Jewish Mother, Verbal banteress extraordinaire

Ask a Chasid

As the presidential election and its insanity finally comes to a head, a lot of you are inquisitive about the politics of the Ultra-Orthodox. Michael asks if there is a Chasidic voting bloc or lobby promoting their specific agendas. Is there a  “kosher “ way to vote?

While I don’t want to incriminate myself by transgressing the old “politics and religion” rule, I will briefly attempt to interpret this delicate subject matter.

In the Chasidic enclaves of Williamsburg, Crown Heights and Borough Park, the Orthodox vote is imperative and can greatly determine the outcome of an election.

While an abundance of both democratic and republican politicians have danced “many a hora” with the black-hat constituency, the Chasidim tend to vote in a cohesive voting bloc that is “issue” oriented. While there are Chasidim at opposite ends of the political spectrum, most have grown more conservative as opposed to traditional Jewish liberalism.  They tend to vote for candidates that address their concerns, i.e. Israel, school vouchers along with more mundane community matters like the right to Double Park their strollers without being ticketed.

 Not to be confused with the evangelical “religious right”, the orthodox community is also composed of “religious liberals” (not an oxymoron).  These Chasidim are strong supporters of the basic tenets of the Democratic Party such as universal health care, special education and affordable housing programs.  Which leads to our next question sent in by Jessie.

She asks, “Where do they have room for all those kids”?  The simple answer is bunk beds.  Since a large family is prototypical, the Chasidic household is run like a boot camp with the older children helping out with the younger ones.  For us. Family is first. When a Chasidic woman gives birth, she is sent, along with her newborn, to a beautiful mini-hotel equipped with nurses to recuperate for a week.   After her “vacation”, she returns to her huge family fully refreshed. Sounds like heaven for anyone who is a mom! 

Allison addresses the “messiah” issue.  She queries, “Who is Moshiach ?(Hebrew for Messiah- see previous column for CH pronunciation) If Jews do not believe in Jesus than who is he? “  Well, Allison, I, for one. don’t know who he is, but I can definitely confirm the fact that he must be a “man”. We have been waiting for him to call and he won’t!  All kidding aside, we believe that in every generation there is a holy person that is qualified to be “Moshiach”, but it is up to the people to bring that peaceful messianic era to fruition through good deeds and morality. 

I have received several questions regarding television and other media influences.  Alex wants to know if there is “Chasidic TV”.  Chasidism shuns television and regards it as an immoral force and an “open sewer” in its homes.  While this may seem a bit extreme, they deeply believe that most things are not child appropriate. In lieu of TV, they have  “kosher” DVDs and CDs that they monitor.  This gives a whole new meaning to “parental control”.  Their major media influences are radio and newspapers, especially Yiddish or Jewish thematic publications.  These include the “Forward”, “Tzeitung,” Algemeiner journal and the Jewish Press.  In this internet age of overexposure and the loss of our children’s” innocence, I believe there is a tremendous benefit to ‘ this sort of censorship, especially at very young and impressionable ages.

In a similar vein , Laura wonders if there is any Chasidic music beyond the klezmer or cantorial liturgy. While visions of the “shtreimeled” shtetl accompanied by a prancing clarinetist is the primary perception of jewish music, there are many contemporary Chasidic artists such as reggae superstar “matishyahu” who blend the spiritually profound power of traditional Chasidic influences with popular trends such as pop, rap and even country.  Chasidim continue to believe the kabbalistic concept of attaining the ultimate communion with god and the universe through music, especially when sung by the human voice. Music is the fuel of the mystical force of Chasidism.

Again, I apologize for not responding to all your questions.  I am trying to be sensitive to an extremely private community. I appreciate the feedback, both positive and negative. Don’t worry, I will continue to ignore the snubs and the effigy of me being burnt by masked men.  Look out for my next column…Ask A Pariah.