Julia Haart's 14 y.o. son, Aron, is the real star, IMHO.

chestnut

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 12:15 am

WhatFor wrote:

Seems a lot of people here are new to "reality tv". Lots of it is staged and contrived. I was reading a producer talk about how in that awful kitchen scene the audio is clearly cut and edited, that it doesn't flow.

I think people are also commenting maybe without watching? The "story" is that Aron went to a yeshivish camp, broke up with his gf, and doesn't talk to girls. He'll be going to a mo school. His mother is happy with him being mo on the show. She's encouraging him in that direction.

At one point in conversation with his father, Aron says something like "we used to be yeshivish, now we're modern Orthodox, what happened?" So clearly the father has changed too.

Not sure why people are up in arms about the father being on the show. He comes across as super sweet. Seems like a great father.

I didn't see many blatant lies about the community although I can't speak to how she was raised (and neither can most people here). The only straight lie I saw was that woman can't get divorced, and I thought it's not true because it lacks nuance. What is true is that in some more right wing communities divorced women and their children will be treated differently to the point where some women choose to stay in terrible relationships.

All that said, this is clearly intended to be Reality TV trash, no better than any Real Housewives show. Packaged up in a contrived happy ending in the last season, with the perfect narcissistic main character as a lead. (Every reality show has one of these, they bring the drama, are a character people love to hate-watch, and either don't care or don't process why they should be embarrassed to come across like that.)

I hope Robert has a spin-off. He has such an interesting story.

What's the happy ending?
Where was the youngest in school before the yeshivishe camp?

amother

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 12:21 am

SafeAtLast wrote:

Is is up on the internet on Julia Haarts page for the entire world to see.
I doubt anyone cares about the other kids in the photo, and it in fact does prove my point.

Earlier I was looking at these cool looking kids, in the photo you posted, and if they go to a Modern Orthodox school, they keep Shabbos and eat only Kosher, etc.

It seems Julia thinks anyone who keeps Shabbos and kosher, are fundamentalists, and now that she is observance free, is free at last. She has lived with the frivolities of religion and in her mind, is a heroine for leaving these nonsensical practices like Shabbos and Kosher, behind, and is screaming this from the rooftops.

I would imagine that they consider themselves cool teens, and may be nauseated by someone who considers them fundamentalists.

Im willing to bet that the more mature of these kids, who see past the luxuries, feel sorry for Aron for being related to her and what shes putting him through.

Chickensoupprof

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 5:48 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

She does thinks this. You can do everything you want according Julia but you can't no be religious. And yes, even MO is according Julia diehard fundamentalist.
I think, it's extreme capitalism and materialsim to have all the haute coutre brands in the world, strive for richdom, wealth, and be overly excited about pants, s-x, mastrub@tion and the like...

At university I had the course ritual studies, it was given by an old Punk and Metal fan who has been a Benedict Monk over the past few years. He taught me something about the importance of having at least a framework with fast rituals/rules and the like. He said things like: why do we need to go to the stores every hour of the week? A store can close for a day and the world still will run. People are looking for meaning in their lives and get overwhelmed by the coiches. Just a simple ritual or just a simple rite the passage gives structure and rest in someone life.

I told him about being shomer shabbos and he was really excited ''disconnect yourself from the impulses , stimulus of the world''. Rituals in how dealing with rest, mourning, wedding gives structure and everything. That it's what orthodox Judaism gives me a framework, a manual for life. If I see Julias life it's totally the other side it's not connected to anything but succes,power, fashion and everything. Not to even speak about how she sees her self as now a normal woman in the normal world... Her world is far from normal. I can't name of any person who can live in TriBeCa in a penthouse, have a mainson in The Hamptons and closets full of Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Chloe. Really.

WhatFor

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 6:16 am

amother [ Junglegreen ] wrote:

Aron didn’t break up with a girlfriend. He was talking to a girl for 3 months and she was his girlfriend but shomer negiaa. After camp he decided that it’s not right to have a girlfriend and wanted to go to a yeshivish school. His parents put him in a MO against his will.

There's an episode where he discusses how he broke up with her. He, his mom, his friend, his ex and her friend are laughing at the text he had sent where he wasn't going to talk to girls anymore so they weren't going to be together.

He says he had met her when he first went to a MO school and she was his first interaction with a girl, they became a couple and they dated for six months.

But I feel like we're kinda saying the same thing?

WhatFor

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 6:19 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

It seems Julia thinks anyone who keeps Shabbos and kosher, are fundamentalists, and now that she is observance free, is free at last. She has lived with the frivolities of religion and in her mind, is a heroine for leaving these nonsensical practices like Shabbos and Kosher, behind, and is screaming this from the rooftops.

