Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

As a child, I loved reading Superman comic books; I can remember running around as a six-year old boy with a red towel tied around my neck, imagining as if I were flying through the air, just like Superman. Comics played an important part of my intellectual and ethical evolution; I learned how to read from comics.

One of the characters I remember reading about was a strange being known as Bizarro, who was the mirror image of Superman; in Jungian terms, you could say he was Superman’s shadow. Imagine a world where the wheel is square instead of round, a place that is so weird—reality is totally distorted and nothing looks normal at all.

Welcome to Bizarro World.

Of course, you and I realize that Bizarro World is fiction; such places do not exist in real life . . . or do they?

The gender barriers that exist in Saudi Arabia (and in Iran) are well-known; women’s movements are carefully prescribed. They cannot be seen riding a camel, or driving a car. A woman who is raped could very easily be stoned for “dishonoring her family,” and if she is married, she could be stoned for “adultery.” We are not surprised by this social phenomenon.

Now, close your eyes and imagine you are now in New York.

Picture a rural community about one hour north of New York’s famous Time Square. Hassidic members of the New Square community have very rigid social rules governing their society. Like their Abrahamic cousins in Saudi Arabia, New Square residents must walk down streets that are strictly divided by gender, with women on one side and men on the other. Yiddish signs posted on telephone poles serve as markers.

Are the rabbis of New Square afraid that men and women walking on the same side of the street might lead to mixed dancing, like a scene taken from Kevin Bacon’s “Footloose”? Some of my students told me about such spontaneous dancing known as “Flash Mob.” People dance all over the street-no matter where they may be! Could the Skvere Rebbe be afraid of Flash-mobs breaking out amongst the Hasidim of New Square? Inquiring minds want to know! If Doby Gillis Show (an old 6o’s TV program) were filming this community today, they would probably say the Skvere Rebbe “is a real square!” (i.e., not “hip,” kids ask your parents what that means.)

But wait, the lunacy does not end here. Even more remarkable is the fact that women are not allowed to drive a car or ride a bicycle. Any student wishing to go outside the city’s parameters must persuade their spiritual mentors to grant them permission. Saturday Night Live or Mad TV could do a great skit on these social phenomena.

Well, just how serious are they about these rules? Anyone failing to observe these restrictions could face physical retaliation for defying the Rebbe’s authority. One man had his house torched for not attending the local minyan (prayer service) while he was in it! Over 50% of his body was burnt.

Well, some people will do anything to get a minyan!

Really now, the New Square resident Aron Rottenberg spoke from his hospital bed in an interview on May 29 exclusively obtained by CBS 2.

In the interview conducted with an investigator working for his lawyer one week after the May 22 attack , Rottenberg said he blames the leaders of a Hasidic sect for creating the intolerant atmosphere that led to his injuries.

At any rate, the victim has had two operations so far, and he is suing the local Rebbe for instigating this attack—honest to God! Rebbes have often incited their followers to attack unpopular Hasidim. Despite the romanticism that is associated with Hasidism, there is a dark side to the Rebbes who sometimes acted like Mafia kingpins.

This charge has been alleged against one prominent Hassidic Rebbe in Brooklyn, who allegedly unleashed his goons to attack his sister-in-law, since she had physical possession over a set of Hassidic books left by the previous rebbe-I kid you not . . . while I personally have my doubts whether the Hassidic rebbe directly instigated the attack, I do believe that he chose a reckless way to publicly talk about a sensitive issue that should have been handled by the attorneys. Hasidim are often a mindless breed and will do anything to please their rebbes. The above case was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court of New York. By the way, it is a fascinating case where the Court ruled that the property of the Rebbe is really the property of the Hasidim.

See http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2005/08/the_legacy_of_m.html

In the next article we will examine some interesting historical antecedents about piety that I think you will find interesting. As you will see, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecc. 1:19).