CHUTZPAH!

Tzfat has become increasingly Charedi over the years. With every political victory they become increasingly obstreperous. I say this as someone who is Shomeret Shabbat, Kashrut, etc. My husband has a long beard and peyot. (I know. I know. I am definitely not a typical Anarchist.)

I recently received an e-mail from a man who is soon making aliyah. He put an ad in the Tzfat and Tzfat environs electronic newsletter saying that he is coming on aliyah with his wife to Tzfat who is a concert pianist. He inquired about work for the two of them in Tzfat.

One day he wrote me saying that I seem like a moderate sort and telling me that he had received a number of nasty letters from people in Tzfat telling him that it is not modest for a woman to play piano in public and discouraging him from coming to Tzfat. HUH?!

He attached a photo of his wife playing the piano to the e-mail. She was very modestly, I was say extremely, modestly dressed - to the point of looking repressed and prissy. Most certainly, no one could accuse her of being flashy or theatrical in appearance.

I told him that there are many Russian olim in Tzfat, in addition to other culture vultures, and there is certainly a market here for piano teachers and those who perform recitals. A mostly Mozart series of concerts given here annually is so well-attended that one must procure tickets quite early. I urged him to add his open-mindedness to an increasingly benighted town, come here and add his efforts to fighting back the creeping darkness.

A few days later I received another e-mail from him saying that he and his wife had purchased an apartment in a community outside of Tzfat started by people from the B'nei Akiva Movement.

HOW DARE CHAREDIM SEND LETTERS TO PEOPLE CONSIDERING ALIYAH TELLING THEM THEY DO NOT BELONG IN THE CITY THEY ARE CONSIDERING MOVING TO?!

Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat, Israel
DoreenDotan@gmail.com