Let me begin this post with some very heartfelt, very dramatic words: Our Kollel years were the best ones of my life. (For the uninitiated, Kollel is a yeshivah where married men study for varying amounts of time; they study Torah and Talmud and may work to earn rabbinic ordination.) My husband and I embraced a kollel lifestyle right after our wedding and it was pure, absolute bliss. He learned all day; I worked to support us and felt privileged to do so. I am not being corny or kitschy; I really, wholly, and completely loved every minute of his full-time Torah learning. I feel like Kollel learning is such a noble, incredible pursuit and that it sustains the entire universe. Now, for those of you who may be wondering if there is some foreshadowing or preface going on here, you are highly astute.

Recently, a comment was made to me thusly: "Why are your serial stories bashing Kollel?" My head jerked up; my heart leapt into my throat. I was taken aback, really, especially in light of the above paragraph. When I finally gathered my wits to attempt to respond to the accusation, I first pointed out that Green Fences was definitely nowhere within the category of "kollel bashing". If anything, Green Fences showed the beauty and importance of kollel, which one Batya Sternheim attempted to deny. In Shattered Glass, my current serialized story, the protagonist, Betzalel Myers, does learn in Kollel, and perhaps that is what prompted the specious comment about my "kollel-bashing". Firstly, to extrapolate from one fictional story which centers on a man who happens to be learning in Kollel, the assumption that the author is a wanton, shameless "kollel-basher" seems not only ridiculous, but downright rude. Secondly, and this is much more interesting, I realized that as a writer, I am faced with a curious Kollel konundrum.

You see, the yeshivah/chareidi world today has a grey area when it comes to Kollel learning vs. working. This is the feisty fodder for many a discussion and even a serial story (think Black and White by Dov Haller and, er, Green Fences, by Riva Pomerantz :-)). While we all agree that learning Torah in Kollel is a most worthy pursuit, we also must acknowledge that not everyone is capable of this occupation and also, that we need mechanchim (teachers), rabbonim (rabbis), and countless other Torah Jews to fill other roles and serve as other professionals within our communities. My husband Joel, for example, is a school psychologist and cognitive-behavioral therapist. In his capacity, he helps countless people in our community who are struggling with very difficult, real issues. Yes, he cherishes his Kollel days, but now he is performing his avodas Hashem (service of G-d) in this venue.

I have often commented on the enormous, inexplicable power of fiction--to effect change, to provoke thought, and to spark discussion. More so than articles, workshops, and lectures, fiction has this uncanny ability to get through to people, most likely because it is non-threatening, interesting, and entertaining. I use fiction as a tool, a vehicle for an important message (in case you're wondering if there's any mind control going on in my work :-)). When it comes to writing serialized stories in frum magazines such as Mishpacha, the writer, when creating a plot, comes smack up against a huge, steel door. That door is the Kollel Konundrum. Essentially, since fiction is so powerful, and since our community is so highly attuned to nuance, and since the subject of Kollel vs. Working is so alive and conflicted, a writer who chooses a plot where the protagonist is working might be misconstrued as espousing working as a preferred occupation, which would be a slight against Kollel, which would be definitely not okay. Whew, long sentence. Therefore, choosing a character who is learning in Kollel, aside from immediately creating reader rapport because most of our readers identify strongly with a Kollel lifestyle (at least at one point in their lives), is also an endorsement of Kollel. Does that mean that by creating a character who is in Kollel and who is struggling, I am attempting to malign Kollel or suggest, chas v'shalom, that Betzalel's story is pretty typical or indicative of widespread problems within the Kollel community? Of course not! Betzalel's issues ARE, unfortunately, widespread within our community at-large, but certainly not specifically a Kollel problem. Betzalel could have just as easily been an accountant with a night chavrusah (Torah study partner) and the rest of Shattered Glass could have stayed exactly the same. But given the sensitivity of the Kollel vs. working issue, I opted to steer clear of it. Apparently, however, it's difficult to side-step.

What are your thoughts?
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Let's Face It 07/12/2009
 

Well, I finally did it--bit the bullet, took the plunge, grabbed the bull by its horns, hmmm, let's see, can I possibly dig up any other cliched maxims to further augment the absolutely trivial announcement I'm about to make?

