CNN video on Satmar's that leave the fold.

amother ↓

Sun, Jan 22 2006, 11:35 pm

OK, Heshy is my cousing. He's from Monsey not from Williamsburg and I'm not sure if he's from Satmar or not but His family is pretty much Viznitz Monsey. WEird Weird WEird this whole film. First of all it's mostly Crown Heights and not williamsburg but both of them should not be in the film especially Crown Heights.
Did you hear the statement that they do not learn math or science?? Are they crazy or something. I have someone I know who teaches Intergrated Math in Satmar williamsburg and says their secular studies are on a pretty good level. No going out? no movies? That would be an ideal dream but that's not at all the situation there.
Anyway it's a crazy crazy crazy senseless film. totally atrocious!!!!!!
Not one Chassidus deserves to be portrayed this way. It's a total LIE!!

↑ amother ↓

Mon, Jan 23 2006, 12:18 am

I know of Heshy, I know members of his family , and I know his ex wife, she was a neighbor of mine and an absolute DOLL of a woman. She is Baruch Hashem remarried to a wonderful man who was a widow with children and they have a beautiful Yiddishe Chassidishe home. Now This is what I know about him. Yes he was Satmar, not only was he born into Satmar but he was one of the top Buchrim. Everyone considered him a genius. I have no idea what happened to him but I know he was unstable and still is. Whatever. I know some other nutty stuff but cant back it up 1000% so I wont say it.
. He is still stuck in his rebelious teenager stage. I'm so happy that he agreed to stay far far away from his beautiful amazing kids. That doesnt say much about him but Baruch Hashem for them.

Estee2 ↓

Mon, Jan 23 2006, 10:47 am

WOW !! I just saw it now, for the first time.
It's all in the 'marketing'.
For both positive and negative

Thank you, Defy G for the link.

As terrible as the news piece is,
it is SO important for us (especially since
we do not have a television) to see what our fellow
Jews are seeing about us.

Anyone who wears a black hat and sheitel
looks like the Satmar to all (at least my)
Modern Orthodox and Reform friends in my
community. So, for us to be sble to see this piece
online helps a lot -- I do not know how else I would hear about it
and get to see it.

Thanks again, Defy G, and thanks again, IMAMOTHER
for providing this helpful service !!

↑ DefyGravity ↓

Mon, Jan 23 2006, 10:52 am

Quote:

Anyone who wears a black hat and sheitel
looks like the Satmar to all (at least my)
Modern Orthodox and Reform friends in my
community.

You do know that there's a HUGE difference between MO and reform, right?
I'm MO and I would consider it to be a big insult if someone put me nearly in the same category as Reform. Everyone I know that's MO definitely realizes that just b/c you wear a shaitel, you're not necessarily Satmar, unless you're wearing a pillbox hat on top. In fact, many Modern Orthodox women cover their hair with a shaitel.

↑ timeout ↓

Mon, Jan 23 2006, 11:00 am

that's definitely true Defy, Reform means whe you take the Torah and laws and change them to fit your lifestyle Shabbos means Friday night services with a cantor who has a beautiful voice and can be heard by all with the microphone driving home to your delicious meal, Shabbos by day maybe having another service if you are religious having a big lavish kiddush, driving home and then probably going out to a game if summer or whatever you wish.

This is nothing like Modern Orthodox you can't even put them in the same category just because someone isn't as stringent ont eh laws as you are dosen't put them in tha same category as someone who is mechalel Shabbos or keep Kosher, go to Jewish Schools or where a Kapal.

↑ Estee2 ↓

Mon, Jan 23 2006, 11:15 am

Quote:

You do know that there's a HUGE difference between MO and reform, right?

Yes, Defy, I apologize for it looking that way !!javascript:emoticon(' Sad

')

My point is that where I live there is a WHOLE range of people
from MO to Reform) that would think that the people portayed on that CNN clip are people like US !!

We, (personally Chabad) are HOPEFULLY MUCH more open minded than
those Chassidic families their unhappy children described to the nation.

I think it is SO important to accept and show love to ALL our children,
regardless of their possibly turning out slightly to a different degree.
Parents who are TOO closed minded just 'turn off' their children, and unfortunately this may result.

Heshy seems to have a lot of problems personally, not just with religion.
Chana (I think that was her name) seems to have portray a happy childhood until her arranaged marriage.

I think that is EXTREME !!

