Should They Fall?

Over at Frum Satire, Hesh was discussing whether there should be one central synagogue or are breakwaway minyans are the way to go.

I think the Zichron Moshe (Chassidishe) or Shaare Zion (Sephardi) model is pretty good. They have one or two large-scale Minyanim accompanied by several smaller minyanim.

This comment by the astute Mekubal caught my attention and in my opinion, merits some debate:

"In my opinion, the problem is that the institutions have gone from serving communities to becoming the community, and thus becoming an end unto themselves. This is played out in a number of ways with numerous circumstances… however I think this is also what leads to the breakaways. Shuls and Yeshivas start to do what is best for them, and not best for the community which leads to enough people being pissed to actually break away.

 As a perfect example take when the Motzes Gedolim of the Agudah fought against the child abuse laws of New York because their passage could hurt institutions. Did anyone ever stop to notice that to be on the Motzes council and a leading member of the Agudah they have to be the head of a large institution. In other words while the law may have been better for the community and the children, it could directly affect them and their institution in a negative way, so it had to be stopped.

 No. I think the sooner many of these big institutions fall, the better."

Shua Kessin: Evolution of a Singer

Generally speaking, I am not a huge fan of Jewish music. However, when it comes to Shua Kessin, I make an exception to the rule.

The first time I heard Shua sing was at my brother-in-laws wedding in Lakewood, about 4 years ago. He was one of his chavruas and so he sang during the dancing.

Boy, you should have seen him go! Shua got the whole place rockin'. Even my wife's uncle got infected with Shua fever and asked me to set him up with his older daughter. I agreed and spoke to both of them after the simcha. As it turned out, it didn't work out but I got to know Shua quite well and he's genuinely a great guy. We've kept in touch over the years sporadically and I've always had a feeling that this kid is going to make it big.

And so he is.

I've been reading about his great concerts and now his debut album has just been released. Picked myself up a copy and I actually enjoyed the music! Some slower, others with a good fast beat. All around good stuff. I'll leave the in-depth review to pros like Chaim Rubin .

 So pick up a copy of his new album at your local Judaica store or online. You won't be disappointed ;)

Thinking outside the box: My trip to the Bobover Succah

The following thought had occurred to me during the first days of Succot.

Building a succah and then using it for seven days is not easy. One is supposed uproot himself from his usual routine and do things differently. Perhaps the message is that you sometimes need to step outside the box and try new approaches.

To that end, I decided to go to Boro-Park to see the Grand Succahs of the various Chassidic sects there.It was hard after a long day of work but had to be done. I've always wanted to see the glorious Succahs and every year I dragged my feet. Not this year.

So I rounded up some guys and we drove into Boropark.

First stop was the Grand Succah of the Bobover Rebbe on 48th st and 14 Ave. What a delight! More akin to a palace than any succah I've seen, the place was rocking with niggunim and heart.

The Bobover Rebbe is sitting in the middle with a tray of food 

Then we rolled out to see the Munkatcher Succah. Also very leibidick.

 

 What trip to BP would be complete without a good heimishe fress? I recommended Deli 52 on 13 Ave. Too late for me personally to eat  but the boyz packed it in. I drove exhausted but happy that I have expanded my horizons.

My Esrog is so Shtark...

My Esrog is so shtark that it has a gartel!

Update: Here is Hesh trying his hand at buying Esrogim: