Comments on: Lenny Bruce is spinning in his grave.

By: DK

DK — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:59:37 +0000

Can some kind person please check if the above IP addresses are “masked”? That would be most interesting if they are coming from a site like hidemyass.com. I am suspicious that a certain PR firm might have been given a directive from a client to push “Marnie Winston Macauley” heavily.

Also, Big Aish blows.

By: Susie

Susie — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:39:34 +0000

Came across your opine. When was the last time you actually read Jewlarious?

As an actor/comic, I’m a huge fan of two of AISH’s columnists: Marnie Winston Macauley (A Little Joy, Little Oy, Yiddishe Mamas: The Truth about) and Andy Cowan Seinfeld, Cheers, etc.) Many of us read them “religiously.”

Honey … doesn’t get better than these two. Either get them or those of their caliber, then we’ll talk.

Susie

By: janel Bladow

janel Bladow — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:52:28 +0000

Just came across Dr. Howard Cohen’s comment about AISH Jewlarious and Marnie Winston-Macauley.

She blows me away! For the Alters and Newish alike. A savvy, witty, smart, and funny talent.

Go read.

Janel Bladow

By: Dr. Howard Cohen

Dr. Howard Cohen — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:27:25 +0000

Look again! I wasn’t a fan until Jewlarious wisely hit gelt with one particular writer, Marnie Winston-Macauley. Her stuff is what keeps me coming back. It’s witty, often bold, and she flies in the face of “convention.” Even within the boundaries, she pushes the edge as far as possible.

At least when I’m not laughing, I’m thinking.

Dr. Howard Cohen

By: Aish Rabbi Assumes Jewish Poluation Study is “Five Million Adult Jewish Males” in the United States : The Kvetcher

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 01:35:23 +0000

[...] and check out his ideas on “science” that Failed Messiah notes. This guy should be on Jewlarious. He is–by far–the funniest writer on Big Aish’s [...]

By: RDM

RDM — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 06:34:56 +0000

Ben,

I just came home from a year of studying at Aish and I find your post to be far from the truth.

1. “From my payus-weearing roommates who, despite not being able to read Hebrew, were so frum that they couldn’t walk on main streets to get to the lunch room – lest (gasp) they pass by a woman and have impure thoughts.”

Is it possible to be frum and not be yet fluent in Hebrew? (Although Aish has one of the best ulplan teachers in Jerusalem). If your roommates decided to not walk in certain areas to avoid scantily dressed women, why is that bad? Who are you to judge? Where would you draw the line? I know friends who think that going to a strip club is perfectly acceptable. Would you gasp at them for taking the opposite position? Maybe your roommates made a personal separate from Aish (also, you went to Aish and didn’t feel the same way as your roommates)

2. “To the rabbis who told me to ‘uninvite’ my friends to chassidic and/or Hebrew classes – lest the kids become messianic chabadniks or (even worse) ‘Zionists,’ that place is crazy.”

I know dozens of Aish guys who visit Chabad families for Shabbos and never heard a word from the Rabbiem that they shouldn’t go. You’re saying they told you not to bring kids to a Hebrew class? For what reason? Sounds like you are taking something out of context. Maybe they told you not to learn from someone who thinks the Rebbe was Moschiach, but that’s very different from what you said.

Also, Aish has a Hesder program so I fail to believe that they are anti-Zionest. I have heard Rabbiem disagree with the secular Israeli government, but you can sleep safely at night knowing that Aish promotes living in Eretz Yisrael. Maybe you meant Zionism in the strictly “living in Israel as Jews with no connection to Judaism.” Yes, they would disagree with that approach (as most Orthodox groups would).

3. “I knew kids who didn’t invite their parents to their weddings, kids who withdrew from ivy league graduate schools (because “the rebbeim say that 99% of people who go back to America ‘fry out,’ etc).”

I know kids who didn’t invite their parents to their wedding who weren’t religious. So what? Did you hear someone at Aish tell them not to? This discussion has come up and every Aish rabbi I spoke to said the same thing “Honor your father and your mother.” Which clearly means you should invite them (I saw this happen when both parents were not Jewish and the yet both parents were invited) .

Also, I’ve never heard a Rabbi say that you’ll “fry-out” moving back to America. Aish is sending Rabbiem to college campuses to do kiruv (clearly they don’t believe those people will fry out). Even if a guy dropped out of an Ivy League school and stayed in Israel, he could easily get into a very good Israeli university. I don’t see how this shows the “insanity” of Aish.

Maybe you had a different experience, but it seems to me that your issues are taken out of context. I would be glad to respond to anything else.

