Orthodox Jewish Outreach

There’s a myth about baalei teshuvah that we were all drunks staggering around unhappily before we saw the light and now our task is to leave our prior lives behind entirely and start all over with this new group of perfect people and to imitate them in every way and to learn Gemara all day long. Well, I wasn’t unhappy, and I didn’t drink alcohol or smoke or anything like that. I didn’t become Torah observant out of unhappiness. I was looking for a higher path, and I think I found it. However, trashing my prior life was a big mistake that caused me much misery and actually took me off of that higher path because you can’t do it when you are feeling crazy and sad. I had good friends that I never replaced. They didn’t leave me. They were cool with what I was doing. I left them as directed by people who were going to become my new far more moral friends and family but never did. I don’t regret becoming Torah observant, but I regret handing over my life to pushy people who ordered me to b...

One man shared with me the story of how years ago he told one of the rabbis at the school for baalei teshuah he was attending that he wanted to step outside to take a brief walk. The rabbi responded sternly, “Did you ask the Rosh Yeshiva for reshus (permission)?” The Rosh Yeshiva is the chief rabbi of the school. The man was nearly thirty at the time, but he had to ask for permission to step outside to get some air. I must state that not all places are like this. I have visited nearly all of them and have witnessed first-hand that at Darche Noam, Dvar Yerushalayim, Midreshet Rachel, Aish HaTorah, Ohr Somayach and other schools, students can come and go as they please. Whether or not such freedom is granted to the mind in its conceptions of religion is another matter. 

  BT In A New Key: Kiruv versus what comes after

  Comments on the web BTANovember 2, 2005 at 4:00 AM Wow, now this sure is a nice place you got here. Thanks for the reference. I want to respond to your sincere concern as to whether this blog will do any good, or better- more good than harm. My plan is to make something that saves a lot of potential BT's a lot of strife. To make it personal, I am glad I became a BT. It opened me to new sensitivities I am certain I would never have. It got me sooo much closer to my whole family, nuclear and others. On the other hand, the true harm came in my being cajoled and pushed into levels of observance. Why the rush? Why indeed. There are only so many kiruv rabbi's out there and a lot of prospects and not too much money. I think they want to push and get on to the next one. BT yeshivas provide the perfect solution- the rabbi's just give you cholent and kugel for a while, learn a shtickle torah with you while mainly playing psychological games on you. Then, they pass you off to yeshiv...

  The Kiruv Glossary - Freidom Fighter - Mockery Will Set you Free Are you in the process of getting brainwashed by an Institute for Jewish Wisdom? Is all that mumbo jumbo getting you down as you try to don a black hat a week after being  a regular college kid  in California? This handy dandy glossary will provide an explanation for the most common words you’ll probably encounter. Some of them may seem like regular words, but rest assured, they have a special meaning in the Kiruv world. Aish   – the best Kiruv organization ever. Chabad are a bunch of losers who don’t pressure you nearly enough to completely change your life in the course of a month. Ohr Sameach missed out on the key part of becoming a pyramid scheme and convincing the fresh blood to go recruit new victims in turn.  Aish  has the secret of Jewish leadership: fuck others as they have fucked unto yo. Answers  – we have  answers for everything . We’ll tailor them  to your specifi...

 What follows here is what I see as largely a disturbing conversation about cutting out family. Shearim: Should a Baal Teshuva give up the contact to his Parents WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2009 Should a Baal Teshuva give up the contact to his Parents B"H Should a newcomer to religion give up the contact to his parents once he became frum ? Many Baalei Teshuva, especially those who are planning to join a chassidic group, are asking themselves this question. Not only Baalei Teshuva but also converts to Judaism. A Belzer Chassid told me the following: "In case a newcomer (newly religious) is going to join a chassidic group, then he should end the contact with his parents !" No matter if the person in question was born Jewish or converted to Judaism. Sounds hard ? What is the reason for such a statement ? "When the newcomer's children are going to school with my children and suddenly start talking about watching TV, movies, worldly newspapers or other worldly matters, then ...

  Jewish Outreach: What Your Rabbi Isn't Telling You: Guest Post: A Concerned Jewish Mother Speaks Out About Kiruv (stopkiruvnow.blogspot.com) Guest Post: A Concerned Jewish Mother Speaks Out About Kiruv Guest Post Thanks to TB for submitting her account of her child's experiences with aggressive ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach. Is the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Outreach movement “brainwashing” students? By a concerned Jewish mother O ur family practiced Conservative Judaism. My son graduated valedictorian from high school and went on to the University of Pennsylvania where he was accepted into the Wharton school of business. This was the school of his dreams and economic and finance were his career aspirations. Our son was a person who was always surrounded by a warm family and many friends. He excelled in almost everything he tried and he was the kind of person who always put other people’s needs before his own. During his time at the University of Pennsylvania, he was active at th...