Ok, so we have a new candidate for the firing squad, but turnabout is fair play - it's only fair to put DovBear under the microscope; poetic justice of a sort, I guess.
I'm not a DB contributor, but I read him from time to time. I find his approach very sad, depressing really, so I take it only in small doses. Where is the soul in his words? Where is his heart? What is his Yiddishkeit? When I read him, I only hear the cold-water, lifeless voice of doubt. I only see the leftist run-of-the-mill talking head who beats anything that has a little life into submission. Where is the future in that? Where does that lead but down?
For a guy who was exposed to words of the living G-d, I'd expect more. For a guy that does do some good on this world I'd expect more.
Sure, it's fun to be the uber-rationalist, the super-critic, and the smartest guy in the room. It's a great rush to "swing it around," and define yourself as part of the revolution – full with "good guys" (FM) and bad (Chareidim). It always feels good to be the sophisticate with a doting following and a bellicose opposition. I get it. But it saddens me. It saddens me for him and his wife and family. But it makes me wonder, where does it come from? Is it that chinuch that promotes thought leads one down the prim rose path to SoHo Judaism – to the New Age empty platitudes with a salting of high-falutin word and ideas? Is it because rationalism is the sure-fire road to a simplistic 3 dimensional physical universe? Or is it a rebellion; the excitement of coming of age – the sudden realization that words are powerful. Maybe it's all just another example of the base ego and all its drives pumping through the veins of young men across the world, and throughout history. Hopefully he moves on at some point to a more idealistic place.
Ok, so DB got exposed, and in Liberal fashion he apologized so all must be forgiven (yeah, what a bunch of hooey). But DB isn't a bad guy, and I think that all thought IS good – as long as he gets somewhere meaningful one day. Unfortunately, the track record of history shows that many don't. DB, I think this may be your big break. Getting caught with your pants down is a chance to start again.
11 comments:
Hirshel, what makes you think DB will ever see this? If i remember correctly, he didn't get along with you too well.
1.
It's not Hirshel's post, it's mine.
2.
If he sees it, he sees it.
If he doesn’t, he doesn’t.
Hirshel are you sure TA's guess is correct?
Since it is improper blogger-etiquette to expose anyone intentionally, it's best that we don’t press the identity angle. The point should be more about the on-line personality, which is what my post was really getting to.
I regret making any, and I will refrain from making, more assumptions about the identity of DB.
I was shocked to read this drivel:
Is it that chinuch that promotes thought leads one down the prim rose path to SoHo Judaism – to the New Age empty platitudes with a salting of high-falutin word and ideas? Is it because rationalism is the sure-fire road to a simplistic 3 dimensional physical universe?
Obviously, this has nothing to do with Dov Bear, who is not about New Age or Soho Judaism at all, and I say this as someone who frequently disagrees with aspects of his Liberal Modern Orthodoxy, which is quite different than was portrayed above in a grossly inaccurate conflation.
I was relieved when I realized that this was not written by Hirshel, whom I consider a nuanced, sophisticated, and formidable opponent.
It's amazing that Hirshel let's these guys post on his site.
which guys?
Neo, Mekushor, etc...
But tell us, oh wise one, what is your take on the DB situation?
nah, it's a decidedly incomplete bilbul!
For the record:
I have no idea who DB actually is. And although I had thought it was someone specific, I am no longer inclined to believe it.
And since it is probably not the fellow I had thought it was, I no longer care about this issue altogether.
Its not Dovi Scheiner
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