How to answer an abduction...

Over in Lakewood, NJ, the Village Elders are planning a community response to Sunday's abduction of a young woman. LkwdGuy expects another display of magical thinking:

I think that it's a fait accompli that there will be an asifa for women. I think it's also pretty obvious who the speakers will be. I'm also quite sure that the main topic that will be addressed is Tzniyus.

And that, in my humble opinion, is very sad.

Typically, modern Jewish communities respond to disaster in one of two ways: they call for the woman to adjust their sleeves and hemlines, and they call for the man to talk less in shul. I suppose all of that is fine, (though calling a Town Meeting to discuss modesty, in this case, comes perilously close to blaming the victim.)

However, as LkwdGuy notes this isn't enough. Instead, he's calling for Lakewood to address issues of dishonesty in the community. For starters, he wants shop owners and business men to improve their practices. He wants applicants to the local Jewish schools to be judged on the content of their characters and not on the color of their hats. In short, following Amos, he is demanding that Lakewood go beyond ritual and instead let "justice roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream" LkwdGuy wants to replace -or at least supplement - magic with morals. And for that he has this blog's respect.