Sunday, November 20, 2005

More on Dati-Lite

My further thoughts on the ‘Dati-Lite’ phenomenon are here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

(copied from the hebrew site)

so in short, dati-light comes from 1) conscious or conscious attempts to rise in israeli society, and 2) the all-but-impossibly high bar one has to reach to be fully dati. 2) is complicated by the need to look the part, which is excessively difficult for those who by all other standards are orthodox 'non-light.' (am i understanding correctly?)

a few questions, then. if (1) holds true, why isnt there a much greater problem of orthodox going off the derech in the u.s.?
and if (1) is true [that this is the only way to rise], then would you endorse a more isolationist position in order to maintain/retain the orthodox?

as far as (2), i simply dont understand. are you saying that the dati-lite are really fully dati, they just dont look the part, or merely are not socially machmir enough?
i find it hard to believe that clothes is what is keeping people from being religious, especially among the dati leumi. and where is the dati-light problem among the chareidim of either israel or america?

sorry to leave with questions and no answers.
*perhaps* the rabbis of yore were correct when they feared zionism would replace religion. in israel, for better or worse, one can be/feel fully jewish, and yet not be orthodox. perhaps the youth thinks, then why bother?. just trying here...