New J Blog

Looks promising.

Who are the baynonim?

Jews who are neither completely righteous nor completely wicked.
Men in the middle.
Mediocrities. (modern Hebrew: baynonit)
My neighborhood is the inspiration for this blog. It's full of Jews, who, generally fall into one of two camps, which is convenient because we only have two shuls. To my right are the RNs, the religious neighbors. They pray at the shteeble, boast fine yeshiva educations, and in some parody of the non-Jewish bride, are careful to always wear something black, be it socks or a velvet kippa.

To my left, in their knitted kippot are the OMJs, the Orthodox Modern Jews. Their shul is quiet and dignified, their rabbi professional and articulate. Many OMJs give their time and money to Zionism and Israel, but they can't learn like the RNs.

The truth is I like them all, but I don't like any of them. Know what I mean? I attend both shuls, but after a few consecutive weeks at either one, I go running to the other. We're all baynonim, including me, Mr. Mediocre himself, fanning the smoldering embers of his literary ambitions with this stupid blog.

Hat Tip: ChayyeiSarah