I was sitting in the Seminary in kitchen a few years ago with my closest seminary friends. It was Friday night, we were drinking hot cocoa and chatting about the most fascinating latest gossip, such as the colors of the Rabbis socks, the sem rep (seminary representative i.e. really important girl) and the guy she just got engaged to, my chassidish roommate who met the young man she was going to marry only once and for twenty minutes, and the fact that she was going to shave her head in less than a year.
I am not sure why we discussed those things. Maybe it made us feel more normal and open minded, maybe it was just fun to talk.
Anyhow, we are sitting there talking when this girl, who was obviously new to seminary, walks into the kitchen with a plastic cup, probably intending to refill it with water.
Please understand that the seminary I attended worked somewhat like an army. The girls in the third year were superior to the girls from the second year (we called them angels) and the girls from the second year were superior to those from the first year. Under no circumstances were older girls allowed to treat younger girls as equals.
Since we were undercover rebels, we decided that we can afford to be friendly to this newcomer. My friend asked her for her name and where she was from. The girl puts on this huge smile that elite second year people would actually look at her, and says: "Good Shabbos, my name is XXX XXXXX, and I am from Denver." Her smile gets even wider as she quickly adds: "But do not worry, I am Lakewood quality."
Oh how that ticked us off. It just happened to be, that each one of us was from out of town and we were extremely proud of it. So one by one we went around the table saying: "I am from Montreal and I am Montreal Quality. I am from LA and I am LA quality, I am from Paris and I am Paris quality."
The girl hit the wrong crowd and clutching her plastic cup, still unfilled, she ran for her life.
This reminds me of another story. I was talking with a friend from an out-of-town community who had just gone to seminary during Sukkot. I asked her if she likes seminary.
She says: "I love it. I am so tired of diversity. Seminary is amazing. It is one hundred and fifty girls, exactly like me!"
I could not believe my ears.
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Why can people not be content with themselves. Why do they try to fit the mold, the box. Why is it praiseworthy to be just like everybody else?