↑ chavamom ↓

Mon, Jan 23 2006, 1:53 pm

For some reason I can't get this video to play. CNN seems to be getting a lot of mileage about this story. I was at the gym yesterday and the woman on the treadmill next to me was watching a show on CNN where they review some of the 'top stories' with interviews with the reporter in front of an audience. I missed the first part, but they had Delia Gallagher that did this story on talking about it. One of the questions from the audience was from a Reform woman who pointed out that it goes both ways - while some may be leaving Orthodoxy, 'many' of her friends have become more observant d/t a search for spirituality that our generation is undergoing.

↑ chavamom

Mon, Jan 23 2006, 2:16 pm

OK - got the video to load. While there is a lot of garbage info here, I have to say one thing. I have worked with kids who go 'off the derech'. Some of them wind up living the most horrific lives b/c the only place they can go is to other 'crash pads' with other teens in the same type of situations. Often they wind up using drugs and all sorts of aweful things. If this guy Heshy can prevent that from happening, then I think what he is doing is not a horrible thing by provide a refuge.

↑ amother ↓

Mon, Jan 23 2006, 2:28 pm

Quote:

Often they wind up using drugs and all sorts of aweful things. If this guy Heshy can prevent that from happening, then I think what he is doing is not a horrible thing by provide a refuge.

I dont think that is what he is doing. I think this is a crash pad and there probably are drugs going on there. There is nothing in the video that leads me to think that he is helping these kids in any other way than being a place where they can escape from whatever they are trying to get away from.

↑ amother ↓

Mon, Jan 23 2006, 2:29 pm

I am very surprised at all of these postings that I have read here. when I saw this clip I had an ALTOGETHER different feeling. I was VERY SAD for the jewish that felt they had to leave the only life that they knew and find something else. I was also saddened by the fact that cnn definitely went a little bit overboard. but I think we have to remember that there really are yidden out there that really do leave the fold for any number of reasons and the most important thing is to try to help them back into the fold in a NONJUDGEMENTAL way.
I also felt like mentioning that we have to watch what we say. I don't personally know any of the people in the clip so I didn't know what anyone was talking about, but we have to be careful to NOT talk lashon hara about a fellow jew, no matter the level of frumkeite. and the girl in the clip with the pants, chana, just because she was wearing pants does NOT mean that she has become irreligious. there are MANY ways to serve HaShem in our own ways.

↑ DefyGravity

Mon, Jan 23 2006, 2:35 pm

Amother, I completely agree with your statement. Regardless of how poorly CNN portrayed chassidim, we still need to understand that there are many people that go off, and by being more understanding, we could probably prevent a lot of them from slipping away completely.

Furthermore, there's no reason for so many people to speak so much (obviously incorrect) lashon hara about Heshy. We have 3 people here that are telling three different stories about this guy. Since the information is not true, maybe it would be nice to refrain from telling lies about him.

↑ amother ↓

Mon, Jan 23 2006, 10:54 pm

I find many of the posts here quite upsetting. I get the feeling that the righteously indignant comments are mainly on the issue of "How DARE they even mention Satmar and Crown Heights in the same sentence", and not, how sad it is that there are Yiddishe Kinder who are not finding fulfillment in Yiddishkeit. As if, such stories can only happen in Satmar, if they would have grown up with OUR hashkafas, you would never see such behavior.

As far as I know, the dropout rate is not any higher for Satmar youth than for Lubavitch youth, probably even lower, from what I hear.

I find it insulting that people automatically assume that the parents of these children were closeminded and that was why they went off. How exactly did you find that out?

I also wasn't as disgusted by this Heshy character as many of the posters here. I actually think he contributed something positive, as he talks about how he left his marriage, left mitzvah observance, but then, he felt the emptiness, how there was no meaning to it all. It shows how to a Yid, being "free" is just not enough. So he didn't fit into the Chassidic lifestyle. He is still trying, in his own way, to find his place in Yiddishkeit, and there is no reason to be making insinuations on his character.

Those of you who have such a negative image should maybe pay a visit to Williamsburg and try to look beyond your preconceived prejudices. Beneath the black hats and covered sheitels there is alot of beauty and meaning. I just don't want anyone going away thinking that most of the Satmar community is living in a prison of their leaders' making and are just dying to get out if they would have the first opportunity. The vast majority are perfectly happy with their lives and believe that their way of life is superior to that of any other. (their way of life, not they themselves chv"s)

But of course, the sloppy journalism is still sloppy journalism.
(Wide eyed reporter, "NO MOVIES??!!)