I would imagine that they consider themselves cool teens, and may be nauseated by someone who considers them fundamentalists.

Im willing to bet that the more mature of these kids, who see past the luxuries, feel sorry for Aron for being related to her and what shes putting him through.

Did you watch the show? She wanted him to be MO, she said she wanted to show him there was a way to be religious and "normal". She picked that school with her DH because she was happy he was getting a good education.

There are plenty of issues with her family relationship and with the show, but she wasn't calling the kids in her son's school fundamentalists.

amother

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 8:51 am

WhatFor wrote:

Whether she used that word to describe Aron's classmates or not, that doesnt change the fact that she looks down at religious people, with religion being a waste of time for herself (yes, even Modern Orthodox people, otherwise she wouldnt have married out), and to my knowledge not only does she have no interest in any Jewish rituals, she consistently mocks Jewish rituals, that are a very important part of all these kids lives.

amother

Antiquewhite

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 8:58 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I'm not sure about that.

Batsheva and Ben keep Shabbos and she doesn't call them fundamentalists.[b]

Last edited by amother on Tue, Dec 21 2021, 2:33 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 9:11 am

SafeAtLast wrote:

I'm not sure about that.

Batsheva and Ben keep Shabbos and she doesn't call them fundamentalists.

Perhaps you or someone else, can clarify the range of religion she DOES consider "fundamentalist" (a word she seems to like using a lot), and which characters on the show, if any, so Ill be clear on that.

Also perhaps you or someone else, can clarify which characters on the show, or range of Judaism, she has criticized for being too religious, even without calling them fundamentalists.

Thanks.

fmt4

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 9:52 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

She’s seems to be very concerned by anything that seems to marginalize women or make s-xuality taboo. She also doesn’t like people cutting themselves completely off from the outside world, by not exposing themselves to any outside culture. Those seem to be her main criteria for fundamentalism.

amother

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 10:05 am

fmt4 wrote:

Which branches of Judaism do you think she CAN tolerate?

If shed have had any tolerance (forget interest) for any level of Orthodoxy, she would not have married out.

amother

Olive

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 11:36 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Doesnt the kid have a say in which school he goes to?

So hes socializing in a Co-ed school and still wearing his Black Hat?

And whats the discussion about talking to girls and watching TV, if hes in a coed school anyhow?

All this would make some sense to anyone who is NOT familiar with Modern Orthodox life.

I will have you know that my DH, having come from a LWMO family, began moving toward the right at the end of elementary school. He went to the co-ed MO school that his parents wanted him to go to (verses the Yeshiva in his small town), but continued to be the "Frummie" of the class. He was nice and polite to everyone, so I have heard directly from the girls in his class, but he maintained his growth in Yiddishkeit throughout. He got himself close to the right wing teachers in the school and just did his own thing. It worked for him and if you would look at him today you would have no clue except that the name he goes by isn't one that's typically used in RW circles.

amother

Antiquewhite

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 11:57 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

She calls organized religion fundamentalist.

She’s okay with people doing their own thing apparently.

(But not really, because she blasted Aron for not wanting to watch TV or talk to girls.)

Last edited by amother on Tue, Dec 21 2021, 2:32 pm; edited 1 time in total

WhatFor

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 12:12 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Marrying out is the lowest step a Jew can take, (except for "Tinok Shenishba" situations, who come from communities who barely understand what this step means).

For a previously Halachic Jew, this is a crystal clear message to all about her thoughts and opinions in regard to the importance of Jewish observance.

Okay so maybe I misunderstood your statement:

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Which branches of Judaism do you think she CAN tolerate?

If shed have had any tolerance (forget interest) for any level of Orthodoxy, she would not have married out.

Do you mean which branch of Orthodoxy she'd tolerate for herself? Clearly none. But that doesn't mean she doesn't tolerate Orthodoxy for others. Bat and Ben seem to be Shomer Shabbat and Ben wears a yarmulke the entire show. She tolerates her ex husband and his new gf. She doesn't seem to have any issue with her sister and her kids.

I really don't even know why this conversation is happening. There is so much to critique about the show, why do we need to make up stuff that aren't issues or haven't happened in the show? Did you watch it?

amother

Mon, Jul 19 2021, 12:38 pm

flowerpower wrote:

I read a lot of bad reviews from the show. People wrote that she makes the Kardashians look like gold compared to her.... they weren’t impressed at all. I heard a lot of it is very scripted( from people that were in it).

Makes me wonder, if she and her new husband are doing so well in business, why did they risk being analyzed, as is par for the course for a reality show, with understanding that if theyre unpopular, going forward, they might not be as highly regarded in business? Even if her new husband isnt a major player in the show, hes aware of her behavior.