Barbara Walters and Whoopi Goldberg

LeahW

Sun, Jan 25 2009, 8:07 am

NotInNJMommy wrote:

LeahW wrote:

In the movie, the secular brother is a double amputee who doesn't own a pair of shoes... and Susie Essman's daughter in the movie has a medical condition where she is unable to produce saliva. So before all of you make assumptions about how ridiculous the film is, you should watch it, it all makes perfect sense.

Oh, right. now it isn't ridiculous....

Sorry, I was joking. Of course the movie is ridiculous.

NotInNJMommy

Sun, Jan 25 2009, 8:15 am

sorry. I couldn't tell. and I'm resisting the urge to actually learn more about this movie...

Ima2NYM_LTR

Sun, Jan 25 2009, 8:22 am

shh...dont tell...I may even watch it...just so I can know what dreck we have to fight

Akeres Habayis

Sun, Jan 25 2009, 12:26 pm

[quote="NotInNJMommy"]I was under the impression that yibum is prohibited now, bc it's considered "vile" and there's an inyan that if the nationa are more strict than the Torah, we should not be less strict than the nations.

This is also why certain relationships are prohibited now, even though d'oraisa there's nothing wrong with it. It's bc the velt sees them as vile.[/quote

I mentioned on a different thread.but it is rare but my friend had to go thru it 6, 7 years ago.

HindaRochel

Sun, Jan 25 2009, 12:27 pm

Ima2Netanel wrote:

shh...dont tell...I may even watch it...just so I can know what dreck we have to fight

Let us know...And then you can pan it to the rest of the olam.

GAMZu

Sun, Jan 25 2009, 4:35 pm

Akeres, she married her BIL? Or she did chalitza to exempt herself?

octopus

Sun, Jan 25 2009, 5:03 pm

sometimes when ppl hear remarks that are off-color they don't know how to react and don't stop the person that is making them.

NotInNJMommy

Sun, Jan 25 2009, 5:09 pm

[quote="Akeres Habayis"]

NotInNJMommy wrote:

I was under the impression that yibum is prohibited now, bc it's considered "vile" and there's an inyan that if the nationa are more strict than the Torah, we should not be less strict than the nations.

This is also why certain relationships are prohibited now, even though d'oraisa there's nothing wrong with it. It's bc the velt sees them as vile.[/quote

I mentioned on a different thread.but it is rare but my friend had to go thru it 6, 7 years ago.

your friend did yibum or chalitza?

I thought yibum is, in most communities, prohibited. But, chalitza would still be necessary.

TheBeinoni

Mon, Jan 26 2009, 8:19 pm

Have you ladies seen this facebook group?
http://www.facebook.com/home.p.....ef=nf

mimivan

Mon, Jan 26 2009, 8:33 pm

Here's a blog post I wrote:

An Open Letter to Susie Essman

Dear Susie,

First of all, I’d like to invite you to my home when you come to Jerusalem (not planning a trip to Jerusalem? Well, we all will find ourselves here eventually). I must warn you, my apartment is small and needs renovation. My wig may need some restyling (taking my wig to a stylist is a luxury I can afford before holidays and sometimes in between). I may not be dressed in the latest fashions. But don’t think this is true of all Lubavitch Jewish women. You would have seen a very similar person if you would have met me 7 years ago, before I became religious. But one thing you might observe about me that you wouldn’t have seen then; joy, light and purpose.

Although I don’t own a television, I saw a clip of you’re appearance on The View last week. You said you didn’t find Lubavitch women very attractive. Our wigs and our clothes do not impress you. And we have “weird” customs. Concerning the customs, I also thought some of them sounded quite strange before I became religious. But I do recall sitting on the number 3 train in Brooklyn, watching tastefully dressed, well-groomed Lubavitch women enter and exit the train with a sense of purpose in their step, brave in their desire to approach women they never met and invite them to perform a mitzvah, yet modest and genuine as they read scriptures or psalms, as comfortable speaking to the Creator as to the woman next to them about lighting Shabbos candles.

