This posting will deal with marriage and topics covered by Shea Hecht and his father in their respective books.
In his book Confessions of a Jewish Cultbuster Shea discusses how the Prophet Elijah broke “illegal marriages” apart at sword point. Shea Hecht would love to do nothing more than bring those days of yore back I take it. Luckily he can’t. Thanks to the One Above.
Some of Chabad’s brochures years ago were designed to combat assimilation. One had a picture of a very juicy looking cheeseburger with all the trimmings (I better stop I haven’t eaten dinner yet and I am getting hungry just writing this). The ad said, “Is this the end of 3,400 years of Jewish tradition?” or words to that effect.
Progress necessitates change and I like to say that anything that isn’t flexible breaks. This is in contradistinction to what Shea’s father, Rabbi JJ Hecht said in his book Fire and Brimstone.
In JJ’s book it was discussed how a Jewish housewife had to be unyielding in her outlook and practices when it came to Jewish laws. Well, my paternal grandmother was like that and she got divorced from my grandfather years before divorces were commonplace in the Jewish community.
We live in a day and age when intermarriage is commonplace. But in the Jewish world, especially among Chasidim, very often first cousins marry. That’s how they keep the money circulating among the key families in the movements.
I was married to a Jewish girl I met through Chabad. And in context you have to remember that this dynasty immortalized me in that book Shea wrote. Where did all of it lead me? Read my postings.