I’ve been known to goof pretty fiercely on my black-hatted brethren. Why, just today at lunch, I launched into a tirade about religious fundamentalists of all faiths, in response to my boss’s queries about the Gaza Strip. I even tossed out my standard line about how there seems to be some part of the Torah that says people are supposed to dress like it’s 1862 Poland.<\/p>\n
That said, when I was stopping at gas station after gas station this evening looking for a can of gas for my dad’s stalled-out car, it was a young Hasidic man who walked up to me and said, “I have a can in my car that; why don’t you take that?”<\/p>\n
He opened his trunk, handed me a nice, plastic two-gallon container, and told me, “I don’t need it; just take it.”<\/p>\n
“That’s quite a mitzvah,” I said. “You have yourself a good shabbat tomorrow night, sir.”<\/p>\n
Then he got into his car, which appeared to be from 1962 Detroit, and headed off to (in all likelihood) Spring Valley, NY.<\/p>\n
So, when you hear\/read me excoriating religious zealots in future, I guess you oughtta think to yourself, “What a goddamn ingrate this guy is…”<\/p>\n
Like I have a point.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’ve been known to goof pretty fiercely on my black-hatted brethren. Why, just today at lunch, I launched into a tirade about religious fundamentalists of all faiths, in response to my boss’s queries about the Gaza Strip. I even tossed out my standard line about how there seems to be some part of the Torah … <\/p>\n