Thursday, March 25, 2010

Notice of Singles Event

The Young Israel of Staten Island together with YU Connects and the OU will be holding a singles shabbaton in May. It's going to be done a bit differently than other such weekends that have been held recently in other places. For one thing, the price is cheaper--$50 per person, and that covers all Shabbos meals and the program for motzoai Shabbos. For another thing, Shabbos lunch will be held in private homes throughout the community with 6 singles per house, giving the singles a better chance at getting to know each other. I'll post a reminder after Pesach is over, but singles out there might want to make note of the date. If you're interested in applying, go to yisi.org and click on "Singles Shabbaton" in the upper right hand corner.

DATE:MAY 7-8, 2010
LOCATION:
YOUNG ISRAEL OF STATEN ISLAND
835 FOREST HILL RD
STATEN ISLAND, NY 10314
MODERN ORTHODOX MACHMIR
SINGLES FROM ALL COMMUNITIES
AGES: 28-38
COST: $50
Cost includes housing, all Shabbos meals and activities, and
Motzei Shabbos program. Full details will be disclosed as the date
draws closer, but reserve now to insure a spot!
The Shabbaton will be limited to an exclusive group of 100 great
orthodox singles. Once you submit an application, one of us will
call you to get a better idea of who you are.
To place a reservation, please complete the following application.
Please note that your place is not guaranteed until we have spoken
with you.
PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT PAYMENT UNTIL WE HAVE SPOKEN
WITH YOU AND YOUR APPLICATION HAS BEEN ACCEPTED.
For more information, please email SIShabbaton@yahoo.com
We look forward to seeing you there!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

And how are they going to decide who is "exclusive" enough to be privileged to join this event?

JS said...

"MODERN ORTHODOX MACHMIR"

Love it. Just love it.

"The Shabbaton will be limited to an exclusive group of 100 great
orthodox singles."

So, not just modern orthodox machmir, but they have to be great too.

I just hope they get a really great speaker to talk about shidduchim, keeping the faith, being more realistic, doing more, and wanting less.

Anonymous said...

JS, your reaction was my reaction. If you don't "qualify" as MOM, you're excluded from this exclusive event. How do you prove that you are MOM? A letter from a certified MOM rabbi?

Anonymous said...

It sounds to me like a marketing ploy -- trying to attract people by sounding exclusive. It may backfire as some people might not want to "apply" because what single 28-38 year old wants to be told that there not even good enough to be admitted to a singles Shabbaton.

Lion of Zion said...

TESYAA:

"A letter from a certified MOM rabbi?"

i haven't really been following the whole recent brouhaha over r. weiss and female ordination, but i'm pretty sure that those who identify modern orthodox machmir are fundamentally opposed to mom rabbis

Anonymous said...

ProfK, off topic, but any update on your friend's daughter's expected baby? I'd love to know how things turn out!

JS said...

I just want to add that I hate labels and really think they're destroying Judaism as a whole. It's bad enough we have huge separations between Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox to the point that marrying someone from a different sect practically warrants tearing kriyah, but now we're splintering Orthodoxy to the point where the same may be said perhaps 20 years down the line.

The various groups and denominations of Orthodoxy already have so little to do with each other. The communities don't intersect and don't interact. Group members feel uncomfortable around each other and shun each other. They have radically different minhagim and nusach. Can we even say we're all "Orthodox" in a meaningful way? How long before saying someone who is LW MO and someone who is Chassidish are really the same is as ridiculous sounding as saying someone who is Orthodox and someone who is Reform are really the same?

But, when we get into a subdivision like "Modern Orthodox Machmir" not only are we seeing how thin we can slice the salami, so to speak, inherent in the title is this elitism and "nose up in the air" attitude of "I keep halacha, unlike those other Modern Orthodox people." It also just reeks of desperation, practically begging the more RW members of Orthodoxy "Accept me! I keep halacha! I love chumrot as much as the next guy!"

Fast forward a couple years and some parts of Orthodoxy will soon be considered "nebech" cases that are good for a 10th man if you're short a minyan, but unreliable for kashrut, shabbat, etc. - much like Orthodoxy, unfortunately, looks at Conservative and Reform members: Jewish, but barely.

ProfK said...

I'm taking a couple of minutes break so what better place to be than online.

JS,
I hate the labels and have railed against them for years but it's like trying to hold back the ocean with a thumb in the dike.

What does this committee mean by MOM? At least from what I understand, as applied to the females, it's girls who don't wear pants and who will cover their hair after marriage but who are not anti-television and the Internet. I guess a MOM male is one who wants a girl with those qualities. Truthfully? I have no idea what ANY of these strange labels are supposed to tell prospective marriage partners. "Full of the sound and fury signifying nothing" to borrow Shakespeare's words.

Yes, a poorly worded announcement and I've made my feelings clear on that to the committee. Hopefully there will be a change of wording that is less upsetting to many people.

Just to give the committee a bit of credit however, the eating in people's homes for Shabbos lunch in small groups is a very nice idea.

However did my friends and I ever get married when the only designation used back then was "frum" or "Orthodox"?!

Tesyaa,
My friend's daughter is still hanging in there. She is in her own home for Pesach, near her doctor and her hospital should something happen.