Unlike Argentina, I haven't had much free time to just sit down and write on this trip. Accordingly, my posts have been nothing more than straight-forward activity lists. Those types of posts are no fun to write, and presumable no fun to read. But I'm finally over the jet lag, so I'm going to skip a nap and explain something. I hope it's worth it.
So the story today, kids, is about the Jewish phenomenon of yeshivas. Anyone who read Chaim Potok in middle school knows about kibbutzes--essentially self-contained Jewish farm communitites. We're talking circumsized hippies, here. Yeshivas are a similar concept, just replace working with studying, and you've got it. Men of all ages come from all over the world to give up material trappings and read the Torah together. Fun stuff.
A few things probably come to mind, like where does the money come from? Kibbutzes can grow their own food, or at least make stuff to sell, but yeshivas don't make much more than introverts. The solution? Everything has a benefactor. The only thing that rich American Jews like more than Barbara Streisand is their names on shit. The Seth Berger study center. The Samuel Cohen door handle. The Abe Goldstein urinal. You get the idea.
The other thing you might be wondering is, why? I can think of a trillion things more interesting than studying ancient Jewish law, to say nothing of the no-sex issue, but the Jewish culture places a very high emphasis on learning. Hence the disproportionate number of ivy-leaguers. So, at first I though, "Wow, these guys are really into their beliefs." And a few guys training to be rabbis really are. But it seems like the vast majority of them are the type of guy that still didn't have a major by senior year. The type that gets tripped up over paper or plastic. These guys haven't decided to devote their lives to Judaism, they haven't decided shit! Here comes along a school that is not only free, but it pays you ($500-$3000/month)! The men in these centers have wives, they have kids, but they don't have jobs. Seems off to me.
Is that lightning forming?
M
