Nshei shtuff

One of the great things about having a soapbox to stand on is that when I get mad at a letter writer in a magazine, I don't have to hope and pray that my response gets published. That's right, it's time for another exciting adventure of, "Bash the Nshei!" Rishe Deitsch is in fact innocent this time. Her editorial was quite cute, especially the part where she writes:

"My productivity earned me this email back from my overling.
Overling: Are you feeling Okay?"

Overling! She uses obscure and brilliant words! A woman after my own heart! Besides, she obviously enjoyed writing her editorial. As a writer (snort), I can tell these things. And it took all of ten minutes, three hours after the deadline had passed. Anyone should be able to tell that.
No, my problem with this issue of the Nshei Chabad Newsletter is with another facet entirely. You see, there is a gorgeous picture on the front cover, taken by my good friend Allen Schumeister (no relation). Unfortunately, that picture came out really grainy. I'm sorry, but this is 5769, there's simply no excuse for having grain pictures. At the very least, there is a thing called Photoshop.
The truth is though, this quibble was minor compared to the one which fully consumed me enough to actually write a letter to the editor. Some women/girl named Shoshanna Whitman wrote a letter to the editor which got my blood boiling. I'll quote her entire letter because A. you'll understand what I'm getting at, and B. it'll take up lots of Google's space. Here goes:

Rabbi Aaron Gancz writes in the Tishrei issue, Chinuch Section (page 73): "...there are situations where only love and chesed are called for. For example, a Jew walks into my Chabad House. At that point, it is not my place to show strength and discipline. All I can do, all I should do, is to offer him Torah and mitzvos (and cholent) with as much love as I can muster. I must show him the beauty of Torah. At that moment, I am not his teacher, his rov, or his father."
This could be misconstrued, and that is why I am writing. There are, unfortunately, some Chabad houses that use this rationale ("I am not their father or their rov") and do not even offer Torah and mitzvos. They offer ONLY cholent! I am not kidding!
I was at a Chabad House recently on a Friday night. There was ZERO Kabbolas Shabbos, not even L'choh Dodi, Shema, and Olainu! The rabbi did make kiddush and whoever felt like it could wash. The food was delicious and the crowd was big, the singing was lebedik and frailich, and everyone had a great time, but...? No Davening at all? True, if you have a Chabad house you are not their father or their rov, but they are counting on you like a child counts on a parent to provide genuine Torah and mitzvos, not just cholent. I am sure Rabbi Gancz did not mean to imply that that would be okay, even in a Chabad house.
Fortunately, I have been in literally hundreds of Chabad houses in my life, and I have only experienced a dearth of Yiddishkeit so extreme that one time.

Rabbi Gancz responds:
Thank you for bringing this to the attention of the reader. Of course, I did not mean to imply that it was okay to offer anything less than the full undiluted truth of Torah. The only question is I raised was regarding the method: whether to give it through discipline, or through ahavoh and chesed.
_____________
You know what? This woman totally missed the boat. Who the heck is she to criticize this shliach? Does she know where he's coming from, where his community is coming from? Maybe he tried having a minyan, and it failed? Maybe this is the only Friday night format that works? Aren't we always taught to judge favorably? All she does here, after acknowledging how much good this guy is doing, is to bash him. Almost like I'm bashing here now. Seriously, it's sick. Who does she think she is, criticizing the Rebbe's shluchim like that?
Anyway, that just really got me sick. Sorry.

Meanwhile in another part of the issue, Rabbi Mottel Friedman turned last year's nightly rants to yours truly into an excellent article about the evils of the internet. And you know, I respect him for it. Because when he realized this, and decided to do something about it, he did. He cut down majorly on his internet use. Seriously, he did. From a very lot of hours a day to a very few hours a day. That's really cool. I respect him for that.
Sure, I also should. And you know what? I have. It's none of your business, but it happened. You know, if you farbreng with the goal of changing other people you'll never succeed. A farbrengen is when a guy talks to himself, and other people listen in. Even when he talks about someone else it's only because he's embarrassed. When you farbreng in this manner, then you have a positive impact on people's lives. When you look at this blog and think, "Wow, that's inspiring, this TRS guy is really something", you should know a couple of things: 1. you're quite correct, and 2. I'm really talking to myself. All these farbies I attend? They're meant for me. I'm just sharing the love with y'all, not because I think you need it, but because I know I need it.

Moving right along, there has recently been a movement among some of my fellow bloggers to write family stories. I'm embarrassed to say that I can't think of any. Really, I can't. This is pathetic. Where is my family history, and why don't I know it?

Important Correction:
The editorial in the Nshei was not written by Rishe, but rather by Nechama Ozick. My bad.