On The Beach Blog

Updated 07/16/2008 - 03:25 pm

Now one could marginalize this as "someone else who's bought into the mythos which our local Rabbi has created for himself," but it is instructive to digest:

"First, it’s important to note that we were at a friend’s house very close to the Hampton Syna­gogue, which was founded 18 years ago by Rabbi Marc Schneier and is thriving in a place and a situation where such success was consid­ered extremely unlikely. If you want to gain some insight into what an eclectic mix of modern Jew­ish men and women from very diverse back­grounds are doing these days, it’s worthwhile taking a look inside what Rabbi Schneier has built and de­vel­oped here in the Hamptons."

That is an excerpt from the July 11th "Hamp­tons Diary" entry of a "private blog" by Larry Gordon.

It's innocuous enough... until one gets to the part which reads:

"In Westhampton—quite a few years ahead of the others—there is talk of an eruv in town. Local residents don't like it, because—as the New York Times reported a few weeks ago—they are afraid the eruv will turn the Hamptons into another Five Towns. ¶ I don't see anything specifically wrong with that, but then again that's just my opinion."

Despite Mr. Gordon's qualifier, that alone should send Irene Barrett and her Christian Citizens' Coalition (née Westhampton Beach Alliance for the Separation of Church and State) into full-frothing mode!

On balance, it should be noted that an earlier entry, Hilary Larson's "Day Tripping Through the Hamptons," from August 17, 2006 states:

"The days when Jews were unwelcome in these WASPY precincts is long gone, and today large numbers of young Jewish families are settling the East End – especially East Hampton, Bridge­hampton and Westhampton. The hottest (free) ticket on Friday nights is the service at the Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach, a formerly sleepy village that is becoming livelier each year, in large part due to the Manhattan-based Jewish community that has coalesced around this 16-year-old shul. Technically Ortho­dox, the Hampton Synagogue's laid-back, friend­ly services draw worshippers{sic} from across the spectrum."

And yes, this could also be dismissed as some­one else having bought into Rabbi Schneier's carefully-crafted "My Synagogue and my peeps are the ones who've resurrected Westhamp­ton Beach from its economic doldrums" message.

While I cannot cite it specifically¹ due to a total lack of familiarity with the Torah, I'm confident that those of the Jewish faith will comprehend the applicability of the Biblical synthesis:

"As ye sow, so shall ye reap."

Of course, it would come as no surprise to dis­cover that it originated in the Torah!