Rebbe Lex

Fellow bad actor Psychotoddler writes:

You may enjoy my grumpy old man post...

The post, as it happens, is very good, and also a good illustration as to why the victory of Capital "L" Liberalism over the monarchies of Europe was such an important win.

200 years ago whole countries were run like PT's shtieble. No rules. No professionalism. No accountability. You'd sit where the king or his gabbai told you to sit. If he, or his gabbai, wanted to give someone a shtender after point-blank denying one to you there was nothing you could to about it.

The King's word was the law, and the law was often capricious and unfair. In shteibles like PTs and mine something like Rex lex still exists. Call it Rebbe lex with a lifetime sinecure for his gabbai leading to abuses and indifference of the sort that PT describes in his post.