notes from my friend's basement....
I was just reading Tobie's blog, and I thought, maybe more people would read mine if I wrote meaningful, interesting, thought-provoking stuff on it...but I lack the moral fire at the moment. I might be able to if I blogged more, and so knew what other bloggers care about at the moment, but the problem is, as always, time; and now, since my computer has recently fritzed itself completely, I have even less.... which is why I am typing this to you all from the underground. that is to say, my friend's basement, bc that's where she keeps her computer. ( I know I sort of spoiled the romance of the title by explaining it's completely prgmatic translation, but I do things like that; I also have a bad habit of spoiling the endings to my stories by titling them with the punchline, so you know as soon as I introduce it what happens. my storytelling style needs a bit of work.)
so, in light of a recent discussion abt "Orthodoxy" (in it's proximity to the word "Jew"), I'd be interested to know what other people think the word means, and how it's practically applied. a technical, text book definition? or a term based on perceptual categorization, a community grouping? that tends to be the consensus, from what I hear, that frum is what you wear, not what you believe or which laws you keep. but of course, that too varies from community to community, sheitels being a very interesting and something of a controversial example. general thoughts, anyone? (sorry this wasn't more thought-out and better written; again, time constraints...)
so, in light of a recent discussion abt "Orthodoxy" (in it's proximity to the word "Jew"), I'd be interested to know what other people think the word means, and how it's practically applied. a technical, text book definition? or a term based on perceptual categorization, a community grouping? that tends to be the consensus, from what I hear, that frum is what you wear, not what you believe or which laws you keep. but of course, that too varies from community to community, sheitels being a very interesting and something of a controversial example. general thoughts, anyone? (sorry this wasn't more thought-out and better written; again, time constraints...)
posted by Miri at 10:16 PM
4 Comments:
Orthodoxy...Mmmmm. Generally I associate it with beards. In the Christian church, lots of icons and Christmas being celebrated two weeks before or after the 25th.
That and braces. It's the "ortho" part that does it.
Hope this helps.
I have created this possibly artificial distinction between frum and religious. Frum is the way you dress or mouth platitudes. Religious is how much you love and wish to serve God (which can include how you dress or speak too). (Jewish) Orthodoxy tends to be described by the former, which makes some level of sense since nuns can be religious too, and we want a way of identifying community. I think that too often religiosity gets thrown out the window. Which may be necessary for a community, but is very bad for individuals.
Had I the choice, I think I would go with the "Shomer Mitzvot" category, despite its heavy connotations. But I would still keep Orthodox around as the best way to find a community of like-minded individuals.
Sorry, bit incoherent. I'm packing.
beards is a good indicator to go with, I think...also braces.
as to the distinction btwn frum and religous, I happen to like the word frum, if only for the fact that it makes me feel nice and exclusive to have our own Jewish code words for things...replacing it with an English word makes me sad. can you maybe flip the meanings?
Nope. Because you can be religious without being frum or, in fact, even knowing the word 'frum'. I'm not, just to clarify, anti-frum. It's very useful for picking friends, community and lifestyle
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