Those Who Must Not Be Named

As everybody is no doubt well aware the chareidi community and the constitution of the United States of the Americas share a common value. A value that is the envy of many a people who until this day live in whole or quasi dictatorships. The value I speak of is, that all people should be free to express any idea and free to say anything they so wish. In the common parlance this is known as ‘freedom of expression’. President Bush goes on and on about it; admittedly Rav Eliashev a little less often.

Of course if one does opens ones mouth, or one does express a ‘wrong’ opinion one might find ones children getting kicked out of the school they attend. One might find oneself being asked to leave the shul/shteibel that one frequents. These are I suppose minor inconveniences.

OK story time. Two Jews go fishing together. A secular Jew and a chareidi. The chareidi catches nothing. The secular Jew catches more than enough to share among the members of his bridge club. When the chareidi Jew asks his colleague what is the secret of his success the secular Jew answers “ah well my fish are allowed to open their mouths”.

I find it very revealing that of the many blogs I read, which orthodox Jews own, the vast majority are written under pseudonym. How many of them reveal their real names? Almost none. Even a blog like DovBear who tries pretty hard to ride along a straight and narrow path finds it necessary to hide behind a cuddly (or is it grizzly?) pseudonym.

So lets ask some questions. Who is Frummer? Who was Mis-nagid? Who indeed is DovBear? Who is he that calls himself The Sheigetz? Who are all these people whose names must not be spoken? Why do all these people feel they must masquerade behind facades of many a kind? It is noteworthy that the only one who is upfront is Shlomo Leib Aranovitz, and he has completely left the community as those who read his blog will well know. Is this the price one has to pay for coming out?

I am not a ‘yachner’ (chatterbox) and its not that I really need to know who these people are in the flesh. I am noting the phenomenon. I am noting a pattern of non-disclosure, a pattern of deliberate attempts to put trackers off the scent.

Only a couple of weeks back he who sometimes is and at other times isn’t, The Godol Hador, went through several days of intense panic when he thought he was about to be ‘outed’. His normal rational, cool approach turned into something that was a lot less cool and a lot less rational. Behaviour well suited for one being persued. Why?

Let me put my sociological hat on and begin to analyse it. Yes it fits so here goes:

Why is this necessary? One could understand if some were doing it; but all of them are at it. Why? We have a pattern here. It must be saying something about the community they live in? Words like Stalinist and dictatorial spring to mind? Is that right. Hmm, I think I need to do some more research on this. Let me go back to those blogs and reread them critically; are there signs of fear, dissent? Wait, this might be a good subject for my doctoral dissertation. Yes it is a fantastic subject. But now I do need to meet these people. I am going to need to interview them clandestinely. So The Sheigetz when are you available? DovBear can I come over? I will be in a white car with tinted windows at the bottom of your street. Just get in.