:-)

I joined Facebook. Ugh, I feel like I should be getting teen acne now, and braces. Truth is, I did it for a higher purpose rathyer than banal social networking; did it to facilitate the Green Fences Facebook Group, a new discussion board for the book, which I'm really excited about. But here we are, a couple of weeks later, and I'm being "friended" out to the whazoo with friends near and dear, as well as those I haven't spoken to in years. And I'm beginning to see that Facebook is probably a wonderful tie-in with last week's blogpost entitled There's a Monster In My Closet. I mean, this thing has all the potential of an ENORMOUS time-waster, with the added perk that one may staunchly justify the waste of time by citing all sorts of lofty benefits: socializing, reaching out, even "doing a chessed" (kind deed) by replying to poor Sara'le's post.

Sara'le Spiegel Shapiro has a broken fingernail.
       Dina Dunner: OMG, can u please do something FAST!
       Henny Shnitzeldorf: Happens all the time. Put on ice. BTW, are we getting together for lunch today or is it off cuz of the nail thing?
    Sara'le Spiegel Shapiro has now joined the Broken Fingernail Support Network
    Send [heart] to Sara'le!
    Poke Sara'le for being such a baby.

Anyway, enough poking fun at Facebook (have I just violated their Terms of Use Agreement ?). It's definitely a really cool tool for keeping in touch and it boasts a genius algorithm for matching potential "friends". I, for one, hope not to get sucked in; got too much going on in my little ol' life to add another time-eater. BUT, at least let me share with you the link for the new Green Fences Facebook Group where I'll be posting often and hopefully we'll have some fun with that!

It's here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=104085054867&ref=mf.

Anyone can join and I'd love to meet you there!


4 Comments
 
Gotta book! 07/03/2009
 

Well, it's official--the Green Fences book is out and available in stores and on the Targum website. See it on the Targum Press homepage at www.targum.com or go directly to this link: http://www.targum.com/product.php/938/green-fences/ where you can even read an excerpt. I am so excited! The book has new, juicy material--Ruth's private diary, which gives another dimension to the story that was not revealed in the Mishpacha serial.

And now...for the million-dollar question: What did YOU think of the ending?



7 Comments
 
Brisk Business 06/30/2009
 

My husband was wandering around Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) today, looking for a certain street, and he met up with some yeshivah bochurim (students) who helped him find his way.

"What's your name?" they asked him, friendly-like.

"Joel Pomerantz," said he.

"Oh," they said, "The only Pomerantz we know is the writer."

My husband proceeded to tell them that "the writer" is his wife, at which point they allegedly professed their undying and open enthusiasm for Green Fences.

When I wrote this serial I never in my wildest dreams imagined that it would be something that would appeal to yeshivah guys. But the truth is, why wouldn't it? Soon enough, they'll be married, and the concept of dealing with female relationships, envy, and navigating the waters of shalom bayis (harmony in the home) is one they probably like to chew on every once in awhile. Cute anecdote, no? :-)

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My Purim was really wonderful and joyous--leibedig (lively) as anything, and it is always such a spiritual highlight for me as well. There was just one blip on the radar and I guess it's really just one of many. Gotta back up here for a little preface. With Purim coming, I was SO excited to release a Purim version of Green Fences, something totally off-beat, hilarious, and zany, to give the readers a little break from the usual intensity of the serial.

Well, as it turns out, my readers are a mostly intense lot. There has been wholesale disappointment, grumbling, and a complete lack of interest regarding my Purimshpiel version of the story which, in my humble opinion, was HYSTERICAL!! I mean, come on, we had a reference to the readers who wrote in about how Kaplan's lack of waiting-room privacy should never happen in real-life therapy; we had every character in his/her element with a whacky turnaround in the Zev/Ari department. It was brill--okay, I think I'm getting carried away here :-).

Well, tonight, at the seudah (festive meal), one irate, I-rant reader, made particularly vociferous due to inebriation (estimated age 19, vocation: yeshivah student, last seen wearing: pajama pants, a shirt sporting the words "Rock and Roll", and a black clown wig) told me that "Purple Gates" (that was an editor's doing, not mine!) was an insult, a disappointment, in fact he said that it "cheapened" the story. Whew! That's a lot to chew on while you've already got brisket and salad on your plate!

So what's up with this widespread discontent? Do my readers really lack a sense of humor? That's a scary thought. C'mon, guys, help me out here, will ya?

Pappy Hurim to Thou and Thours!

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