Jewish Atheist, Krum as a Bagel, Misnagid, Godol Hador, B. Spinoza, Orthoprax, Lamedzayin, Daas Yachid, and The Jewish Freak. What do all these names have in common? They are the pseudonyms of bloggers and commentators. And of course they only scratch the surface of all the names used in the blogosphere
My relatively recent foray into the blogosphere has shown me something quite remarkable. The ability to both blog and comment anonymously or with pseudonyms has enabled people to say exactly what they think. Gone are the restrictions of what others may think of you... or worse that you will be ostracized from the community or thought to be an Apikores. It seems that there are many people out there who are Frum... even Charedi, and to the world... look, act, and speak the PC line. They are accepted into the community and no one is the wiser as to what they really think. Anonymity has brought out the true persona of a large number of Charedim and other Frum Jews who are quite unhappy with the Hashkafos and Hanhagos of their own peer community or worse... have serious questions of Emunah. They can now speak out without fear of being identified and the repercussions that might bring them. In some cases you might even see heretical comments, admitting a lack of belief yet they are probably members in good standing in their respective communities which are none the wiser.
I have been asked why I provide a link to Godol Hador. Godol Hador is the best example of the type of blogger I described above. He has written his thoughts from opposing perspectives which make him sound heretical sometimes.
But, I do not consider him to be a heretic at all ...just a very irreverent fellow who uses his intellect and does not deny a question because someone might accuse him of being a heretic. Anonymity allows him the ability to do that. I take his seemingly heretical comments with a grain of salt which I think he uses to provoke thinking about his issues as much as anything else.
His recent essay entitled “The Science of Judaism” was quite thought provoking and actually showed his very Masoretic approach to Emunah. It has generated nearly 600 comments so far. The one thing I like about him is the complete intellectual honesty that he might otherwise be reticent to use if his identity were known. The kinds of issues he raises are the kinds of issue we should all be thinking about so as to better examine, understand, and strengthen our own Hashkafos.
All this is an amazing revelation to me. It makes me wonder just how many in the Torah world have such doubts about Torah Judaism and yet, keep those thoughts to themselves. Is there a growing community of secret doubters in our midst? Are there significant numbers of doubters like these ...a sort of reverse Morrano society? And if so, is all this questioning and doubting a good thing? Or will this new freedom of expression take some of us down the abyss to apostasy? I don't know the answer to that all important question but it is my hope and belief that all this discussion will result in a renewed and better understanding of the nature of belief and make us all stronger in it. Knowledge, after all, is power.