By: Ian Babson

Ian Babson — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:43:01 +0000

Well said, Ben Gold. You seem to be some sort of genius. I never had the pleasure of the Aish experience, but did get kicked out of the Bais Medrash at the Happy Light for practicing modern Hebrew by reading Haaretz. It was also quite an experience to respond to a drash about how the Romans wanted to make all the Jews (pre-70 CE) into Christians, and to learn that college “ruined” me, because it taught me things like the fact that the Roman empire was pagan for several centuries thereafter.

By: Ben Gold

Ben Gold — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 20:11:00 +0000

Though I grew up pretty traditional, I became ‘frum’ through Aish. I spent years in their yeshiva, sat in their highest gemara shiur, knew all the rabbis and their families – in short, I was Aishified. Ten years later, I’m still observant with a nice family, but upon hearing the words ‘Aish HaTorah,’ all I can do is CRINGE.
To say I despise them would be an overstatement, I guess. But the things I saw there and learned there were scary. Real scary.
From my payus-weearing roommates who, despite not being able to read Hebrew, were so frum that they couldn’t walk on main streets to get to the lunch room – lest (gasp) they pass by a woman and have impure thoughts – to the rabbis who told me to ‘uninvite’ my friends to chassidic and/or Hebrew classes – lest the kids become messianic chabadniks or (even worse) ‘Zionists,’ that place is crazy. I knew kids who didn’t invite their parents to their weddings, kids who withdrew from ivy league graduate schools (because “the rebbeim say that 99% of people who go back to America ‘fry out,’ etc). I could go on and on with stories of things they do in the name of yiddishkeit that are actually anathema to the ethos of Judaism, but for every anecdote I give, it doesn’t prove anything. All I can say is thank goodness for my graduate biblical studies’ professors at Oxford, for my disinclination towards extremism, for my desire to earn a living and for the serendipitous circumstances that got me away from their kool-aid, into the arms of a nice Sephardi woman and the path towards a sane life…

By: Anon for a reason

Anon for a reason — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 21:45:59 +0000

“No one is forced to be there. No one loses their right to leave.”

Ahem.

I attended the Jerusalem Fellowships in the mid-90s. At the time we signed up for the program, they told us that the regular price of the program was several thousand dollars (3-5, something in that range) but that we were getting a “discounted” fellowship price of around $1k. If we did not complete the program, we would owe them the balance of our “fellowship”. (that was a few grand, way out of my league at the time). I HATED the program, but I felt I could not leave because I could not afford to pay them the balance.

Also, when we got there, they offered to put our passports in a safe for safe keeping. Seems reasonable, right? No one wants to carry their passport around for a month. Until you realize what the program is really all about, and you want to go home, or up to Greece, or, man, ANYWHERE ELSE and you realize that you would have to ask them for your passport to make that happen.

Aish sucks. And if they’re not a cult, well they’re pretty damn culty.

By: Shy Guy

Shy Guy — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 09:38:08 +0000

Here you go, Shlomo. I know what you mean. Partial response, hot off the press: Hannuka Among the Hellenists.

By: michael

michael — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 08:43:12 +0000

Not so well, chief.

By: Shlomo Weinbach

Shlomo Weinbach — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 08:31:47 +0000

“Don’t speak English, but. Second, In an instant I recalled that Hebrew is full of foreign words. Ya Allah! What are we to do? This isn’t right. This will show if you understand Hebrew, Ya sharmoota”

How’d I do ?

By: michael

michael — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 08:15:51 +0000

Shlomo, when you move to Israel, throw out your computer, quit your day job and devote yourself to a day-in, day-out regime of Torah study, you can call other people Hellenists. Actually, while we’re at it, you should probably quit practicing Judaism as we know it as well. First off, you can forget about that trayf, European rationalism-inspired Samson Raphael Hirch Torah u’Mada Modern Orthodoxy bullshit. No more jeans and T-shirts for you! And while we’re on the subject of clothes, might as well put the Chasidim in cherem (again) for wearing those goyishe 16th century European costumes – an unacceptable infiltration of non-Jewish culture in God’s Chosen People. And hey, throw out those Thirteen Principles, Maimonides was heavily (and admittedly) influenced by both classical Greek and Arab philosophy. What a fucking Hellenist. And Sa’adia Gaon? What the fuck kind of Hellenist Arab-loving name is THAT? Chuck the Talmud, too – those Babylonian rabbis, writing in the language of Babylon, influenced by Persian religion and culture? Burn that Hellenist shit! Hell, you know what, drop the Tanakh. I mean, look at the Song of Songs – clearly influenced in form and content by contemporaneous Egyptian love poetry. Obviously, the whole damned thing is pasul from all those foreign influences.

אל תדבר אנגלית אפילו. שנייה, אני כרגע זכרתי שעברית מלאה השפעות ומילים זרות. יא אללה! מה נעשה?! זה לא משנה. זה לא כאילו שאתה מבין עברית בכל מקרה. יא שרמוטא

Chew on that while you light your chanukiyah, you sanctimonious Hellenizing son of a bitch.

