From the Archives: Monsey Underworld
Unpious.com Staff Writer2011Check out some of the old Unpious favorites! This week, “Monsey Underworld” by Leeba Weisberg:
As usual, the bachelor pad that Mendy and Heshy shared was filled with assorted members of the Monsey underworld. Most were ex-Chasidic, whether or not they had abandoned the traditional garb, and others were like me – half frum, ex-Yeshivish, disillusioned but happy to have found a group that accepted us unquestioningly.
And check out the conversations in the comments analyzing “clueless Yoeli” and how morality evolves in the process of leaving the religious world:
Ben Sorer Moreh: We’re all “Yoeli”, born clueless, stepping out into the world through trial and error… Sometimes Yoeli encounters Leeba (real name, or also symbolic?) the answer “no” delivered without hard feelings and the knowledge that you can still be friends. In a way, the story taps into the “early” Hasidic stories, of the Baal Shem Tov and Reb Levi Itzhak.
Rupture & Continuity: ….the way we teach morality to our kids is totally God focused. “You don’t do so and so because god doesn’t approve of it, you don’t steal, kill, rape, etc because its “user”.” Understandably, the natural progression of things is that in the event one losses God, morality will follow closely behind it.
Liz: One of the chassidish guys, simply went up to one of the girls and touched her breast – perhaps thinking like any baboon would – that since he’s not in boro park or flatbush that its “okay”. The girl screamed and slapped him, mayhem ensued.
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3 Responses
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First of all the Monsey so called “underworld” is somthing that u will never understand unless your part of it…
That being said I live in Monsey I’m a gare (converted Jew) and yoilys have nothing to do with this topic a yoily is a chasidish person who try’s to be religious at the same time not religious in other words it’s a chasidish person who is full on religious but thinks its “cool” to smoke, curse, be racist (Ect.) and that being said I do smoke I do curse but I am not racist and if u know what the Monsey under world is u would know it’s not those kind of people we are people who believe that Hashem is more than happy if were not 100% religious and we know that Hashem dosent want us to suffer just to be jewish I’m sorry if u don’t agree but no matter what u believe deep down u know that a Jew shouldn’t sit in Shule and learn from morning till night non stop I mean look around u all these kids don’t even know what’s out in the world they were all tought that any non Jew is a cockroach and yes about 90% of us were chasidish but we realized how much the world has to offer I live in the most religious part of Monsey and my nabors don’t even let there kids ride there bike any further then the end of the block and back………
We are who we are we don’t try to be “cool” we just know that that isn’t the way to live but some of our parents are sooooo into the lifestyle that they arnt willing to accept the fact that we will not live like them and they punish us for what we beleav just as hitler did to all Jews he did not beleav what we Jews beleav is right he thought it was so wrong he killed millions of Jews now u didn’t kill your children on peruse but because u punished us so hardly for no real reason the result of that was ex chasidish kids becoming depressed suicidal angry (Ect.) witch lead to them doing drugs as an escape from the real world the world that u put theme in. therefor your killing your children because u made them so miserable as a child and so strict that we had to find a way to escape and the other ones killed themselves weather u want to admit it or not a lot of u know your child did do suicide so don’t try to cover it up with some bullshit story and for the females who went trough this or still are if your parents learn a little bit of seclior study’s then they know that for a female all emotions are 100X more powerful meaning what a male feels a female feels 100X more because females are like gems they gave life to each and every one of u and put it like this I’m a guy and even I’ll admit if u compared males to females as u compare gems to rocks u would understand if u have a rock your going to treat it like a rock because it is after all just a rock….. But a gem is also a rock and if u have a gem your going to polish it put it in a safe place and so on
I’m sorry but if males gave birth to kids and not females I would never go trough the pain of pregnancy carying around a baby in my stomach for nine months and then pushing it out of me like god damn never not ever
We are who we are and what we are and if u have a problem with it go pray to Hashem and ask him to take us all away if u realy want too but don’t criticize us don’t treat us like animals don’t stare at us when were walking past because we’re wearing t-shits with pictures printed on them just because we don’t ware a white button down shirt with a mafia coat and a animal on our head dosent mean we don’t believe in Hashem it dosent mean that were crazy it dosent mean we don’t like u it’s just that we want to live with the tinniest bit of freedom and we want to explore the world and learn what’s out there and learn new stuff and strengthen our knowledge we want to try new things meet different kinds of people and wear what we want because the Torah dose not say we must dress like a business man
There are a thousand more things I could say but I don’t have the patience
All I have to say to u is
I’m a Jew and I’m proud even if I don’t live the way you do so if you think we’re crazy you can go F**** yourself thank you for you’re time
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