The first time I ever got to see Woodbourne in full swing was on the Saturday night of Shabbos Nachamu about 10 years ago. The kids at risk crisis was in full swing and that meant that Woodbourne was as well. Those were the days when kids would drive up 2 hours each way from Brooklyn, just to smoke in front of PJ’s game room and wait on line for ice cream at the Kosher Inn. It was Woodbourne’s heyday, smoking pot under the bridge by the Neversink river and getting it on in that little alleyway on the side of Woodbourne Pizza were favorite activities of the yeshiva rebels who ventured up 100 miles to hang out with their girlfriends who were mothers helpers at Clearview Bungalows or counselors at Camp Sternberg, all the while dodging the “spies” who had were Rabbis from their yeshivas who aimed to catch them and throw them out of school.
Those were the days when every yeshiva rebel had to wear Airwalks or Doc Martins, with wide legged Jnco jeans with the little man on the back, and a chain wallet. If you were worth your yeshiva rebel status you had be a big fan of Metallica and have long bangs tucked under your flat and small velvet yarmulke that was sitting on the front of your head or even taking up some forehead real estate.
Shabbos Nachamu had been spent with my old man and my buddy Jerry in my dad’s friends Trailer where he keeps all his classic cars. It was up the road from Woodbourne in Neversink. I went to Rochester for yeshiva, the infamous yeshiva rebel school, right up there with Adelphia and Rudinsky, so naturally I wanted to take part in what was deemed as the party of the year.
People in the yeshiva rebel/kids at risk crowd would talk about Shabbos Nachamu in Woodbourne for three months in advance. It was like the superbowl the yeshiva rebel. The playoffs were events like Purim at Chaim Berlin- which I hear has since been shut down, and Simchas Bes Hashoyavas in Crown Heights, but nothing compared to a night of fighting, trying to get some, and smoking under the bridge in Woodbourne, with occasional ride hitching to Kiamesha Lanes, the other big hangout for yeshiva rebels back in the day, it still is a hangout- but the yeshiva rebels have gone underground.
So my dad drops us off and goes to look in the seforim store, because there really isn’t anything to do in Woodbourne if you don’t want to eat pizza, besides go to the seforim store so my dad went to hang out in the seforim store while we went to stand on a street corner and stare at all the girls, even back in the day it was sausage fest, but there were at least 1 girl for every three guys- it reminded me of singles events- where it was always a high girls to guy ratio.
There constantly minivans pulling up and dropping more guys in Jncos and girls in jeans skirts or the black slinky ones with the panty lines that were all the rage when I was a kid. Not one girl was wearing pants and or shorts, in fact Jerry and I were the only kdis wearing shorts and sandals. I have noticed over the years that yeshivish folks are so used to pants that they rarely wear shorts, even the ones who are off the derech.
At the time I remember thinking that I was probably one of the only kids there who’s father had willingly dropped me off and was hanging out in the area as well. This was the parents worst nightmare, I fully remember when the “kids at risk crisis” was brought to light and considered huge – of course they never actually solved it, they did things like close down pizza stores on Saturday night so the kids wouldn’t hang out and instead of having kids hang out with kosher food in a semi-supervised environment the kids went to open houses and were able to do whatever they pleased- brilliance huh?
This was in the era before Mishpocha Magazine, I do wonder what they would have written. I can imagine them writing “we cant figure it out, why would teenagers be interested in having fun like regular people, where did we go wrong?” Then they would blame it on high tuition prices and kids not getting enough attention in school. Well back in the day the Jewish observer were the ones to cut the article. The famous issue that had this one “heart breaking” store about the mother who slowly realized her son was going off the derech. First he started wearing a smaller yarmulke, then he started wearing light colored pants, then he started saying Israel instead of eretz yisroel- all the sudden he was snorting lines out of hundred dollar bills at Primetime Billiards.
I remember firmly that I didn’t actually enjoy Woodbourne that night, first off I didn’t know anyone, second it really wasn’t my scene, I was never a bonified yeshiva rebel- I really hadn’t had the ability. I was in the school, I had the friends, but my old man wouldn’t have minded if I was smoking pot and getting it on with girls, in fact he probably would have rooted me on with the girls. I grew up too modern to ever be a yeshiva rebel, or even a yeshiva guy. Coed camps and eating non-kosher milchigs out while on ski trips nullified my chances to become a true yeshiva rebel well before I even knew that there were sects of Jews that didn’t let their kids converse with the opposite sex.
