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@ujm – from my experience the yekkes who stopped giving their Bar Mitzvah/3 year olds a talis is rooted in a lack of self confidence. Many Litvishe Rabbaim think its enjoyable to poke fun at the oldest minhagim around today. The torment an average yekkishe bochur must deal with throughout his school years leaves no wonder why many of them feel embarrassed to practice their uniqueness in a public forum. This phenomenon to which I refer is not a select case but rather a widespread illness amongst some Yeshiva Rabbaim.
Putting that aside, there are staunch yekkes living in virtually every Jewish community on every continent. Whether they are identifiable by their children wearing a tallis, seeing them enjoy a geshmake ice-cream on Shabbos afternoon, or seeing them quietly reciting piyutim to themselves in shul. Those yekkes who understand where they shtam from have a certain shtultz to them. The ones who start taking apart their mesorah, don’t necessarily understand what its all about and therefore may not be consistent with regard to which pieces they hold onto and which ones they allow to fade away.Hi there, not quite sure what you mean. When I was in BMG just a few years ago there where plenty of tallaisim wearers spread among the tzibur. I heard recently that there is a thriving yekkishe minyan in the heart of Lakewood (Choshen Mishpat Kollel). I was speaking with a friend of mine who told me that there is even a chabura in the Mir, Yerushalayim which focuses on perpetuating yekkishe minhagim. While it is true that the community in Washington Heights is dwindling, they are putting many resources into their kollel. Rumor has it that there is a kollel opening in Eretz Yisroel which will be republishing all of the Toras Ashkenaz which has been sidelined for the last period of time. You should hear some of the material which these chevra are talking about – Gedolim and Poskim which make your hair stand on end!
While its true that you don’t hear too much about the yekkes, in my opinion, it is because they have taken a modest approach. As always, the yekkes march to a “hatzneya leches” mantra and therefore the individuals in the tzibur don’t like to stand out. From my experience there are plenty of fiery yekkes all around.