God Says When I’m Upset About Something, I Should Throw Things

I mentioned on Friday that there’s some major shit hitting the fan in Ramat Beit Shemesh Aleph and Bet. Basically, these are two communities of Haredim who’ve been hanging signs in their cities warning women to dress modestly. A few weeks ago the local police decided to begin enforcing a law that forbids municipalities from hanging unauthorized signs. When the removed the sign, they were harassed and beaten by crowds of angry Hasidim. Several riots have ensued, and people are describing the environment in RBS as verging on a “holy war.” And you know what we do when there’s a holy war approaching? We throw things. The Jpost article I read about this quoted a member of the community who said:

Meanwhile, the haredim throw rocks and they spill oil in the road to cause cars to slide out of control. I saw them throw tomatoes at a female soldier who walked through the neighborhood in slacks. (Emphasis mine).

Full story A previous Jpost article noted that in response to the arrest of the original angry Haredim, many others are gathering, and guess what they’re doing?

Twenty to 50 people congregate to chant, throw rocks and burn garbage, causing the closure of several roads and disturbing residents' sleep. They plan to continue protesting until the five men are released. (Emphasis mine).

Full Story I’m sorry, but throwing rocks is simultaneously the most obnoxious and the most ridiculous form of protest. What does it accomplish? It is by definition a childish and immature way of responding to a situation. If you’re serious about something, you respond with serious weapons. Though big stones can create some serious damage, they are clearly not on the same level as guns. I think modesty is important, too, and when people are in my house I’d prefer that they wear clothes. But if their fashion sense doesn’t coincide with mine, I’m not going to take out a meat cleaver and bash them over the head. Even if I find what they’re wearing offensive, pelting them with pebbles, or really throwing rocks is simply not the way to get what I want. Ultimately, I think religion and spirituality are about maturity. Being religious means making sacrifices and difficult choices. It means dealing with situations that are not ideal (Jewish law even has a word for such situations: bdi’eved, meaning not preferable, but acceptable) and learning from our mistakes. It means being a grown-up, most of all. And grown ups, unless they are members of the WWF, don’t throw things at each other.