Friday, April 27, 2007

Old Habits Die Hard


Check This Out

Just ask these three guys, seemingly Baalei Tshuvah, presumably Breslover Chassidim, They'll tell you. Why do I assume that they're not FFB's? Simply because no FFB plays a "mean" guitar like that. Notice what the guy said? In his heavy Israeli accent I could make out "Sounds also 'Endrix." Obviously nobody expected them to drop their knowledge of guitar and forget they ever knew it, after all, who'd play at Chasunas were it not for them? No, what I'm saying is this: No matter how hard we sometimes try, we cannot just drop it all. I use this cute clip as an example only. The guy didn't try וידעו, or some other nice, Chassidisher Nigun, he tried Hendrix to test the guitar, that says someting to me. While the fact that formerly irreligious people drop everything and join a religious community is to be commended, and absolutely amazes me, I find something often that puzzles me.

Many decide to draw a line in the sand and say "Ad Kan!" This I won't give up for anything in the world, no matter what I may be told about it, and no matter the damage it may cause to them and future generations. Often times it'll be the pop music they so love, or the Hollywood movies they need to see - they just can't live without it. This ambiguous message is of course picked up on by their children, and the kids take it one step further, like everything else they see with their parents. They decide that they too have a ready excuse, since that's what they see at home - excuses. The outcome is almost always the same, yet rarely will you see the parent see it for what it is. He just doesn't see how he's to blame to a great extent, and that's sad to watch. He's absolutely clueless as to his part in raising his family, and relies solely on the institutions he sends his kids to be educated in. Obviously this isn't limited to Baalei Tshuvah, nor are FFB's in the minority when it comes to this, it's just that little video clip had me formulate that thought. As a parent I see my shortcomings in my kids on a daily basis, and believe me, there's no worse feeling than that.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

So as a FFB, what part of Yiddishkeit do you find at odds with your more "modern" side? Or, are you simply giving rebuke to a BT struggle that you don't understand and have never known?

I remember once a saying something along the line of "Never judge a man until you....something, something, something." Oh, never mind, I guess that isn't applicable here.

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

Menatzpach

I was NOT judging, just making an opbservation, that's all. I never claimed to understand the BT situation, nor do I. Cut me some slack here. please.

Anonymous said...

You could have at least sent a thanks for the idea

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

whom do I thank, an anonymous guy? Next time at least send me an email with your name. I'll post it anonymously, but at leat then I could send you a personal email thanking you.

Anonymous said...

So the cows made it big now with a video of them on chaptaem