She already offered me to come around, once G. will feel better after surgery he had last Wednesday. I saw him on Thursday, and he has a pretty good energy. He probably complains when she is at home. :-)
I asked him if he will wear his tzitzit. Probably not. He used to wear it 8 years ago when he was looking for a new family and was more involved with the Lubaba boys of the Crown Heights community.
We have a common acquaintance from this community and we agree about his rudeness… Talking in broader terms for once, they have bad manners and they think they should be granted for everything.
It's one of the reasons i prefer the Satmerer, Bobover… who have better manners. They could be obnoxious sometimes with gentiles. They probably think D-g will be more lenient with them because we are not Jewish, and to hurt a Gentiles is not so bad! :-(
G. called me back later to tell me to come and share the Shabbos meal. We joked about a "ménage à trois", or threesome. How many times Hasidim asked me if i was into women, ménage à trois… Is it an obsession because i am a gentile, French or none of them or all of them, or just a Hasidic fantasy… I don't really think they know the French movie Jules et Jim by François Truffaut, about a threesome, based on the novel by Henri-Pierre Roché. Will she choose one of them at the end? Ahah! Watch the movie or read the book!
And the famous song by the actress Jeanne Moreau, Le Tourbillon de la Vie:
It misses subtitles but you can understand whose she is talking about: LOVE. :-)
His neighbor was invited too, but she didn't show up.
I bought a bottle of Kosher wine from Chile, a Malbec, which had a good taste. I already tasted wines from Chile. The brand San Esteban has a very good Chardonnay. Sorry, American people but your wines are not good! South America has better wines, that's just my opinion. :-)
He didn't want me to bring something, but sorry, in France, when you are invited, you have to bring something to the host. And in another hand, G. is not Orthodox, so i can carry things. :-)
He was wearing his kippah for the Kiddush.
Then, he sent us in the living-room because he likes being alone when he cooks. She cooks too, but she works and she is tired when she gets back home. He is a househusband. He cooks and cleans…
He is a good cook and can recycle all the fridge to make you something very good.
He made hummus, the hummus with chickpeas.
That was a very good hummus which reminds me the one i ate in Jerusalem, and also the one in a famous Lebanese restaurant in Paris.
He brought us pieces of cheese for his two mice as he said: an old Kosher Parmigiano.
I was squealing of pleasure. When i was toddler i was purring when i was enjoying food my mom gave to me.
When he was cooking, his girlfriend and I were talking about the Lubaba community and the disappointment we had encountered with some of them. The disappointment is different according on our cultural expectations.
I was squealing of pleasure. When i was toddler i was purring when i was enjoying food my mom gave to me.
When he was cooking, his girlfriend and I were talking about the Lubaba community and the disappointment we had encountered with some of them. The disappointment is different according on our cultural expectations.
G. didn't travel but he is very cultured, curious about different cultures. This impromptu invitation was very European as i really like it. We can talk about anything, without being scared of being judged because we showed our feelings and emotions. They don't pretend they are fine, they are just as they are. G. gave up with the Lubaba community because of their narrow-mindedness. 'They will drive you nuts." They always try to sell you something: the community, a dinner… the religion, the Messiah… That's a sort of marketing and, you can feel it when they approach you in the streets of Crown Heights: 'Are you Jewish?'. I let them talk and i remain polite.
But G. was also disappointed because they show you that you will never belong to their community. You have to be born Lubaba to be one of them.
I understand what he feels. I feel my Jewish blood but i have non Jewish blood too. He is Jewish at 100% but he can't be a Lubaba at 100%. They accept you for what you can bring, but don't expect something in return. It's probably more painful for someone who is Jewish and a mensch as G. is.
They can be cruel, and they are very bad with apologies. A little 'sorry' which might be not sincere.
My approach to them has changed a lot, and i am more and more cautious.
I actually think that this couple has an European soul. G. is realistic with his country: "USA is a crap country." I won't say it like that: USA has a huge potential but Americans have a sort of flabby laziness and procrastination. This country needs a revolution. :-)
They have an accommodating attitude and lethargy: why to accept to pay so much for Internet, phone, rent, food, medicine, medication… when the service is very bad? Honestly, when i see all these sick people in the bus, streets… that's very scary… When i see food which is not food, it makes me sick. Food is a big issue, we need it to survive compares to cigarettes, alcohol, drugs… GMO everywhere, and i had hope there was no GMO in Kosher food, but there is.
But G. was also disappointed because they show you that you will never belong to their community. You have to be born Lubaba to be one of them.
I understand what he feels. I feel my Jewish blood but i have non Jewish blood too. He is Jewish at 100% but he can't be a Lubaba at 100%. They accept you for what you can bring, but don't expect something in return. It's probably more painful for someone who is Jewish and a mensch as G. is.
They can be cruel, and they are very bad with apologies. A little 'sorry' which might be not sincere.
My approach to them has changed a lot, and i am more and more cautious.
I actually think that this couple has an European soul. G. is realistic with his country: "USA is a crap country." I won't say it like that: USA has a huge potential but Americans have a sort of flabby laziness and procrastination. This country needs a revolution. :-)
They have an accommodating attitude and lethargy: why to accept to pay so much for Internet, phone, rent, food, medicine, medication… when the service is very bad? Honestly, when i see all these sick people in the bus, streets… that's very scary… When i see food which is not food, it makes me sick. Food is a big issue, we need it to survive compares to cigarettes, alcohol, drugs… GMO everywhere, and i had hope there was no GMO in Kosher food, but there is.
Then the meal cooked with love: lots of vegetables, Israeli couscous cooked with a taste of Asia. They don't eat meat either.
Then we were back in the living-room, watching a documentary on Shalom TV, Dreamers and Builders:
http://www.jewishfilm.org/Catalogue/films/dreamers.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG5P9IaPcpE
I enjoyed this Shabbos evening with lots of questions and answers…
I don't give up to find some Lubaba who can be polite, well-educated, curious to learn about different cultures and also have common sense… :-)
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| Crown Heights, March 2014 ©emmarubinstein |
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