“Not all shteiging”? Who, pray tell, whispered in this writer’s ear and informed her who is shteiging and who is not?
I am not the type of person who normally writes letters to the editor, and certainly not to a women’s magazine. However, in the case of Shifra Seidman’s essay “Behind the Glitter,” which contained a critique of the American Torah community in Eretz Yisrael, I feel compelled to respond.
I was deeply disturbed by some of the sentiments expressed in this article. I found the tone highly presumptuous, and, in some areas, downright condescending. For instance, she writes “It’s clear why they, the couples, anyone, comes from afar, even if I know they’re not all shteiging.”
Excuse me? “Not all shteiging”? Who, pray tell, whispered in this writer’s ear and informed her who is shteiging and who is not? The yardstick by which one can measure shteiging only applies to a sum total of one person: himself. It is antithetical to the concepts of dan l’kaf zechus and ayin tovah to presume otherwise. Truthfully, I don’t know a single yungerman in Eretz Yisrael who is not here for the express purpose of shteiging.
The argument for this so-called lack of shteiging relies on the growing consumerism found here in Israel. As the article goes, “Once, you couldn’t get the ice cream you liked, the laundry detergent you wanted… You have this and this.” To which I respond: whoop-de-do. Is having access to Tide detergent really such an impediment to growing spiritually? The very notion is patently absurd. If that were the case, every single kollel couple in America should also be accused of not shteiging enough because they have access to such conveniences.
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