By: themiddle

themiddle — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 08:14:39 +0000

Yup, those Hellenist, sodomy-reminding latkes were really good. I like mine with sour cream AND apple sauce.

By: Shlomo Weinbach

Shlomo Weinbach — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 07:31:35 +0000

I find it rather ironic that we are in Chanukah right now. the majority of people on this board are Helenist Jews and don’t even realise it. The point of Chanukah was overthrowing the Greeks who tried to Helenise us and eventually make us Greek. The “Conservative movement” thinks it Halachic and allows gays. DK and others here are bashing Kiruv and orthodox outreach organisations.

This is very sad. I really hope you “Hellenist” Jews see the parallels taking place.

By: DK

DK — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 03:25:37 +0000

Bozoer, you said,

“the local Aish director is a friend of mine.”

We didn’t ask.

“He self identifies as a ‘chareidi.’”

No shit.

“my friend has never once tried to get me to spend time at the yeshiva in J’lem.”

Many of us prefer to not mix friendship and torture.

“one of the original members of our minyan got his undergrad degree, attended kollel for a few years, and then attended and completed med school.”

Okay, Bozoer? For future reference — when being Mr. Haredi recruitment apologist — don’t bring someone who dropped out of life for a while to hang out in kollel as an example of a Big Aish’s moderate approach.

“While there are problems in the kiruv movement, the hostility that kiruv groups provoke from some disaffected Jews is interesting. ”

Yes, but not as interesting as the fundamentalist provocations of the Kiruv movements themselves. Go tell your friend you had some questions about Maccabees 1-4, and was wondering if he would teach that document at his Aish chapter. Also, ask him if he will have Slifkin do a lecture on Aish’s campus. No problem, right?

By: Steves Rick

Steves Rick — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 02:18:43 +0000

Bozoer, Well dude, you know one of them, and I have seen now 3 communities where they wreak havoc. They trash the local Rabbi in their ads.

I would not call myself disaffected either, I am an active member of a Synagogue and help out some of the others when asked to make a minyan or read the Torah. I also have some kids in the Yeshiva system and no longer qualify for any scholarships for them.

As far as these NK clowns, I really think it’s some scheme that they are doing it for the money, If you notice it’s never the same spokesman. Probably these are drug addicts in the Hassidic community who could use a hundred grand for their addiction needs.

There’s probably a couple of middlemen who take same off the top.

By: Bozoer Rebbe

Bozoer Rebbe — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 01:59:29 +0000

Oh, and Michael, not in your wildest dreams are you as funny as Lenny Bruce. Lenny was funnier reading trial transcripts than your attempts at humor. The only Jew who made me laugh as hard as Lenny was R. David Meir ben Shraga Feivel HaKohen.

By: Bozoer Rebbe

Bozoer Rebbe — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 01:56:46 +0000

I don’t know how Aish is in J’lem but the local Aish director is a friend of mine. We’ve done some serious bike rides together and I feel comfortable saying just about anything with him. He self identifies as a “chareidi” and has done so on a national radio show (while defending R. Slifkin’s work, btw). The only time Aish has a minyan in this city is for the yamim nora’im so the idea of them depleting minyanim is moot. I think I may have attended two or three Aish events in the past 10 years, and my friend has never once tried to get me to spend time at the yeshiva in J’lem. In fact, he seems as fed up with froomie nonsense as most critical thinkers are. Does he respect the Weinbergs? Sure. Does he run a cult recruitment effort? Hardly.

In addition to the local Aish director, I’m also friendly with the director of a kiruv organization that’s widely respected. I can’t think of a single person who was mekarev by this rabbi who gave up a promising career or profession. As a matter of fact, one of the original members of our minyan got his undergrad degree, attended kollel for a few years, and then attended and completed med school.

While there are problems in the kiruv movement, the hostility that kiruv groups provoke from some disaffected Jews is interesting.

By: Chutzpah

Chutzpah — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 06:49:21 +0000

Shlomo,

To quote you “If you ask some Kaballistic Rabbis they’ll tell you there’s a screw up on their (NK) lines somewhere. like a non -Jewish mother in the tree or a faulty conversion.

he same can be said of many BT’s, many of whom can’t trace back their Jewish lineage correctly or who can and know that their grandmother’s didn’t go to the mikvah because the pool at the country club was more fun. Why would BT’s grandchildren be “legit” Jews (according to you) while “no one” considers NK’ers Jews (according to you). (And I am NOT defending NK …I am simply pointing out your faulty logic).

Since Conservative and Reform “sects” are also not “legit” Jews to you either, basically only the Weinbach’s qualify?