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How atheists look at us - Bnei Brak's 'Jewish Cult'



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Israeli_C




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jul 01 2019, 2:45 pm

This video popped up in my feed (there are two videos) and I found it amusing as someone who is a regular in Bnei Brak and would probably fit the bill of belonging to the 'Jewish cult' they speak of lol.

Basically, an atheist is guided through Bnei Brak by 2 Jews who left the community and don't have many (any?) good things to say about it. Interviewing skills are poor and they're pretty blatantly disrespectful at times (particularly when they entered the shteibel). Still, I found it interesting how outsiders viewed the haredi world in general.

What's your take on it?
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Ruchel




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jul 01 2019, 3:05 pm
When they call us a sect I know not to bother
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Soul on fire




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 03 2019, 7:58 pm
I don't even want to watch it.
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Amalia




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 03 2019, 8:39 pm
Ruchel wrote:
When they call us a sect I know not to bother


How about a “cult”? Oy
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nylon




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jul 03 2019, 8:49 pm
I think there are some very insular groups within Judaism, though I'd really only describe Lev Tahor as a cult. Treating everyone in Bnei Brak the same is silly.
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shabbatiscoming




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jul 04 2019, 3:17 am
Oy, I started watching that. I had to stop. When the guy said that bnei brak is the most closed off place in Israel, I already knew this was going to be something that would make my blood boil. Trying to find information that just does not exist.
And no, bnei brak is NOT a cult. It is one form of Frum Judaism.
I think videos like these are very dangerous and extremely crazy too.
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Israeli_C




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jul 04 2019, 3:25 am
shabbatiscoming wrote:
Oy, I started watching that. I had to stop. When the guy said that bnei brak is the most closed off place in Israel, I already knew this was going to be something that would make my blood boil. Trying to find information that just does not exist.
And no, bnei brak is NOT a cult. It is one form of Frum Judaism.
I think videos like these are very dangerous and extremely crazy too.


Lol "the most closed off and insular place in Israel" - 20 minutes bus ride to Tel Aviv Tongue Out
They begin by making fun of tzedakah boxes... ahh...
It's always so sad to see formerly religious Jews coming back to where they grew up just to make a mockery of it
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shabbatiscoming




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jul 04 2019, 3:35 am
Israeli_C wrote:
Lol "the most closed off and insular place in Israel" - 20 minutes bus ride to Tel Aviv Tongue Out
They begin by making fun of tzedakah boxes... ahh...
It's always so sad to see formerly religious Jews coming back to where they grew up just to make a mockery of it
Right, 20 minutes away from tel aviv. Exactly. And bordering on ramat gan, also, not closed off at all.
And yes, I agree with you, about people who become disenchanted with their community and go back to make a mockery, its so sad.
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grace413




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jul 04 2019, 3:38 am
Oy.

Many OTD people have an agenda to justify leaving religion.

Atheists in Israel are a very small minority.
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amother
Burlywood


 

Post Thu, Jul 04 2019, 6:37 am
I watched both in their entirety. I didnt see mockery. A couple of inaccuracies. More from the American host. Maybe too sensationalize the intro. Overwhelmingly just curiosity and was shown in a good light despite the point to show they are right regarding atheism and that religion falls into cult like patterns socially. I remember the thread here where amother from b.p. explained she had to tow the line and make required shabbos foods or face dire social repercussions. If this falls into psych culture cult definitions doesn't mean the religion is wrong ( their conclusion). Maybe its more that these community idiosyncrasies are ways we fail at living a pure torah life. Or things that are sooo foreign to others outside. In fact, they have a clip inside of kolel chazon ish where host asks "so you mean its possible to be practicing Judaism with a "secular mindset" aka without cult-category social towing of the line? Answer: affirmative. In fact I know many people who are living in b.b. who don't think into the so categorized cult like norms. And I am pretty sure the videos acknowledged it at a point. I don't think they did a bad job. Even w their agenda. They pointed out community pet peeves of Many frum people. They wanted to know where they can get wives who will run the house and be the breadwinner so they can go study all day. About the schools kicking out or not accepting out of the box situations. They pointed out the chesed, the no speaking loshon hara values and then the yentish tattling to who did what inappropriately re getting into schools. Otd gender switched amir was not bitter much and didnt resent only the whole time. They just feel differently. Other otd guy also respectful while disagree. They were all blown away by how we let yarmulke fabric choice define us in a way.
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Israeli_C




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jul 04 2019, 6:56 am
amother [ Burlywood ] wrote:
I watched both in their entirety. I didnt see mockery. A couple of inaccuracies. More from the American host. Maybe too sensationalize the intro. Overwhelmingly just curiosity and was shown in a good light despite the point to show they are right regarding atheism and that religion falls into cult like patterns socially. I remember the thread here where amother from b.p. explained she had to tow the line and make required shabbos foods or face dire social repercussions. If this falls into psych culture cult definitions doesn't mean the religion is wrong ( their conclusion). Maybe its more that these community idiosyncrasies are ways we fail at living a pure torah life. Or things that are sooo foreign to others outside. In fact, they have a clip inside of kolel chazon ish where host asks "so you mean its possible to be practicing Judaism with a "secular mindset" aka without cult-category social towing of the line? Answer: affirmative. In fact I know many people who are living in b.b. who don't think into the so categorized cult like norms. And I am pretty sure the videos acknowledged it at a point. I don't think they did a bad job. Even w their agenda. They pointed out community pet peeves of Many frum people. They wanted to know where they can get wives who will run the house and be the breadwinner so they can go study all day. About the schools kicking out or not accepting out of the box situations. They pointed out the chesed, the no speaking loshon hara values and then the yentish tattling to who did what inappropriately re getting into schools. Otd gender switched amir was not bitter much and didnt resent only the whole time. They just feel differently. Other otd guy also respectful while disagree. They were all blown away by how we let yarmulke fabric choice define us in a way.


No mockery?? I'm really surprised to hear someone say that. Basically everything was mocked. Especially the OTD guy- I found him to be particularly disrespectful in the shteibel and because he knows better (unlike the American host, who, to be fair, was clueless) he did a lot of thing 'davka'. Did you see the part where they went into the buffet place in BB and INSISTED on putting fish and meat on the one plate (davka because it's not allowed)?? I thought that was really ignorant.
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