The Matzav Shmoooze: Double Standard

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newspapersDear Editor,

A friend of mind came over to me, clearly upset. When I asked him what had provoked his ire, he said that in a free advertising publication that gets thrown in front of his door each week, he read a letter (or was it an article?) from someone who publically discussed the policy of a specific yeshiva, apparently by name. The issue, if I understood correctly, had to do with the yeshiva purchasing more expensive coffee for its talmidim rather than, say, spending money on adding yungeleit to its kollel payroll.

The nature of the coffee/kollel discussion, to me, is not relevant, which is why I didn’t ask my friend for further details. What does bother me, and what had gotten my friend up in arms, is that remarks questioning a decision by a specific yeshiva would be published publically. Surely, such a policy decision was approved by the rosh yeshiva of the yeshiva, in which case random letter writers shouldn’t be chiming in with what they think is the proper approach.

I can just imagine what would happen if Matzav, for example, would print a letter from someone discussing the nature of the policies of a given yeshiva, by name. You and your staff would probably get raked over the coals. Not only would the yeshiva never patronize your paper again, but you’d probably be castigated and receive phone calls from angry board members of the yeshiva, who would be livid that you are meddling in the affairs of their institution.

Why, when free publications are thrown at our doors and in our stores, does there seem to be no discretion as to what may be printed – and no outcry when a line is crossed?

Perplexed

{Matzav.com Newscenter}


14 COMMENTS

  1. Read the particular piece – was not such a big deal. It was someone thanking the yeshiva for providing quality coffee thereby being machshiv their students and then someone else asking why they would upgrade coffee before adding yungerleit to the payroll. It wasn’t an article it was a letter to the editor which quotes ooinions by people not by the paper,much like this very letter

  2. That’s a valid point. If they have a concern about a yeshivas internal policy, they are free to discuss it with the Rosh Yeshiva etc. Public bickering and nit-picking is wrong on so many levels (of course, halochakly…).

    Thank you for your letter.

  3. Instead of criticizing why not write them a check to cover the cost and just be quiet? Why are we spending any time on this? With everything going on against frum yidden is this worth a mention?

    As far as free publications, they are worth every penny they cost.

  4. I always wondered about this double standard. It’s sickening. The trash that comes for “free” to ours doors is nothing more than stuffing for shipping boxes. The ameratzus and sheer flooishness therein makes you wonder how any yeshiva can even advertise there in the first place. The pages are filled with apikorsus, stupidity, and pictures of police cars and local politicians.

  5. #7: You missed out one of the main hazards with these types of publications: loshon hora!

    Just because something was approved to be printed, doesn’t mean loshon hara was filtered out!

  6. What I find perplexing is why does this person think the yeshiva has to add yungeleit to its kollel payroll. Since when does every spare penny have to be spent on more people learning (I am not against it). The yeshiva is of a certain size and they can decide if they want 10, 20 or 100 yungeleit in kollel, they don’t have to increase the size and I find it peplexing that there are people of a mindset that that is all that should be done.

  7. “Surely, such a policy decision was approved by the rosh yeshiva of the yeshiva, in which case random letter writers shouldn’t be chiming in with what they think is the proper approach.”

    #1 – If we think that this is an issue that the Rosh Yeshiva needs to be consulted on (e.g., and not say the executive director) – then we have bigger problems

    #2 Even if the Rosh Yeshiva was consulted — I don’t think we should extend the (misguided) idea of an **infallible and unquestionable ** daas torah to the choice of coffee

    #3 Either Kollel paychecks are REALLy small, or that must be some expensive coffee!!

  8. The same reason a free publication is thrown at every doorstep, recently with a headline “101 Yeshiva students kicked off a plane” (not on this site); Goyim read this & this is a Chilul Hasham~ we are our own worst enemies~ where is the Daas Torah who allowed this news to be on the front cover, or anywhere for that matter in this weekly publication…

  9. One other point no one seems to be making is that the more expensive coffee may not actually have been so. It could have been on sale, part of a deal with other cheaper products to get an overall lower cost, someone may have been supplementing it/supplying it, etc. The very premise fails the ‘ask a question before making an assumption’ dictum.

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