A recent segment on Comedy Central’s popular Daily Show washed some Jewish dirty laundry in public- to immensely entertaining effect. The segment covers the Eruv controversy in West Hampton.
The video is here.
(JVO scholar Rabbi Jason Miller also blogged about it, here. )
Politics (and political humor) aside, this conflict is a great study in Jewish values. (It is also a terrible, sad study in Jewish infighting, something we are trying mightily to heal on this site by providing multi-Jewish perspectives on every question we receive…And something which the concept of community, of which the Eruv itself is emblematic, is supposed to address…but I digress….)
In any event…some food for thought once you’ve watched the video:
What are the values of those who oppose the Eruv in the town? Is there anything Jewish about these values? I sensed a lot of anger from Charles at the fact that the Eruv is perceived as a hypocritical entity. Is this anger justified?
What are the values of those who seek to build the Eruv? Is it a loophole they seek, or something different? How does the (hilarious) host’s perception of Eruv reflect popular culture, as opposed to religious thinking? Does he have a point?
We’d love your thoughts…..
Amazing site! I’ve just shared it on Facebook.