Stupidity...

Hey....
Well, I'm back in the swing of things, after my whirling 3 day trip back to galus. Nothing major really happened over the course of the weekend, except for the fact that on the way back to America, I was crammed in the middle of the plane with this massive Texan christain pilgrimage headed home. All the man were quite drunk, and although I thought that it was gonna be a noisy flight, they were out cold by the time we hit cruising altitude.
Israeli beuracracy sucks, by the way. When we returned, my brother accidentally forgot my backpack in the baggage claim area. When I went back to get it, they wouldn't let me in. I had to go to the other side of the building and register by the lost and found department. When i protested that it ws right inside, they could even get it for me, the security guard then remembered that he couldn't speak english. So, I went and registered. First they take their time getting there. Then, you have to fill out a form, listing the items in your bag, and only then are you allowed to go through security checkpoints to get your bag. I was worried that by the time I got cleared of the red tape, my bag would be gone...
Anyway, that doesn't even compare to the stupidity I encountered in yeshiva on thursday evening....
I am, and always have been, more of a hooded sweatshirt guy than a sweater guy. I own a few sweaters, but those are for shabbosim and special occasions. Otherwise, if I'm chilly, I wear a hoodie. For yeshiva, I have a special plain black zip up hoodie, and that's what I wear to the varios sedarim in yeshiva. It's completely devoid of any emblems, and I've always worn it. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. It keeps me warm, and I'm able to learn. In any event, a guy who I know a little, not well, but well enough to be acquianted with him, calls me over:
Me: What's up, man?
Him: A few of the bnei torah in the beis medrash have asked me to tell ou to take that off..
Me:(I had been wearing headphones, so...) the headphones?
Him: No, the sweatshirt.
Me: ........Why?
Him: Because it's nisht gehalten (basically means not appropriate) for the beis medrash.
Me: What? It keeps me warm, what's the big deal? And why are you telling me? Who are they?
Him: They're too chicken to tell you themselves...
Me: well, when they grow up a little , they can tell me to my face-
Him: take it off!
Me: No. You haven't given me even a half normal reason yet.
Him: It's not yeshivish.
Me: I'm not yeshivish! You never heard me say I'm yeshivish, and you won't, either.
Him: It doesn't belong in the Mir; you make them feel like they're hanging in the hood...
Me: The Mir has over 4,000 guys in it; how do you know what belongs and what doesn't? And if these guys are so uncomfortable with what they are here for, that they waste time looking for flaws in other people, maybe they don't belong in the Mir.
Him: Oh, they are comfortable, they're the biggest learners, the best guys in this beis medrash!
Me: Oh yeah, I forgot: this is being done under the banner of kavod hatorah, right? Tell these "great guys" that until they can come over to me personally, they'll just have to deal with it. I have a chavrusah waiting. Thanks for wasting my time...
I'm telling you, I never expected such childishness in the Mir! Maybe I should have? I dunno....
Originally posted Sunday, 27 November 2005