"People can get connected to each other, and once ideas that are not implanted by the establishment spread, they can explode," said Shtreimel of the Internet, speaking at a Starbuck's on the condition that he and his sect not be named.Some thoughts:
++ The crack-reporting award of the day must go to Joseph Berger, the sharp-eyed and thorough journalist who tells 10 billion people that "Shtreimel of the Internet" is a "heretic... who does not believe in God, sneaks away to snack on Yom Kippur and sometimes grabs a hamburger that isn't kosher at McDonald's" without noting that (a) Shtreimal went out of business 6 weeks ago and (b) he renounced heresy and re-dedicated himself to Judaism before he left. Well done Joseph Berger!
++ Whoops! It appears Shtreimals well-publicized contrition was a lie! Money quote: "And Shtreimel is not alone in posting his doubts in a public forum (conartistic.blogspot.com is his latest address). " Why you sneaky little demon. Ok, Shtreimela, how about an explanation:Why did you pretend to do teshuva, and why isn't that story in the New York Times?
++ The story appears to have been inspired by yesterday's Star-Ledger piece. Good to see media groupthink is alive and well.
[Related: Miriam Bloghd (who did have a five hour head start this morning)]
Update: In the print version it says: "The Internet has germinated a small netherworld of Hasidic bloggers, with sites such as HasidicRebel and YoinosonSchreiber, both of which are on blogspot.com" This sentance seems to have been dropped from the online version. Wonder why.
