I'm modern orthodox so I'm allowed

prettyone

Sun, Sep 12 2010, 7:28 pm

I see this come up alot.

someone has a minhag to do something and then they explain that the reason they do it that way is cause they are MO.

well I'm not MO and I do the same thing or I'm MO but we dont do that.

what does one have to do with the other?

what does showering on YT or brushing teeth or wearing a jean skirt have to do with being MO?

Bella:D

Sun, Sep 12 2010, 7:33 pm

There is a very broad spectrum of Orthodox judaism and there is a very broad spectrum of Modern Orthodoxy.
It is not always the right way of putting it to say that they do something because they are MO but in general MO has less chumrot about many things.

mirror

Sun, Sep 12 2010, 9:00 pm

I have friends across the spectrum of Judaism.

Chareidi schools will teach that certain things fall within the realm of Halacha.

Modern Orthodox schools often avoid certain topics because they don't want to offend the parent body.

When someone says she does something because she's MO, most likely it's because she was never taught otherwise.

That's why it's important to judge everyone favorably. I would never tell anyone not to do something if they do it. That's the job of the shul Rabbi.

amother

Sun, Sep 12 2010, 9:03 pm

OPINIONATED wrote:

Is this the correct attitude? How about "Kol Yisroel areivim ze la'ze"?

Barbara

Sun, Sep 12 2010, 9:09 pm

OPINIONATED wrote:

Ah, yes. You judge everyone favorably. Particularly those poor, deluded Modern Orthodox. Their rabbis are afraid to tell them that they should really be -- well, just like you. Since your rabbis have the monopoly on doing things right.

It cannot POSSIBLY be that there is a difference of opinion. Nooooooooooooooooo. Not at all possible. After all, every rabbi in the Talmud agreed; must be the same now.

louche

Sun, Sep 12 2010, 9:10 pm

amother wrote:

Is this the correct attitude? How about "Kol Yisroel areivim ze la'ze"?

Many of us, myself included, would have more respect for the people who try to correct other people's observance under the flag of "kol yisrael arevim" if they were a little more active in helping them out in other tangible ways under the same flag. But when a person's "kol yisrael arevim" manifests itself solely in telling people what they're doing wrong, then I take their "kol yisrael" and change the channel.

Barbara

Sun, Sep 12 2010, 9:12 pm

prettyone wrote:

Same thing that not using granulated sugar on Pesach has to do with being Lubavich, or not wearing a sheitl has to do with being Sephardic (SOME Sephardic -- I know, I know).

Different streams of Orthodoxy have different rulings, and different ways of dressing. I'm Modern. No one blinks an eye if I wear denim. But lots and lots of women here tell us that they've been threatened with their kids being expelled from schools because they wear denim. Why? Dunno. But it becomes a point of identification/

Yocheved84

Sun, Sep 12 2010, 9:33 pm

I see this come up alot.

Someone has a minhag which seems completely extremist to me, and then they explain that the reason they do it that way is cause they are supposedly morally superior.

Well, I'm not an arch-conservative who looks down on others and I do the same thing or I'm MO but we dont do that.

what does one have to do with the other?

OP--The answer is nothing. Your post comes off as attacking the MO community, hence my obnoxious response. If everybody agreed on every religious or cultural practice, then Imamother wouldn't exist. I don't agree with many of the activities that go on in other sects, but I don't question it because I respect that different people have different practices. Different Rabbis and different sects hold different opinions--end of story.

Why is it that we're still in the High Holy Days and Imamother debates have been as rough as ever today?

chocolate moose

Sun, Sep 12 2010, 10:30 pm

Bella:D wrote:

It is not always the right way of putting it to say that they do something because they are MO but in general MO has less chumrot about many things.

Yes, sometimes they do; but no - sometimes they don't.

prettyone

Sun, Sep 12 2010, 10:45 pm

Yocheved84 wrote:

your unbelievable. you are so intent on trying to show that im attacking MO that you decided to twist my words into something that I didnt say.

I cant even respond to you cause I didnt even understand your point.

prettyone

Sun, Sep 12 2010, 10:51 pm

Barbara wrote:

prettyone wrote:

yes but the difference with your examples and mine are that yours are specific to a certain sect. mine were more across the board.

shabbatiscoming

Mon, Sep 13 2010, 2:51 am

OPINIONATED wrote:

totally not true. sometimes people say that so others understand where they are coming from. for example (although I have never said that I do something BECAUSE I am MO) this would be like saying that I dont cover my elbows because I am MO or I dont wear stockings because I am MO. its letting the other person know where they are coming from.

Marion

Mon, Sep 13 2010, 3:04 am

Bella:D wrote:

...but in general MO has less chumrot about many things.

Or, non-MO has more chumrot about more things. Let's remember that chumra does NOT equal halacha, shall we?

Inspired

Mon, Sep 13 2010, 3:13 am

Marion wrote:

Bella:D wrote:

...but in general MO has less chumrot about many things.

Or, non-MO has more chumrot about more things. Let's remember that chumra does NOT equal halacha, shall we?

What doe the statement Bella made have to do with chumrah being/ not being halacha. It isn't offensive to say someone keeps less chumros. Because chumros are NOT a chiyuv.

Marion

Mon, Sep 13 2010, 3:27 am

OPINIONATED wrote:

Chareidi schools will teach that certain things fall within the realm of Halacha.

I was saying that I understood it the same way as this...ergo, some charedi schools are teaching chumrot as halacha.

ora_43

Mon, Sep 13 2010, 3:33 am

OP, I don't quite get it. What are you saying would be a better response? People should say "I do that because I hold by rav so-and-so who says that... " or "I do that because my grandfather was from Hungary where the minhag was... " and not just "I'm MO"?

If that's what you're saying I agree. I think it gives the wrong impression when people use "MO" as an explanation in and of itself. It sounds like they're saying, "of course I take the lenient stance on this, I'm MO, that's what we do."

Even if someone doesn't know exactly why they do a certain thing, it still sounds better to say something like, "MO rabbis hold that there's no problem with wearing denim" (or whatever) than just "I do it because I'm MO."

MrsDash

Mon, Sep 13 2010, 3:34 am

Doing "more" or "less" depends on the person, not necessarily their level of orthodoxy. Also, there is no clear cut definition of "modern" orthodox, which shows true when you read posts from everyone's perception of what "they" consider to be "modern."

I've heard, and seen people call other orthodox people in the community modern for owning a dog, wearing a tichel, wearing a wig, owning a computer, wearing knee highs, wearing nude stockings, wearing long pants to bed, wearing nail polish of any kind, etc, etc, etc... This list can go on FOREVER, but you can see how some acts contradict each other.

Some things are about choice, some people are misinformed, or unaware, while others are working on themselves, trying to find their niche in Judaism, or any other reason you can think of.

Just think, some may even think that every single woman on this site is modern shock