However years later I did have a chance to enjoy Woodbourne, these were the years when Rochester guys worked in all the establishments there and free pizza was a way of life. Both pizza stores had Rochester guys and the seforim store as well, it was a great thing- and allowed you to hang out and know people and not look like a wandering fool. I was also able to drive over to Kiamesha and check out the scene, for some reason Kiamesha Lanes always retained the hotties and although they were young, dumb and incredibly boring- there was nothing else to do on Saturday night in the Catskills. Only once did I actually drive up from NYC for the scene I distinctly remember it sucking real bad.
Things started to slow down as the founders of the yeshiva rebel movement grew up, bought cars, frummed out in Niveh, entered the learner earner programs at IDT and started families. The new generation came in with their Ipods and Abercrombie and it was never the same again. By the way, by the founders I mean the people that led to articles in the Jewish Press and Observer- I understand that yeshiva rebels have been around for years- heck my old man went to Lakewood and Chaim Berlin and dropped acid at Woodstock, what I mean are the people that started the whole movement of yeshivas and articles aimed at dispelling this crisis.
Like the shidduch crisis there is no solution and it is a fact of life. Kids will rebel and some will stay rebellious. What is interesting is the fact that most yeshiva rebels go off for reasons that are not so philosophical. You hardly ever find kids going off because of reading too much Freud or Nietzsche- nope the only things these kids usually read are the back of video game cartridges and their facebook accounts. Most of the time it is from bad experiences or just wanting to live a little.
Someone should do a documentary on yeshiva rebels called: Ten years after kids at risk crisis: Where are they now?
Click here for my famous Yeshiva Rebel of the 90’s post.
23 responses so far ↓
1 justme // Apr 16, 2008 at 11:09 am
dads fried is he h.k.
2 heshman // Apr 16, 2008 at 11:26 am
Huh?
3 Frum Punk // Apr 16, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I never understood why Metallica was the rebel or rebel-wannabe music of choice. I’m out of the loop now, so I don’t even know if it still is.
Maybe the kids are all into rap now or something. DMX was pretty popular in my day as well.
4 justme // Apr 16, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Is your dads friend with the trailer and classic cars h.kats?
5 heshman // Apr 16, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Yes it is- talk about crazy Jewish Geography.
6 heimish in bp // Apr 16, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Metallica’s song’s talked to the depressed teenager’s soul, like no other hadbanger music, except ACDC, Guns and roses, and Nirvava
7 Frum Funky Fab (slightly eidel) // Apr 16, 2008 at 6:37 pm
I’d love to see such a documentary. Who’s up for it?
8 Frum Funky Fab (slightly eidel) // Apr 16, 2008 at 6:38 pm
MAKING one, I mean.
9 suitepotato // Apr 16, 2008 at 6:38 pm
“Metallica’s song’s talked to the depressed teenager’s soul, like no other hadbanger music, except ACDC, Guns and roses, and Nirvava”
The very disturbing image of tallit katan and tzitzit being sold at Hot Topic just crossed my mind and my head exploded.
Ow.
When I was depressed teen, video had not yet killed the radio star, and bereft of a big act for their time my classmates listened to the Doors which in revolt over the cheesy nature of it made me decidedly undepressed.
Until my mom turned on the AM easy listening station and I wanted the Brothers Gibb hung drawn and quartered.
10 Headbanger // Apr 16, 2008 at 7:33 pm
I never got to experience a real Yeshiva rebel summer in the Catskills. My parents kept me here in the boring city all alone and sent me to cheesy day camp which had staff from TAB and southshore that were the worst possible influences on the kids. Maybe that’s why I’m so cool today. But never as cool as the smoker under that bridge or the Kiamesha lanes pimps.
11 Hesh // Apr 16, 2008 at 9:33 pm
During the yeshiva rebel craze I was heavily into the Beatles, Dion and the Belmonts, 80’s metal, Dream Theater and Van Halen- random I know. I was also starting to develop a cheshek for country music.
12 abandoning eden // Apr 16, 2008 at 9:56 pm
“Ten years after kids at risk crisis: Where are they now?”
Right here! getting a phd and shacking up with a goy!
13 Hesh // Apr 16, 2008 at 10:37 pm
You tell em eden- I would venture to call it Post Yeshiva Rebel.
