Columnist Calls Out Hypocrisy of Hater

By COLlive reporter

A man who turned to an advice column syndicated in national newspapers to gripe about his grievances with Jewish law has been called out for his hypocrisy.

The man, who identified as “Disgusted Husband,” wrote to Amy Dickinson of the “Dear Amy” column that he refuses to participate in the Bar Mitzvah of his greatnephew because it was being held at a Chabad center.

“I refuse to attend this ceremony, which I consider medieval,” he wrote in a letter published on Friday in the Washington Post and many other newspapers and online websites. He said the ceremony will be held “in a Chabad synagogue, in which men and women are not allowed to sit together.”

“My wife — it’s her side of the family — knows how I feel, and is okay with my choice, but will attend the ceremony, nevertheless,” the man wrote. “Quite honestly, I am really disappointed in her decision.”

“I’d like to tell the family how I feel, and encourage them to boycott the ceremony as well,” he went on to say. “Should I encourage my wife not to attend? Should I notify the rest of the family?”

Dickinson responded to him: “You are completely within your rights to stay home from a religious ceremony you consider “medieval.” She then wondered “Who put you in charge of the rest of the family?”

“The boy’s father, who it seems is already deeply involved in the Jewish community, may be moving toward a more conservative faith practice. Do you expect to disrupt his journey toward the ultra-Orthodox through your own tough judgment? Could you exert enough pressure to get this branch of your wife’s family to change? (No, you could not.)”

Dickinson, who follows the Methodist church, went on point out: “Furthermore, your desire to control your wife is — well, let’s just call it ironic. Stay home if you want. Control your own impulse to control other people.”