The Journey from Skinhead to Ultra-Orthodox Jew

Thats why so many christian apologists used to be atheists and so many atheists used to be christian apologists.

Mr. Hirschfield is guilty of inventing facts. The subject of Alana Elias Kornfeld's article is never described as an ultra-Orthodox Jew, nor as a Haredi Jew, nor as a Chasidic Jew.

It just says he's Orthodox. Not all Orthodox Jews have beards or wear black hats. Just look at Senator Lieberman, for example. (Or me!)

But anyway, why is Mr. Hirschfield so antagonistic toward Orthodoxy?

When I read the article about the skinhead turned Orthodox Jew, my reaction was the same as Rabbi Hirschfield's. Since the man noted his own need to be extreme, I naturally assumed he had taken on the most exteme form of Judaism. Extremists scare me. They are rigid and intolerant at best. At worst, they are the ones who create inquisitions, holocausts and suicide bombers. I suspect fanaticism is rooted in fear. Such people are afraid of having their world view challenged, afraid that some other group's ideas might be attractive and sound after all. So, they reject out-of-hand all that is different. Some may also have a fear of loss of control or a feeling that everything around them is chaos. Rigid thinking imposes order on chaos and relieves one of having to ask questions. This is why some fanatics kill. They cannot stand to have their ideas questioned because they fear the doubt it might create in their own minds.

Lucy

Since we are a People who have often suffered to the hands of Extremists, we should know more about them. There was the 1950 book, Authoritarian Personality, funded by the AJ Committee, but I am uncertain whether it recognized that the extremes on the Right and the on Left shared the same characteristics.

The dictionary defines "totalitarian" as, "of or relating to centralized control by an autocratic leader or hierarchy." It goes further, involving, "subordination f the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of life and productive capacity of the nation esp. by coervice measures".

While such may well be the aspiration of the skinheads, to describe ultra-Orthodox Jews as "totalitarian" is nothing less than extraordinarily hateful. To lecture others about Tisha B'aAv and the teachings of the Talmud on the causes for the Temple's destruction while describing your fellow Jews in such despicable terms ("totalitarian", "extremist", "fanaticism") is the height of hypocrisy.

At the same time, everything the fellow in the aricle says about himself demonstrates the opposite of your claim. He has clearly developed into a tolerant and thoughtful person. He says, "I am calmer and I've learned to keep quieter and think about the words that I say to people." Also, "it's always worth to devote yourself to become more knowledgeable and not to follow the crowd--to think and to listen to yourself. We can just hate without knowing who we hate and it's easy to do so, but it's better to get to know the person and then decide. I am teaching my kids not to use the words "hate" and "hatred." There is no such a thing that you "hate" somebody or something."

These are not the statements of an extremist, fanatic, or "totalitarian". They are precisely the opposite from a skinhead.

The fact that he used the phrase "360 degrees" rather that "180 degrees" was an obvious, and common, slip of the tongue.