Susie, I could give you a long list of Lubavitch women whose natural, physical beauty outshines that of the model most actively pursued by the death-defying paparazzi, and yet these women aspire to more than catwalks or magazine covers that will eventually be thrown in the garbage. Out of total devotion to their Rebbe, who is truly a king of goodness and kindness, these women leave their comfortable lives and set up homes in the Ukraine, Latin America or India. Their homes are open to anyone who is hungry for kosher food and spiritual nourishment. Every Jewish child is embraced and educated as one of their own.

You may have heard of one of them, one of our own who actually made the headlines, but for what purpose, only G-d knows. If you would have found yourself in Mumbai, India, Susie, I am sure you and Rivka Holtzberg, of blessed memory, would have shared a delicious meal, an animated conversation over a cup of tea and insights that are not merely skin deep. Unfortunately, many of us have missed the chance to meet this special Lubavitch woman who was abruptly taken from us. But you can always look up one of her sisters. There are thousands of us around the world.

Bambamama

Mon, Jan 26 2009, 8:53 pm

Nice, Mimivan.

Mama Bear

Tue, Jan 27 2009, 7:28 pm

Meh, this is the clip youre going wild about and Mimivan even wrote a letter about??? The whole 'anti lubavitch ladies part' it less than a minute long, it wasnt so bad.

MOM222

Tue, Jan 27 2009, 7:52 pm

I agree with MB

I don't think its so bad. Even if she saw the best dressed ladies its still not the style they are used to.

I just saw the clip and from what she spoke it seems to me that woman can relate to the part where a child goes against what she was brought up.

mimivan

Tue, Jan 27 2009, 8:34 pm

Mama Bear wrote:

Meh, this is the clip youre going wild about and Mimivan even wrote a letter about??? The whole 'anti lubavitch ladies part' it less than a minute long, it wasnt so bad.

It bothered enough people to justify writing something about it, I think...

BeershevaBubby

Tue, Jan 27 2009, 10:07 pm

Mama Bear wrote:

Meh, this is the clip youre going wild about and Mimivan even wrote a letter about??? The whole 'anti lubavitch ladies part' it less than a minute long, it wasnt so bad.

With all due respect, I'll bet the Satmar community would have been up in arms if they had been discussing how horrible it is that Satmar women shave their heads and how ugly they must look for their poor husbands and how terrible they dress.

leomom

Tue, Jan 27 2009, 10:52 pm

I was offended (and complained). I think a big part of what made me bristle was the way she referred to Lubavitch women as "those women" -- even beyond the specific comments she made about dress, etc., it was the way she made Lubavitch/frum women into this "other"... "them".... it's hard to explain, but that's what probably offended me most.

Mama Bear

Wed, Jan 28 2009, 5:39 am

Nah we wouldnt be offended, we're used to being misunderstood, we dont need world validation to know we're doing the right thing.

mimivan

Wed, Jan 28 2009, 7:22 am

It is not a question of needing validation
I think part of it is since Chabad is out in the world doing kiruv it does affect us when people make such statements about us

bashinda

Wed, Jan 28 2009, 6:23 pm

what was really funny was I was just in Las Vegas to visit my grandma (may she rest in peace) and my mom and I were having breakfast in the hotel lobby and guess what tv show was on. It seemed kind of silly (lost of interrupting each other) and on a lot of drivel. the only person I liked was Whoopi Goldberg. She seemed the most normal and relatable. She even used a Yiddish word. (farklempt) I get the feeling that she likes cultural Judaism.

so it's funny to see this. I didn't see the clip because I just don't have the patience for these ladies. I'm not sure why we have to even be defensive for them. And the truth is yy, we are the other to them. I mean a large percentage of Lubavitchers don't watch TV or movies right? That's probably enough to make us the other. If you think about their lifestyles and if you look at wiki and see that these are hollywood people with a lifestyle that isn't exactly that inspiring and how a frum lifestyle pretty much contradicts the general priority for a lot of people out there.

