Article in The Times of Israel by Andy Blumenthal: If some “religious” people do the wrong thing, disrespect their fellow Jews, hate on them, curse them, defile their prayers, that doesn’t mean they are really religious. Rather to the contrary — they are the irreligious religious!

1. 8/7/22, 7:42 AM The Irreligious Religious | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-irreligious-religious/ 1/7
THE BLOGS
Andy Blumenthal
Leadership With Heart
The Irreligious Religious
ADVERTISEMENT

2. 8/7/22, 7:42 AM The Irreligious Religious | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-irreligious-religious/ 2/7
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
As a child, I remember hearing Tom Lehrer’s song “National Brotherhood
Week,” and to paraphrase, it went something like this:
Frequently, I write about Jew-hatred, antisemitism, persecution, expulsions,
pogroms, and the Holocaust, but today, I am going to write about something
different and even worse, and that is Jew’s hatred of other Jews. As we know,
Tisha B’Av commemorates the destruction of both the Jewish Temples as well as
many other calamities that have befallen the Jewish people, and we learn that
the primary reason is Sinat Chinam (baseless hatred of our fellow Jews).
Oh, the white folks hate the black folks,
And the black folks hate the white folks,
All of my folks hate all of your folks,
And everybody hates the Jews!”
“

3. 8/7/22, 7:42 AM The Irreligious Religious | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-irreligious-religious/ 3/7
Yet just this past June, I was outraged (and you should be too!) about a
Conservative bar mitzvah at the Western Wall, where an ultra-Orthodox Jewish
young man tore a page from a Conservative siddur (Jewish prayer book) and
actually had the absurd chutzpah to sacrilegiously blow his nose in it, while his
compatriots blew on whistles to try and disrupt their fellow Jews’ prayer.
And not just Orthodox, but “ultra-Orthodox” Jews, who profess to so fully fear
and follow Hashem’s commandments, instead desecrated G-d’s name as this
disgusting behavior, pictures and all, were broadly publicized across the media.
Perhaps these individuals’ misplaced superiority complex got the better of them
and they apparently forgot what G-d’s commandment to “Be holy” really means,
or as we learn (Midrash Vayikra Rabbah 9:3):
Moreover, this unfortunately wasn’t a one-time event, as we saw again just a
month later in July, when, this time at another Conservative bat mitzvah at the
Kotel, Haredi yeshiva students disgracefully interrupted by calling the family
and guests whores and heretics who should burn in hell, and again blowing
whistles to try and prevent their celebratory prayers.
Any decent G-d-fearing Jew (or human being whatsoever) would question what
in G-d’s name are these Haredi students learning in their yeshivot,
Derech Eretz Kadma L’Torah (proper behavior precedes the Torah).
“ ADVERTISEMENT

4. 8/7/22, 7:42 AM The Irreligious Religious | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-irreligious-religious/ 4/7
communities, and families? Is G-d’s teaching to them and us that anyone who
doesn’t fully observe as they do is someone to be disrespected, cursed, and have
their religious observance and prayers mocked. Who are they to try to stop
anyone from worshipping G-d Almighty?
I thought to myself, may G-d have mercy, because if the First and Second
Temples were both destroyed because of baseless hatred, what must G-d be
contemplating for his people now?
However, I was somewhat consoled when I read Divine Information by Rabbi
Yosef Mizrachi (Sanhedrin 98a) that:
While obviously, we shouldn’t be bad in order to try and bring the mashiach
(messiah), some of us seem to be doing too good a job at doing so. Perhaps, I
thought, rather than Hashem just punishing the Jewish people again, maybe we
have reached the point where G-d will actually bring the redeemer to right this
crazy world and our own people’s occasional wrongdoings and misconstrued
interpretations of His holy words — and worse yet, thinking that they are
righteous in (mis)behaving so!
ADVERTISEMENT
The son of David will come only in a generation that is entirely innocent or
entirely guilty.”
“

5. 8/7/22, 7:42 AM The Irreligious Religious | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-irreligious-religious/ 5/7
The Western Wall in Israel has a history of conflict for the modern Jewish people
in that there is a men’s section and a women’s section for prayer. But in 2016, a
plan called the “Kotel Compromise” was approved for a mixed men’s and
women’s section for Conservative and Reform prayer. However, under ultra-
Orthodox pressure, the plan was dead-ended in 2017, leaving organizations
such as Women of the Wall up in arms and even more intent to have a place for
themselves and their religious beliefs. To be fair, at times, like at the bat
mitzvah above, it appears that the Women of the Wall defiantly dismiss the
instructions of the ushers of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, and thus
they also share responsibility in that they are inciting the nasty incidents and
conflict.
After synagogue today, one lady said to me about religion the following:
And she continued and said, most assuredly, concluding about religion:
But upon reflection, to me, it really isn’t a matter of interpretation at all.
Objectively, in her example, the number is what it is, just as G-d and His holy
word to us is what it is. Simply because someone else perceives the opposite,
that the number is different, doesn’t mean that it is so. It’s just their upside-
down way of looking at it.
While I am not here to say what being religious is, I can definitely say what it is
not and these hate-filled people are not. If some “religious” people do the wrong
thing, disrespect their fellow Jews, hate on them, curse them, defile their
It’s like two people sitting across from each other. In between them is a
number. To the first person, he sees the number six (6), but to the person
directly opposite him, they see the number nine (9).”
“
You see, it’s all a matter of interpretation!”
“

6. 8/7/22, 7:42 AM The Irreligious Religious | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-irreligious-religious/ 6/7
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andy Blumenthal is a dynamic, award-winning leader who writes frequently about Jewish life,
culture, and security. All opinions are his own.
prayers, that doesn’t mean they are really religious. Rather to the contrary —
they are the irreligious religious!
I pray that G-d does not punish His people for bouts of stupidity and misplaced
self-righteousness, but instead has mercy on us to right our hearts and minds,
help us to show tolerance and love for one another, strengthen us to bring our
brothers and sisters closer to G-d (rather than send them running from the bad
behavior of a few), and bring us the completion of The Redemption and the
building of the Third Temple now, when we religiously need it the most.
ADVERTISEMENT
AdChoices Sponsored
Conversation
Log in Sign up
We have a new, improved
comments system. To


7. 8/7/22, 7:42 AM The Irreligious Religious | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-irreligious-religious/ 7/7
Be the first to comment...
Powered by Terms | Privacy | Feedback
comment, simply register
or sign in.