Dear Dovid
Thanks for your message on the upcoming Internet Asifa
Your points are completely relevant and I would be surprised if anyone would pull any holes in any of your arguments.
However there is one point that is missing. Think about the recent Daf Hayoimi Siyum and then ask yourself why everyone was so astonished and amazed at the event. People are still talking about the fantastic organisation, the well-run programme, the timing, the décor, the speakers – some are saying it was the best (Jewish) event they had ever attended.
Music, I am sure, to the ears of the organisers and deserved credit where credit is due. But hang on a moment; we had 7 and a half years to organise this, we had the power of London (and in a smaller way) USA Agudah behind it and the event was sponsored. In fact if you think about carefully it should be a given that the event would be spectacular with the tools available to the organisers. And yet we are still amazed that a team of Jewish organisers were able to pull this off.
The reason why we are still so animated about the event is because we have become used mediocrity. We have the mind-set that as long as we have organised something and ticked 60% of the boxes the rest will ‘fall into place’. We have attended so many average events, so many mind-numbingly boring evenings, so many functions that we had all but forgotten before we reached the car park, that the one event that is properly organised blows our minds away.
Often the attention to detail and to the smaller elements which help to break down scepticism and create confidence are what is missing from our events.
And this is what I worry about with the upcoming Asifa. According to sources, I hear that the they only found out about the rock concert taking place at Alexandra Palace on the same night, a few days ago despite the concert being booked a year ago. I hear that no thought (yet) has been given to ensure that the correct audio and screens will be in place for the event nor has too much thought been given on the message that needs to come out of this.
I do not want to go to this event for one reason, I have attended too many Yesoday Hatorah/ Reb Meir Baal Haness/ Belzer Kollel (delete as appropriate) events and frankly I am tired of them. I’ll happily swap 100 of these for one perfectly-run Daf Hayoimi Siyum
To quote Rabbi Moshe Weinberger, Rov in Woodmere: "It is easy to blame the Internet for all our problems. It is much more difficult and painful to consider the possibility that we have failed to communicate the true inner joy and light of Yiddishkeit to a generation that is anxious and ready to hear it."
First published on 29 November 2012, on Jewish P.O.S.T. - the Jewish Voice for the People Of South Tottenham (this Blog is now defunct).
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