3 Responses

1. umm, how come there is no “this past week” in boro park, flatbush, monsey, chicago, LA, etc? I guess “whatever happens in Lakewood DOESN’T stay in Lakewood.”

2. I’m quite friendly with a daughter of one of the Lakewood roshei yeshiva shlita. I’ve been told that they don’t like to see pictures of themselves in the local publications. Aren’t they entitled to their privacy? Has anyone ever asked them, or any of the ba’alei simcha whose simchas have been invaded by the “press”, if they want their pictures taken and splashed over all over town? Since when have gedolim become celebrities? Is it b’kovodik to treat them like l’havdil Hollywood stars? They can’t go anywhere without cameras shoved in their faces. It’s become an obcession with the local papparazzi. Every simcha and every rav in town has to be publicized.
   We’re in availus during sefira because Rabi Akiva’s talmidim, all talmidei chachamim, didn’t treat each other with the proper amount of respect. Haven’t we learned anything from their “mistake”? Enough is enough!

3. Why is it a lack of respect to show pictures of our gedolim? On the contrary, it shows the chashivus that we have for the roshei yeshiva by showing that the oilam in general would like to see pictures of them. Actually this is not Hollywood but the alternative is the pictures of “stars” that are so readily available for all to look at. Would you rather our children have the pictures of those unscrupulous immoral individuals painted in their mind or should they go to sleep with the smile of a rosh yeshiva dancing at a chasunah or giving a brachah to a child as their final memory before they go to sleep.
   As an aside, this is not something that is done only in Lakewood. All frum publications are filled with the pictures of gedolim throughout their pages. Granted if a rosh yeshiva doesn’t want his picture publicized he has that right but it is hard for me to believe that if he would make his opinion known the photographer would take his picture anyway.