Comments on Brianna's Blog: My Experience on the Tappen Zee

Oy, vey, you called Brianna by the wrong name....

2009-03-12T19:44:00.000-04:00

Oy, vey, you called Brianna by the wrong name....

eep, brianna, sorry about that.my kalla happens to...

2009-03-02T21:55:00.000-05:00

eep, brianna, sorry about that.

my kalla happens to be on my brain at the moment, lol.

brianna, unless i'm much mistaken, i think i hear ...

2009-03-02T21:54:00.000-05:00

brianna, unless i'm much mistaken, i think i hear a tinge of sadness in your voice, and over more than just the issue with your friend. (probably the thing that annoys me most.)

chana, change can happen, look at what chassidim did to judaism, look at what the shulchan aruch did.

both of those represented radical changes to the structure of judaism, and the former came from people who were an underclass. change CAN happen, but usualy it happens kicking and screaming... (sadly)

i still refuse to give up hope on the system that became the first to gurantee women's rights in a world where women could be killed at their husband's discretion. (this was the case until maybe the 1400s in europe, possibly after that. the church forbade it but local judges didn't care.)

Women were guranteed the right to sue their husband's for damages, divorce, the right to sustanence, the right to a life free from physical and verbal abuse, rights to personal safety and all kids of stuff.

i don't think that i can give up on a system with that kind of history.

i'd rather die trying, and if I die, i just have to hope that someone will replace me, and someone will replace him if he goes.

but i can't give up, i can't give up on those who are trapped under leaders who are more interested in pushing their agenda than what torah says. . .

I have done the requisite study and came to my own...

2009-03-02T16:08:00.000-05:00

I have done the requisite study and came to my own conclusions. I also felt somewhat isolated during my journey since it didn't seem like anyone really cared whether they were right or not. To them, Judaism was a lifestyle as much as a belief system. And while most believed in God and the validity of the Torah, that belief was not very complex or thought out. It just was a given. They enjoy the lifestyle and they believe. The lifestyle was a source of misery for me, and when I got down to the nitty gritty philosophy stuff, I realized that the arguments didn't do much for me. This is about reason for me, but I have to say that I do shake my head every time I hear about the bais din screwing over a female friend in the process of a divorce or yet another casualty of the humiliating, de-humanizing shidduch process. Don't think you can fix the system. Take it or leave it.

y'know, the saddest thing about people like you le...

2009-03-02T10:19:00.000-05:00

y'know, the saddest thing about people like you leaving yiddishkeit (and the thing that makes me feel the most frustrated) is that really, if you'd stop and evaluate jewish sources on your own, people like you would be most useful in ripping down the problems in the [frum] jewish world today.

and i kinda feel abandoned to do it on my own actualy, although I think i've spoken about this with you before.

Interesting perspective. I guess that means I real...

2009-02-24T15:39:00.000-05:00

Interesting perspective. I guess that means I really am an athiest (although I don't like the term since it makes me think of militant athiests). People who do believe deep down start praying when things get tough. I didn't even think of it.

Youre SUCH an atheist that you cant even say Boruc...

2009-02-24T07:38:00.000-05:00

Youre SUCH an atheist that you cant even say Boruch HaShem? :)