I’ve said before, but I just read something so disturbing that I think I need to reiterate the fact that the BT movement is destroying our community from within. I’m not just talking about polluting the pure blood yichus and mesorah of the FFB master race, I’m actually talking about a full fledged movement that seeks to destroy Orthodoxy as we know it. Pop Chassid has written an article that explains exactly what I have been saying all along, that BT’s are seeking an escape from their former lives, only to try and bring snippets of their former lives with them. Unfortunately, these snippets of their former lives are usually the negative aspects, concepts such as sexy and tznius, art, culture, music, and other things which have been banished from our community in order that we stay strong and don’t assimilate. Unfortunately, there is big money in the kiruv industry and rather than try to save the droves of pure blood FFB’s that are leaving the derech, they are trying to bring in damaged and assimilated Jews. It’s a fearful thing when our community has decided that non-religious college kids are more important to bring into the fold, than at-risk chassidish kids with impeccable yichus, but money has always been the biggest issue. Most of the kiruv industry doesn’t understand that our yiddishkeit is being dragged down into secularism because of the Baal Teshuva movement they created.
The point of becoming frum is not to rebel against anyone, the point is to see the truth that lies in authentic Judaism and to embrace it with all your might. Pop Chassid and many of these other “artsy” baalei teshuva do not get it and they are trying to rebel against the Orthodox establishment. They obviously take the few negative bloggers spreading loshon horah about a small minority of Jews seriously. It’s not like everyone in the Orthodox world is molesting little kids or supporting those molestors, it’s not like everyone is cheating on the government, or into beating up women who wear red. However, many BT’s acculturate into Orthodoxy through the internet, they believe what they read on blogs to be true and then judge the Orthodox world by it and are now trying to rebel against the minority. It is possible that the kiruv industry is to blame for their famed art of manipulation and the fact that most kiruv is done in a way that gets BT’s to go to the extreme right. How many centrist or modern orthodox groups are doing kiruv on a mass scale like Aish or Chabad?
On a more serious note, this BT rebellion is dangerous because it introduces decidedly non-Orthodox ideas into the community. Pop Chassid and his followers are trying to start a revolution for personal and selfish reasons. If you don’t like that the Orthodox world doesn’t have arts and culture, you have to realize that it’s not about the lack of talent, it’s all got to do with assimilation. Just look at what happened to Matisyahu and Y-Love, two artists who became frum, tried to rebel and in the end left the derech. Do you want to just end up on the fringe of the community without any true support. The biggest fear that I have is that the elements that seek to destroy Orthodoxy such as the YCT and OTD communities, will join with this rebel band of BT artists, and embrace their cause, only to understand the ill effects that it will have.
If perfectly fine Orthodox Jews leave the derech because of the library, imagine the ill effect that goyishe music and arts will have on them. What Pop Chassid doesn’t realize is that Baal Teshuvas have always posed a threat to the Orthodox community for the very reasons he wants to change it, they have always brought their secular lifestyles and alternative views with them. Even the superstars of kiruv could only hope to completely change a BT’s lifestyle and views, but usually they creep in after they hit their peak of craziness.
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