The Maven writes in with a clarification:
In my previous email to you (of which I noticed you copied verbatim to your blog--thanks again for the reference), I mentioned about (MY VIEW) of Hassidic/Ultra-orthodox Judaism as being "cultist." I wanted to also expand on that a tiny bit, so as not to come off as being an anti-semite. I hold this view for Jehovas Witnesses and Mormons and other similarly, radical, funadmentalist, Scriptural literalist, exclusionistic religions out there, where their main mode of indoctrination is by way of fear, brainwashing, excluding outsiders, shunning those who stray from the fold, as well as perpetuating xenophobic agendas.
I found some comfort in the blogs of both Mis-nagid as well as Shtreimel, as I see the same conflict of what I (or we) actually believe, yet remaining in the religion/s we were born into, and trying to reconcile our core beliefs and values within the confines of our birth religion/s. It's all a process.
Sometimes I think to myself how much knowledge complicates my life. Sometimes I wish I had a blind faith. I admire people who have a genuine, unmoving devotion to their religions. And the rest of the time, I sit back and just crack it all up to spiritual mystery. We can't possibly know everything we want to know.
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