ווערעמלאך אין די קעפאלאך

There's talk about a recent discovery of Apikorsus in our frum community. A group of bochurim from the Aleksander Yeshivah, which had recently become another satellite Satmar Yeshivah, were found to be "Apikorsim," r"l. Apparently, what set it all of was a yungerman who made it clear - one year after getting married - that he believed in nothing. No Torah min HaShomayim, no S'char VeOnesh. Nothing. To his shvigger, no less! That's right, he told his SHVIGGER he believed in nothing. Of course his vaybel said she was unwilling to continue life with a husband like that, and the divorce proceedings began soon after. That guy should be sent packing just because of a stupid move like that, not because of what he does and doesn't believe! In the aftermath they learned that he was the mentor of several such bachurim who were still in the above-named Yeshivah, and steps were taken to root out the heretics and banish them forever. Details are murky, and my Aleksander connection is not what it used to be, so I'll refrain from repeating the rumors that I've heard.

Far be it from me to diminish the threat of Apikorsus in our community, but allow to be the skeptic here as well. אויף צו זיין אן אפיקורס דארף מען פריער וויסן אז ס'איז פאראן אן אייבערשטער, and I doubt that was the case here. I'd venture to say that this was nothing more than a group of guys that realized that just "bumming out" was not an option for them. They don't know how to have a good time, even if they could. You might say: "Tzig, why do you try and diminish the threat that blogs and books pose to our boys?" No, my friends, you misunderstand. There's no inherent threat; the fact that some boys stop believing is not because of a blog, or because some genius "opened their eyes," just like the fact that many of our kids go OTD is not because of an IPod or a billboard. It could be a lack of Yiras Shomayim is what causes one to go astray, if all is well. And often times Yiras Shomayim just doesn't happen with all kids. That's if there were no traumatic events during his youth, VeDal. Or it could be countless other things, like a lack of learning ability or a family dysfunction. Or it could be that we're taught to do things only because others are watching, not G-d. Yet, for some reason even most of the Rabbinic leadership seems to focus on the Ipods and the billboards.





Can we blame most of these Rabbinic types? no. Not really, anyway. That's how they were raised and they think highly of themselves, so if it worked for them why tamper with a good thing, eh? But 2010 is not 1965, just like 1965 wasn't 1925. And we also cannot force this one model onto all segments of frum society, not until we force all frum Jews to be one homogenous group. MO is not Lubavitch, Lubavitch is not Yeshivish, Yeshivish is not Ger, Ger is not Vizhnitz or Belz, and they're not Satmar. Neither is Satmar Toldos Ahron or Avrum Yitzchok. We cannot write articles in Mishpacha and decide that the advice fits all shapes or sizes. each group has different reasons why so many fallen aveck. Oy! Boy, have I digressed. But have I really? Isn't that what happened to the boys from Aleksander? Does not all deviation from the path of the righteous have its roots in the same unhappiness? That's what I was told all my life. Whatever. Now I'm rambling again. But of course this will turn into a finger-pointing session, and somehow Lubavitch will be blamed here again... So to sum it up: I would tell Aleksander Yeshivah to address the root of the problem rather than cutting off a few branches.

But what do I know?