Shvuyim

[cremains]

I had a dream that I was kidnapped, but nobody tried to save me (third instance of a recurring dream, based on something I learned last year).

Something about the flatmate next door, HaDag ("The Fish," an outcast from some chassidic community who boomboxes religious lectures and takes large amount of drugs):

This Shabbat, I was going over what I had learned when I was interrupted by the weekly anti-car protest. This protest consists of a few dozen chareidim who congregate near a hospital and scream at people driving. It seems that most of their weekend pleasure derives from bellowing "Shabbos, Shabbos!" at people who, based on their location of choice, are either Arabs or people with medical emergencies. It is a fantastic way to get people to hate religion.

My beautiful spouse and I went out to see what was up, and just outside our door in the stairway found HaDag harrassing a neighbour's pet cat. He was hissing at it, charging it, and swatting it with some papers. Since this was no street cat but, as I said, a well-groomed animal belonging to somebody else, I asked him what he was doing and told him it wasn't his cat. "וזה לא דרך ארץ" I added.

"I'll do whatever I want, I'll throw him out the window!" he shouted back. "And don't talk to me!"

Continuing along the road we found that HaDag was also headed to the anti-car protest, but to join the Chareidim in booing drivers and fight with the police. He spat at the officers and called them Nazim.

It's hard for me to forget the image of this person shouting "Nazi!" at a fellow Jew who was doing nothing more than standing around looking bored.

Comments

[opaqueplanet]

Isn't there a provision that you can start a fire on Shabbos to save someone from freezing to death? And, erm, wouldn't it follow that you could drive on Shabbos if it's a medical emergency? And of course why in the world would they expect Arabs to adhere to Jewish sabbatical restrictions? Bless them, but the Chareidi you've described lately make no sense to me. They seem like angry, confrontational Amish.

Except DaHag. He sounds like something else entirely.

I would save you if you were kidnapped. I'd go all Michael Westen on they asses. What did you learn last year to give you these dreams?

[cremains]

Yes, the fact that in these situations or to these people Shabbat doesn't apply is precisely why I mention it. I doubt anybody thinks that Arabs etc should be observing Shabbat - rather, it shows how deeply these Chareidim don't actually care about the halakhic issue at all.

Thank you in advance for saving me, little Cassandra!