Men only !

B"H

Shabbat Teshuva.
Last Erev Shabbat (Friday night), I had hoped that there would be some chassidic Tishes going on in Mea Shearim.

After some crazy guy decided to splash some coke at the people at his table, Rabbi Mordechai Machlis held a longer speech on how we should be careful judging other people. Not only because Yom Kippur is right ahead but judging each other favourably should be one of the mail goal of every Jew. Nevertheless, even if some guy freaked out, no one seemed to be bothered too much.

After the Machlis meal, I passed the Toldot Aharon Synagogue and many people may ask why is it always Toldot Aharon ? Why not Belz, Biale, the Steipler Rebbe or Dushinsky for a change. My answer is that I mostly pass the Toldot Aharon first and mostly just get stuck there. I like them very much and, in the meantime, spoke with quite a few female members of the group.

According to their singing inside the Synagogue, the TA were holding a Tish but no women were at sight. Right in front of the Synagogue I met a Toldot Aharon woman I already knew. Quite a few times I have spoken to her before and I think that it is actually her from whom I don't need to hide any information. I don't hide information from anyone but the Toldot Aharon still don't know that I write about them. Maybe they do and I have no clue, who knows ?

Once I met the woman I spoke to in the Nachlaot neighbourhood, near the Machane Yehudah Market. I was on my way to the laundry and didn't expect someone from Toldot Aharon in that neighbourhood. Well, I was wrong and I met her. There was no escape and she saw me wearing pants. She smiled and said HELLO and I wasn't really sure about how I should feel. Some weeks later, I met her at the groups' Tish and we had another discussion but got interrupted.



Toldot Aharon women


Last Friday night, I met her again and one of her daughters accompanied her. We started our conversation very fast and even her daughter added some comments.

Due to the upcoming Yom Kippur, the Tish was only for men. The Ezrat Nashim (women's section) was full of wooden benches and therefore, it was impossible to move. I asked her about the Toldot Avraham Yitzchak and she said that there it would be the same. My friend accompanying me and I decided to move on to the Slonim but the Toldot Aharon woman was in her talking mood. We spoke about the group and she asked me about my religious past and if there is a future. Born Haredim seem to think that the best way of getting a religious education and having a real frum life is the participation in a firm program. Not going here and there to a Shiur but being part of something serious.

When I told her that I am rather individualistic and that I have already spent more than enough time in programs, she couldn't believe it. Especially not after I told her that I once had been haredi but left society later on. I am on my way back but more modern Orthodox. Although I agree to haredi mentality and ideology, I am not totally a part of society because I also wear pants and need a distance sometimes.

The woman's response was that I need another program and if not a new one, so I should try one were I had already been. She listed me a few and then we started the whole subject about the Baalei Teshuva movement. I asked her about Toldot Aharon accepting people from the outside as members. She wasn't too excited and said that those BTs always need some special help. They don't grow up religious but not only that, as they also have no clue about the group's customs and all the little tiny details. "They need special schools or courses", she said.

She was obviously astonished when I told her that I think that a Jew should be born into a chassidic group. Newcomers can claim whatever they like but they will never be the same as someone original. A group member whose parents, grandparents, and so on have already been part of the group. There is a big difference.
It took her by surprise because after what I had told her about a more modern Orthodoxy to hear a view she totally agreed upon. The Toldot Aharon are not too excited about accepting people from the outside and she listed me the same reasons, as a Boyaner Chassid once told me. People who would like to join mostly come with the wrong expectations and many times, one of the two parts is disappointed. Either the people or the group itself.

The next time I am going to Toldot Aharon, I will definitely keep up some further conversations.

Anyway, we ended up at the Slonim but their Tish was over and, also the Slonim were just a men's club that night. Then we took Kretchnif into consideration but were too tired to walk much further. The weather was extremely warm and various people were running around and anxiously looking for Tishes.

The next day, on the way back to Rabbi Machlis, my friend and I were walking down Yechezkel Street in Ge'ulah. It was boiling hot and we tried to walk in the shade. Suddenly we saw a whole group of Chassidim coming up to us. A Rebbe in a brown coat and with white sox was walking in the middle and the Chassidim tried to be as close to him as possible. I made a joke and said to my friend that I need a computer now in order to look up who the Rebbe could be. I wasn't expecting to recognize him. The group walked up from the Sadigura Synagogue and when I took a close look, I recognized the Rebbe and the people around him. It was the Kretchifer Rebbe of Jerusalem accompanied by some of his Chassidim. He was teaching with his deep voice and we were just happy seeing him save and sound. About three or foru months ago, the Kretchnifer Rebbe had a car accident and suffered from a broken shoulder. This is why we didn't go to his Tish for such a long time because there was simply nothing going on. Now he is in good shape again and hopefully the Kretchnifers will do something for Sukkot.

Believe it or not, I was happy afterwards and felt a kind of uplifted by seeing the Rebbe so close. The only Rebbe I have ever seen almost beside me was the Rebbe of Nadvorna in Bnei Brak.