A New Series to Celebrate the Three Weeks

The three weeks–from the 17th of Tammuz to the 9th of Av — is considered a mourning period in the Jewish calendar. Even in the frummest circles, people give a least a little lip service to the idea that maybe it isn’t all about whose beard is the longest and whose head covering is the most correct. But the truth is, you can’t really talk to these people today. All messages are interpreted to mean more stringency and intolerance. The ongoing competition of who can out-frum who is perhaps the greatest pissing contest in modern Jewish history. The competition is often fierce, and there’s no need for that, because their are so many winners in this wonderful contest, and always new and ever more meshugeh contests for the ultra-Orthodox to compete in.

And of course, for there to be so many winners within the heimeshe communities, well, there have to be some outsiders to contrast with, don’t there? And who within their communities are better candidates to excoriate for not keeping up than the lowly baal teshuva, or even better…the convert.

True, the Torah demands we are kind to the stranger, and the stranger often means the convert.

But like so many of the mishputim (rational laws), this does not interest all of the haredim. They have better things to worry about. They treat converts and potential concerts like dirt. They treat converts the way a merchant treats a known shoplifter when he enters his store.

Nancy’s story–to be published in serial form on The Kvetcher this week–is the story of a woman who went to Israel to reconnect with her own hidden Jewish heritage. Tragically, she has been treated in a manner that shocking in its contempt.

Shocking, but not surprising.