Okay. So you've all heard about Elizabeth Brook's Bat Mitzvah party?

[xiphias]

Elizabeth Brook's father is David H. Brooks, a defense contractor who made hundreds of millions of dollars selling sub-par body armor to the United States Army.

Her Bar Mitzvah included Aerosmith, Tom Petty, Kenny G, and 50 Cent as acts. It cost an estimated $10,000,000.

He also stiffed the help, paying them HALF what he agreed to. As Susan Felber realized, her brother, who barbacked the event, made less money for 44 HOURS of work than any one of the guests got in their goodie bags.

My question: can we find out what shul David H. Brooks goes to, and do we have any connections to the rabbi of that shul -- and can we have that rabbi issue a cherem against Mr. Brooks?

(As one comedienne commented, "At the kiddush, Mr. Brooks drank a large glass of the blood of Christian children, just to make certain that he didn't miss any potential offensive stereotypes.")

There comes a level of crudity that turns into a . . . well, the only word that comes to mind is shonda. I mean, no word in English seems to have the emotional impact.

And I think that this is a case where the Jewish community as a whole has to stand up and say that we don't stand for 1) selling substandard body armor to the army of our own country, 2) stiffing the help, or 3) turning a celebration of a religious event into a FUCKING LAUGHINGSTOCK OF OVER-THE-TOP CONSUMERISM. I mean, I can't even find a word in YIDDISH to express what this. . . THING is. "Ungepatch" is far, far to kind. "Shonda fur di goyim" is certainly a part of the problem -- when you act THIS badly, THIS obviously, in ways that reinforce preexisting negative stereotypes, well, that's what the phrase "shonda fur di goyim" is for. But, hell, he'd deserve a cherem even if this happened entirely within the Jewish community.

So: how do we go about contacting his community and issuing a cherem? I doubt HE'D care much -- I doubt he goes to shul. But I think it would send an important message to the world: this isn't who we are.

Comments

[delerium69.livejournal.com]

Amazing how some of the worst traits of humans can be embodied in just one person.

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

Criminy, yes.

(You did cause me to look up several words/phrases. So at least /something/ good came of this.)

[yehoshua.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure you could pull it off, for a variety of reasons. Leave aside for the moment that the offensive stereotypes goyim have of us are often the stereotypes we have of Jews from Long Island. The bigger problem you'll have is the utter meaninglessness of cherem in the American community. There are no gadolei ha'dor since the passing of Reb Moshe and Rav Soloveitchik (R' Steinsaltz isn't known as a posek, even if he may qualify as a gadol in another right). There isn't even someone of the stature of a Rebbe Schneerson, whose reputation may with the audience, but who everyone at least knew existed.

So absent a clear leader with real halachic authority to issue the call for a cherem, is there any way to do this meaningfully. The whole point of a cherem isn't to make a statement to the goyim, it's to cut someone off from their own community. The other major problem, as you point out, is that Mr. Brooks is unlikley to care that we won't daven with him, hold by his eidus, or even come within daled amos of his body because he exists in such a state of moral tumah.

I think a better move would be to get a bunch of rabbis, potentially including the rabbinical association of whatever movement his shul nominally affiliates with, to take out an advert in the Wall Street Journal condemning this insanity (I'd say take it out in the NY Times, but he's a businessman, and possibly only reads the Journal).

Of course, I'm an unsubtle guy. I think we should find a beis din to declare that he's clearly possessed by a dybuk, and send out the brute squad to beat the dybuk out of him.

[yehoshua.livejournal.com]

Stupid fingers, that bit about Schneerson should have read: "reputation may vary with the audience."

BTW, I noticed some wag's commentary on this: "Fitty is going to have to take nine more bullets to get back his street cred after this stunt."

FInally, something else has been bothering me since I first read about this and it just boiled over ... Kenny G? KENNY G!?!

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Well, honestly, the Kenny G part bothers me less than the rest of it. First, it's its own punishment. Second, I understand that Kenny G's first horn was a shofar. . .

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

What got me were Tom Petty and Aerosmith. I'd have expected them to have higher standards for those for whom they perform. Pop goes another bubble!

But I think it would send an important message to the world: this isn't who we are

You don't really need any famous folk or religious leaders. An add in the Wall Street Journal or NY Times signed with the names of lots of ordinary folk would make the point as well.

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

:half smile: Kenny G and Salt & Peppa performed at my high school - some sort of spirit contest.

New York Daily News mentioned that several performers were not so happy to realize they were playing a kid's party.

Cherem

[(Anonymous)]

The Chareidi community in the UK has a cherem in place that prevents precisely this sort of thing. There is a cap put on the amount of money that can be spent on a simcha, in order to prevent unbearable social pressure causing families to destitute themselves in order to keep up.

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

That's really. Um. REALLY.

"..."

Having read the above discussions about the lack of modern relevance of the call for a cherem, I have to say it's a shame. Maybe we ought to revive the concept for this sort of circumstance.

But then, being a pagan after my fashion, I see a use for this sort of thing. And this is definitely the appropriate sort of purpose.

[theclamsman.livejournal.com]

Well, he IS being investigated by the SEC, isn't he?

I read about all of it here, BTW:

http://www.livejournal.com/community/ohnotheydidnt/4533119.html

Disgusting waste of money.

[rebmommy.livejournal.com]

Hadn't heard about this - made me mad. I like felis_sidus's idea of getting a bunch of people together to take out an ad condemning this over-the-top consumerism and saying this is not how we conduct our religious ceremonies. MIght make even more of an impact with "ordinary folks" coming out against it. Anyone want to organize?

So different from the Bat Mitzvah ceremony I attended yesterday where the focus was on the young woman - what she learned, her relationship to Judaism, and her relationship to her family. It was a heart-warming occasion with many people giving her blessings, including her 85-year old grandmother who talked about the ancestral connection - continuing Judaism through the generations. All the aliyot were leyned by the other young women in the Bat Mitzvah girl's class. This was the best part for me - seeing young teens take their place as leaders in the Jewish community. Gave me confidence that the Jewish people will continue with skill, generosity, kindness, compassion, and a commitment to tzedakah and gemilut hasadim. I don't think that the message of Jewish values - a commitment to learning, to generosity and taking care of others more in need - was part of Elizabeth Brooks' training to become Bat Mitzvah. What a shame that a potentially meaningful rite of passage became another way to show off her father's wealth.

[mattblum.livejournal.com]

I read about this, too. My first reaction, as a father, was to wonder how any person could actually want 50 Cent anywhere near his 13-year-old daughter.

[cellio]

*gag*

Cherem works, if it works at all, in a given community. One problem is that we're all so mobile now that it doesn't follow you around. (Another problem is that not everyone cares, of course.) But it would be good for that guy's rabbi, or movement, to condemn this, for the sake of the onlookers.

[blackthornglade.livejournal.com]

I just spent the weekend watching two people celebrate their marriage. both of them were Jewish and they opted for a moderately traditional ceremony. The attendees were, how shall we say, unorthodox? There were moments of fun, moments of beauty, moments of crying, and moments of laughing.

Somehow, I think the young lady missed out on quite a bit when her father went so over the top. I feel sorry for her.

[(Anonymous)]

Yea, Macavelli was sorry for sucking too, shitza people, christianity sounds bloodless and complete at the moment , for thou art """"goym" , try herding with this close order flock ,308 degrees of "automatic truth" is God !!!