"The primary reason we should be behaving in a certain way, in whatever situation, is because it’s the right way to do things"
Interviewed by Alexandra Fleksher
In advocating for the American chareidi community, how much of the job is public relations?
Every time we interact with government officials, we are aware that how they perceive the Orthodox community plays a role in what kind of decisions they make. COVID has really brought that out in a very stark way — perceptions of the American Orthodox community have in some cases made it very difficult to be effective. In other situations, the perception of how the community has acted has been very beneficial. Sometimes it has to do with, to be quite blunt, whether they are looking at the community here or whether they’re looking at the headlines or what they see on TV.
Unfortunately, the way people sometimes behave has ramifications far beyond the borders of their community, which they may be oblivious to when they live in a more homogenous community, as opposed to living out in the Midwest or some other place where people are probably more naturally aware of how their conduct can have an impact.
I don’t know if it’s still like this but, for example, I remember when you were able to double-park in certain places in Lakewood and leave your keys in the car if someone needed you to move. It seemed to work, and that’s a beautiful thing. When living in a community where everyone is frum, you can view your neighbors like family, which is wonderful. But doing something like blocking traffic while hopping out to grab a package can inconvenience others, and is selfish. In over 20 years living in the Midwest, I have never seen someone block a stranger’s driveway while running into Minchah. (To be fair, we also don’t have parking issues in the Midwest.)
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