If winter comes is Pesach far behind? The frost chills us but the Pesach hotels set out the lures. From the ads one gathers that it is the “truly frum” who are the targeted clientele. Some of the attractions include (a composite from various ads): special Shabbos key locks and Shabbos elevator; shmurah matzoh; 100 percent non-gebrochts; chalav Yisrael; chassidishe shechitah; and daf yomi. It’s a true smorgasbord of piety for Jews who are dedicated to uncompromising service of G-d who reverently observe the minutiae of the Shulchan Aruch and maintain every halachic stringency. For such folks those hotels provide a Pesach that is a foretaste of Olam HaBa.
But something perplexes. There is a second clientele being addressed by the same hotels for the same Pesach. For these guests — Orthodox but apparently not as frum as the first group — the very same hotels offer a pinch of Olam HaBa but generous portions of Olam HaZeh. Pesach laws will be kept of course but some of the attractions for the Not-As-Frum crowd include gourmet cuisine by famous imported chefs; Olympic outdoor pools; covered indoor pools; Jacuzzis; saunas; fully equipped fitness rooms; wi-fi throughout; vast selection of wines; lavish kiddush; and 24-hour nonstop round-the-clock tearooms.
I wondered: how will these two sets of guests get along when they mingle in the lobby? Or will management separate the two groups so that the Truly Frum will not be made uncomfortable by the Not-As-Frum who seem not so serious about their Yiddishkeit; and the Not-As-Frum will not be discomfited by the Truly Frum who seem to be more serious about their Yiddishkeit? How could these two groups — the one preferring shmurah matzoh and chassidishe shechitah the other fancying Jacuzzis and vast wine selections — ever get along with each other? This could try the ingenuity of the most creative of social directors.
It flitted across my mind that perhaps those ads were geared not to two different groups but to one group only. But this I quickly realized flies in the face of elementary reason. For could it be that a Jew who was so otherworldly that he wanted chassidishe shechitah would also want a vast selection of wines? Would the Jew who was so spiritual as to insist on chalav Yisrael be tempted by gourmet cuisine? And the Jew who desires shmurah matzoh — would he also require a Jacuzzi? It did not compute.
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