Post of the Day

Psychotoddler, on his father's yahrtzeit:

I would like to respond to an email I got recently from Neil Harris asking me to expand on how blogging has actually gotten me closer to my community. I think for many bloggers, the exposure to so many diverse points of view and so many skeptical posts has had a negative effect. They've questioned their faith and their practices and become turned off, or bitter, or both. I must admit that early on I used this blog to vent to the two or three people who read it and left comments.

However, after the venting was done, I really began to reassess my relationship with Judaism and frumkeit in general. I realized that, bitter as I might be at times, my arguments, once laid out clearly and precisely, really held very little water. I was, shall we say, immature. I wanted this or that, and I just needed to stamp my feet a little. And then I realized that maybe I didn't really need everything I wanted.

Maybe there was a way for me to still be me and yet be a better Jew. Sure, I met my share of heretics and skeptics in the blogosphere. But I also met many inspiring people. People who had many of the same excuses and yet overcame them. People who had quite a bit less than me and yet were happy. People who, surprisingly, were willing to listen to and even laugh at my little tantrums, and in the end say it was OK, and who left me feeling petty and selfish. And that's really the best kind of mussar.

Amen. And may his father's memory be blessed.