remains a foreign house of worship forbidden to Klal Yisroel.
Joseph:
Some of our gedolim say that a temple is nothing more than a church, so you are in good company. The fact that people here on this “charedi” forum would attack you speaks for itself.
True these people have a “connection” to Judaism, but will their children? their grandchildren? We are a baal teshuva family( we used to be completely and I know that YOU CAN CHOOSE TO KNOW BETTER AND TAKE YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE SAND. With the secular world totally devoid of any semblance of morality or anything sacred, any mildly thinking, sensitive human being will be starved for some spirituality at least. ( My job exposes me to a lot of people from different backgrounds and I have goim who are complaining to me about the world has become competely crazy)
Anyway, do you think that these people who came out of the church to check on the market in the middle of Avinu Malkeinu (if they even have it there) CARE ABOUT anything MORE THAN THEIR WALLETS and their various goish materialistic comforts. Do you really think that they are asking Hashem to bring the geulah in between checking their email or voice mails or whatevers…. The fact that they are disconnected is one thing, but do THEY WANT TO BE CONNECTED or did they just come to make a few business acquintances, to “network”? Unfortunately, I had the misfortune of coming to one of their vile “temples” before. Boruch Hashem I quickly realized that it had very little to do with Judaism.
Joseph:
I noticed that you softened your terminology a bit. You now call a Reform Temple a “foreign house of worship”.
I guess in a subtle way you did retract your Church comment.
Now please don’t prove me wrong 🙂
correction in paragraph 2 (we used to be completely secular) meaning not reform, not anything.
yiddishemishpacha:
Although you indicate that you are “a baal teshuva family” I address you in the same way I address Joseph, in my humble opinion you cannot call tinokos shenishba praying in temple “nothing more than a church”
It hurts our cause. See my comments to Joseph.
BTW on a positive note. I took big mussar from your words:
What about some of us? Some of us frum people we should certainly heed your cry. Do some people who talk on their cellphones and email on their blackberries during WEEKDAY davening DO THEY…….
….
…..
…..
“CARE ABOUT anything MORE THAN THEIR WALLETS and their various goish materialistic comforts. Do you really think that they are asking Hashem to bring the geulah in between checking their email or voice mails or whatevers….”
Point to Ponder.
Joeseph, Whar do you mean “I personally chose it.” re the title? Are you a YW writer?
I always heard that there was great decorum in these irreligious houses of worship unlike the frum shuls with the constant talking and cell phones ringing during weekday tefillah. Before we condem these people who don’t know any better, we should look at our own behavior during davening.
I understand that at “temple emanuel” they actually charge a deposit to give you a siddur. Being a baal tshuva myself, i am well aware of the concept of a tinok she’nishba, but these people mentioned all sound like intelligent, educated people. Don’t they have an intellectual obligation, to, just as they study the business world, to look seriously into the faith their ancestors lived and died for, for 4,000 years.
to #33 when we use our dining room from dawn to dusk 24/7/354 it also becomes untidy …the pesach kitchen we dont use all year is always spotless.
#32, I found the article on page B3 (if I recall correctly) of the Times and submitted it to YW with the title used here (Read & Weep…)
there are 2 points we need to learn from this article.
#1 we need to take more respnsiblity in doing kiruv.
#2 the headlines read “…Our Brothers.”!!!??
& what about ourselves?? do we not let our cellphones iterrupt & disturb OUR prayers, our learning torah ?? [ even on a “regular” day in the markets. ]
do we not let our cellphones take over our lives – treating it with more importance & ‘respect’ than our spouses, children, families, friends…??!
& lastly – did u read the part that says..”he considered it INAPPROPRIATE TO TALK BUISNESS SO CLOSE TO HIS PLACE OF WORSHIP “.
may this Brother be zoche to be ‘mekarev’ US to to follow his example!
I think there are 2 issues here, that must be separated from each other.
Even if the temple they attended is “conservative” or “reform”, that these busy people who likely grew up knowing little-to-nothing about their religion took the time out to pray to G-d on the high holy days is, I think, very commendable.
The sad part is that they are, likely, tinokos shenishbu, meaning they never had the opportunity to learn what it really means to be a Jew, and so, amongst other things, the concept of freeing oneself from work (including BlackBerries) on Shabbos and Y”T is unknown to them. And that is what the headline conveys.
illini07:
“If you see no reason that you would believe reform jews when they claim they are authentic, why should the reform believe you? There is a logical disconnect in your thinking and your understanding of human thought and action.”
It is NOT about anyone believing ME, it is about believing the Torah that we received on Sinai and believing our Gedolim shlita.
“I’d say you should hold off on the criticisms, because you clearly aren’t all the way there yet either.”
where I am or am not is not for your mind to ponder. A gut gebentched yur!
“Purely on its face (without delving deeper)”
Shouldn’t everyone be delving deeper?
Leave it to Berlin to twist my Zeida the helige Berditchever Rebbe ZTV’L. Let me tell you Berlin, I know the Berditchever; the Berditchever is a Zeida of mine; and Berlin, you are no Berditchever.
Yes Berlin, despite your incomprehension, we would lovingly welcome them with open arms.
Joseph, you have done such a good job partraying yourself as a kanai on this blog, people just don’t believe you’re such a “groise ohaiv yisroel.” Your prior posts speak for themselves.
cantoresq, its only the same small cadre that you are self-declared general counsel for, that you speak for. The truth, as much as it may hurt you (and perhaps put you and the cadre in denial), is that the leadership AND masses support the Torah positions I’ve espoused.
The biggest Kanaim (i.e. R’ Avigdor Miller) were also the biggest Ohaiv Yisroel’s.
Look!
All Jews wanting to do the right thing…
We argue for the sake of Shamayim.
We are willing to invite a foreigner into our homes on Rosh HaShana.
We try to connect to our source… no matter how far we may be, no matter how distracted we are.
And we cry for our brothers.
Mi K’Amcha Yisroel!
V’ha-arev Na H-Shem E–keinu es divrei Sorascha B’finu, u’b’fiyos amcha beis yisrael v’nihiyeh anachnu, v’tze-etza-aynu…
v’tze-etza-ay amcha beis yisrael kulanu yodei shemecha v’lomdei sorasecha lishma!
G’mar Chasima Tova
#48, Not making comparitive analysis here. In fact, I’m not familiar with some of the names you mention. But my point is a general one. Usually the bigger a tzaddik is a kannai for Hashem, the bigger Ohaiv Yisroel he is.
cantoresq, its only the same small cadre that you are self-declared general counsel for, that you speak for. The truth, as much as it may hurt you (and perhaps put you and the cadre in denial), is that the leadership AND masses support the Torah positions I’ve espoused.
Comment by Joseph — October 2, 2008 @ 6:49 pm
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Really? Last I checked chareidim constitute less than five percent of Jewish community. The overwhelming majority are Jews aren’t even Reform, by that movement’s definition.
Thank You #52
re 50: I think you got it right, by including “tzaddik” in the saime sentence as “kanai”. For the rest of us, I’d caution, don’t try that trick at home, kids.
to 51 cantor according to your logig..we should go after ,lets say, christians after all jews are only small percent.. the answer ask the mechaber ‘urim v’tumim’ on choshen mispat he had debate with your type..so the same applies here, see meforshim ‘ki atem hameat’ and ehrliche yidden are ‘meat’ of the ‘hamat’,and so it was thruout generations,so since ribe deribe yidden are not shomeri torah so maybe we should join them?
#56, I already gave an example: Rav Avigdor Miller ZTV’L, was a big kannai for Hashem and a big Ohaiv Yisroel. Another example is the Satmar Rav. (I don’t know of anyone doing more chesed for Klal Yisroel than Satmar — Bikur Cholim, Hatzolah, Shomrim, Tzedaka – and for all segments of klal yisroel – chasidish, litvish, frum, frei, sefardic, ashkenazic, Yemenites, Iranians, etc. etc. etc.) Another example is Rav Amram Bloy.
Let’s stop looking down on the people mentioned in this article. Most of them are as much a product of their upbringing as we are of ours. How many of the commenters here would be frum today were they not so fortunate as to have been raised that way? Let’s not be so smug about our mazel to have been exposed as children to the yiddishkeit that the people in the article were not exposed to.
to 56 the holy divrei yoel among others
to 56 …and where did you take this din that someone parks his car and walks into shul on shabbos we should welcome him with open arms.. and, no, my zeide wouldnt. maybe your zeide if he had your hashkofes.
about this kanai business,you mention it like it is some kind a plague..yes we are kanoim and proud, thats what parshes nitzovin is all about
to rah-bbi of berlin..you are ‘oihav yisroel’ only to those yisroel that go in your anti torah shitah