Piercings, Fluff, and Overflung Chickens

As an almost 20 year old in the 21st Century, I've got some things to say about today's Modern Orthodox society. They're a little random, (as can be noted by the title) but trust me it all comes together at the end.

1. Piercings
For the past 7 years or so, I spent a lot of time and effort badgering my parents to let me get a second piercing in my ears. Then one day I woke up to discover that I am living in an apartment in a city across the country from my parents, paying my own rent, buying my own groceries and doing my own laundry. Turns out I grew up. So I went out and pierced my own ears, no permission needed. (Don't worry, my parents weren't angry)

Now I've got two holes in each ear, which I don't think is so uncommon. In certain circles, however, it is. I'm at a secular university now, but I plan on spending some time in a ... more religiously inclined area ... next year. I'm aware that what I'm about to say is not the opinion of all, and perhaps only the opinion of a small percentage, but it is nevertheless there: Some people find it "hashkafically compromising" to have more than one hole in each ear. To me, this is incredibly absurd. It's one thing to say "never pierce your body" - that makes sense to me! Don't put extra holes in your body, because you don't want to change the way God made you. But once you're accepting one hole... what difference does it make that there are more? And it's not even a matter of having 17 holes crowding you're ear! It's one more hole, right next to the first one! What really gets me is that some people will go as far as to avoid dating people who have more than one hole in their ear. I don't think I have to go into detail of why that is ridiculous.



2. Fluff.
Having gone to a slightly more "intellectually inclined" seminary and now finding myself in the super-duper academic land of university, there's a comment that I often hear being made (and unfortunately catch myself saying too). It's the assertion that certain classes or shiurim are "too fluffy" "not real Torah" or "could just be read in a book". What does that mean that something is "not really Torah"? Is it idolatrous? Is it somehow not related to Judaism? Is it offensive in any way? When we say that things are "too fluffy", are we not essentially saying that we are above the subject matter, and therefore perhaps too good for a certain element of our religion? And when we say "I could just read it in a book", how many people actually go home and do that?

It seems to me that there is an entire element of our religion that is completely ignored by the intellectual world, simply because it just doesn't seem hardcore enough. Let's take the example of classes that are often referred to as "story time". I agree that if one has only a certain amount of time in their schedule, they may be more inclined to take a class that is more challenging. But what about after class? "Story time" classes usually involve stories of the shtetl, of Judaism as it was in past centuries, of the lives of people who could be great role models to us. Why don't we read these stories after class? Why is it so beneath us to educate ourselves in what the world today just writes off as "fluff?" It pains me to see an entire chapter of our tradition be cast aside because it's just not hardcore enough.

3. Overflung Chickens
I'm writing an essay for my religious ethics class about the Jewish approach to Animal Rights. Of course, the tradition to swing chickens over our heads for atonement the day before Yom Kippur gets a lot of ethical flak, and my argument is that the flak is with good reason. Where is the source for Kapparot? What's the point in it? It's mentioned in neither the Torah nor the Talmud, and was only brought about much later. Some even say that its origins are in pagan rituals. The potential idolatry aside though, what gives us the right to abuse a chicken like that? When researching for my essay, I found all these youtube videos of people attacking the poor chickens, swinging them around over their heads and then chucking them into big garbage bags or tiny crates. I've even seen this myself on the streets of Jerusalem, Erev Yom Kippur. Whatever happened to Tzar Baaley Hachayim, the biblical commandment not to hurt animals?! It would seem as though by going out of our ways to fulfill a Minhag (tradition) that has ambiguous sources, we are inadvertently violating a biblical commandment. In my eyes, this is way, way wrong.


Are we really willing to cast aside halacha in order to "atone for our sins" through the pain of a potentially pagan chicken?

Does it really matter enough how many piercings we have in our ears, that we would even avoid dating someone because of it?

Do we really mean to ignore learning aspects of Judaism that may help us better our connection with the history of our religion, just to say that we're hardcore learners?

The common denominator among these three topics is clear:

The Modern Orthodox World Is at Risk;
It's our job to correct it.