It's funny about Behar. I always thought she was Jewish from her name and you should see her maiden name. It's totally Italian.

gryp

Mon, Feb 02 2009, 8:42 am

Quote:

Thank you Susie Essman!
By Dini Freundlich, Beijing China
11:10:PM Sunday, Feb 01, 2009

Although living in Beijing, China, which would seem far from the US and its TV programs, being the Chabad Lubavitch Shlucha here makes me the one that people turn to when they have a Jewish, Chassidic or “Torah perspective Women’s” question. Last week was no different and the big buzz was about the comments made on “The View” by Susie Essman, who plays the role of a Lubavitcher woman in a movie titled “Loving Leah”.

The comments and questions were the talk of my Friday kitchen as I prepared for Shabbat with some University students and the young Shluchot who help us in the Chabad House. I silently listed to them discuss this with a mix of anger, shock, outrage and confusion and a disbelief that in today’s modern and “open” world comments such as hers could be publicly heard and not refuted! They were further more infuriated that no one on the show stopped her or challenged her comments. They turned to me for my thoughts on boycotts, websites and angry emails in response to this outrage.

With Shabbat soon upon and so much to do I did not have the chance to respond to them and hoped to catch up at the Shabbat table. As the day progressed my thoughts progressed as well. At first my thoughts were ones of anger, how could someone believe and say that a group of tens of 1000’s of woman were all ugly and dressed funny! How rude and insulting! However as the day continued and shabbat came into our home, a completely different thought process and feeling came over me. As I stood by my Shabbat candles with my 4 beautiful and unique daughters, and welcomed Shabbat into our home and Chabad House, I prayed as I do each week, for each of my children. I always spend a few minutes reflecting on the week gone by and praying for the week ahead.

As I davened for each of my unique and different children yet all raised in a Lubavitch home, it struck me.

Susie Essman’s comment was not an insult at all, but a compliment to me and all my Chassidic sisters worldwide. Yes, at first glace it does seem like an insult but if you look at what she said it was in essence a complement.

Being a Jewish Woman herself, this role obviously hit a raw nerve and an insecure spot in her, and her observances and affiliations with Judaism. Playing a Chassidic woman made her soul feel uncomfortable and disconnected, and the only way she could cover up this discomfort was to try and insult the woman she plays. She did not say we are unintelligent, uneducated, bad mothers, not entrepreneurs or world leaders, bad educators and not co-directors in one of the world’s largest organizations, not dedicated wives or un-artistic, uncreative or lack talent. Instead she spoke of our faces and clothing.

It’s naive to say all Chassidic women are ugly or they ALL dress funny! How is it possible to insult such a large group of people on two things that are clearly in the eyes of the beholder? That’s right she could not.

In her shallow reaction to her role all she saw was external and all she valued was the external. I on the other hand stand proud to have been raised to look beyond the outside and see what lies within.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe ZTL, my Rebbe, always made a point of helping and reaching out to those less fortunate, he pushed and inspired his followers to do the same. It did not matter what a person looked like on the outside or how they spoke or dressed. He always looked straight inside to the core of the person and saw the value that they had internally. This is the lesson he taught us all and the lesson that leads us daily in our lives. In our Chabad Houses and Lubavitch homes around the world, we welcome people that may be different from us in their dress, looks and language, but as soon as we do as we have been taught, and look beyond the exterior, we see another person just like us!

So I’d like to thank you Susie Essman for making me appreciate the wonderful and truly beautiful woman around me, and the amazing accomplishments and talents they each uniquely have. But most of all, I want to personally thank you for reminding me how lucky I am to be a Lubavitcher Woman.

Susie, I’d like to personally invite you and the hosts of “The View” to join me and over 2000 of my fellow Lubavitcher women on Sunday night, February 15th at the Hilton Hotel in NYC, at our annual Lubavitcher conference of Women from across the globe, to see for yourself a room filled with the most beautiful woman inside and out, and get a small glimpse into their rich, fulfilled and meaningful lives.

Dini Freundlich
chabadbeijing@hotmail.com

from shmais.