14 stacy // Apr 16, 2008 at 11:12 pm
i feel your pain hesh, it is one of the great tragedies of my life that my family was to modern and liberal for me to be a rebel of any kind.
suitepotato- did you just call the Doors cheesy??
15 Frum Punk // Apr 17, 2008 at 3:42 am
I think that David Draimen being a yeshiva rebel himself made Disturbed the biggest yeshiva rebel band of my day, post-Metallica.
Personally I was into Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Sunny Day Real Estate…
16 gennaro // Apr 17, 2008 at 8:47 am
Great post Hesh! Love the yeshiva rebel posts! This one was long overdue, enough of the shidduch nonsense already. Where are the kids at risk from the 90s now?, you may ask. Well this one right here is probably more at risk than ever before.
17 Hesh // Apr 17, 2008 at 9:18 am
Gennaro if you go into my archives I have loads of yeshiva rebel stuff, and don’t worry I too am getting sick of the shidduch stuff- if you want to read a blog about shidduchim there are loads of 20 year old girls complaining that they are getting old- their blogs always end after they get married.
18 NotFrum // Apr 23, 2008 at 9:55 pm
You should read the book “off the derech” by faranak margolese. she profiles many ppl who fit the whole yeshiva rebel thing.
19 Hesh // Apr 23, 2008 at 10:30 pm
It was so boring I put it down after 3 pages. I rather Foreskins Lament or The Unchosen
20 utubefan // Apr 30, 2008 at 8:41 pm
This one’s for the Woodburne rebels of the 80’s whereever you may be. After we saw “Top Gun” in the movie theater that is no more and meant so much to so many and loudly stated we had a “need for speed” , we ran giggling across the street to Lucky Dip where we shared ice cream cones with two cute Modern Orthodox kids from Monsey that are today quite Yeshivish and played air hockey in the arcade with the “air hockey guy”, a Chaim Berliner who had a jones for wearing vests with jeans. The big guy–cute, but quite big–would lift the jukebox off the floor and slam it down when it got stuck, kind of Happy Days style. The songs were “Stay the Night” by Chicago(Peter Cetera was still with the band, of course) and Wild Boys by Duran Duran. The Mafia guys would show up with their girlfriends literally on each arm. The guy in the Caddy Seville–also a Chaim Berliner, of course–who had driven up on Shabbos was hanging with the posse. The one drug dealer was sitting on the floor stoned, skinny, and scary. Everyone knew him. My friend from one of the good girls’ schools in Brooklyn knew him a bit better than some of the others. He’s dead now, I think. In the ’80’s, all of us knew him. He had the misfortune of being adopted which supposedly set him off on his destructive path. The guy in the blue firebird–also, a Chaim Berliner, I think–that everyone knew showed up at some point. The week before he had stood on the tables at HOJO’s saying “We REVOLT!” when HOJO’s actually tried to close for the night at like 4 A.M. We all laughed and screamed along with him. There were no Rabbis looking for us at that time as they were still a couple years behind the Jewish Observer article. Someone was always getting into a car accident. Someone was always getting arrested, particularly one or two guys. And no one ever got pregnant. Hmmm. Interesting. The Rosh Yeshiva or Rabbis’ sons were always the worst. The Modern kids were always the cutest and least messy, but yet so far away in possibility for a nice Yeshiva girl. Um…oh…and yeah, my name is on the rocks under the bridge somewhere.
Sincerely,
A happy mommy of 3
21 utubefan // Apr 30, 2008 at 8:43 pm
BTW, I mention he had the misfortune of being adopted. My adopted friend–no, I don’t call her that–said she never understood why he fell so far. We all figured there was way more to the story.
22 utubefan // Apr 30, 2008 at 8:49 pm
One time, we all drove to Bernstein’s (only the eldest among you will know what I’m talking about) at 1 in the morning because we had a desire for Sino Steak. There, as we chowed down girls and boys together, Rabbi Bender from Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway–I don’t think he had the Yeshiva then–burst into the restaurant looking for blood, really just benignly sauntered in. We were ratted out, it seems. So the guys dove under the tables–literally. We girls were left in amazement and the embarrassment of the guys in front of the Rebbe only made us want to make out with them even more later that night. Aaah. And now to my homework. Sorry for the reminiscing. I have no one to do it with in real life and I couldn’t help myself.
23 Hesh // Apr 30, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Ok Youtube I can post these comments as a post of homage to Woodbourne of the 80s if you’d like- ijn a few days of course.
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