Oy l’rasha, oy l’scheinav. We live in the most materialistic country on earth, so why shouldn’t it rub off?
Half a century ago, when I was a curious kid, I noticed that people who wanted to be “real Americans” got nose jobs and changed their names from “Greenberg” to “Greenhill.”
Now, we spend on granite kitchens and thosand-dollar suits and sheitels that look better than any real woman’s hair could. then we brag about how we insulate ourselves from the tumahdik society around us by not having TV or internet.
It’s not a matter of beds or hotels, it’s a matter of wanting to make others jealous of what we can afford. “Don’t you deserve the best?” The best olam hazeh or olam habah?