Someone recently sent me a video entitled “Real Yidden.” It’s a sharp, almost satirical critique of what the creators see as a neo-Chassidic wave sweeping parts of Orthodoxy. The song pokes fun at a culture of religious performance: eating mystical foods from Kerestir, spending Rosh Hashana in Uman, endless farbrengens, guitars and faux-Davidic spirituality, helicopter trips to Meron, celebrity singers as spiritual guides, and a calendar packed with yahrzeit pilgrimages. It mocks those who sing about Kabbalah but don’t know Chumash and Rashi, who speak of sefirot and kelipot but don’t know “Ravina and Rav Ashi.” Its punchline is simple: if you want to succeed on Yom HaDin, open a Shulchan Aruch. That’s what our zeides did. The path forward is mesorah: yirat shamayim, Torah, and avodah.

The song is clearly an attempt to argue that certain expressions of religiosity risk missing the essence of Judaism in the name of Judaism. One can understand the frustration behind that critique. A Judaism of music, atmosphere, and slogans without substance can become thin very quickly. Inspiration detached from learning and halachic commitment can feel like a performance rather than an avodah.

At the same time, the question is more complicated. Historically, only a minority of Jews were great scholars. Most people were not talmidei chachamim. The challenge has always been: what inspires the broader community to live lives anchored........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)