mentalblog.com comments:
The supplanting of "rugged American individualism" into an ostensibly chasidic worldview is a fascinating Lubavitcher cultural phenomenon. Over the years, shlichus became to Lubavitcher kids much what becoming a professional athlete is for blacks in the ghetto -- a shot at stardom, a way out of deppressing urban apartment living.
But shlichus was never supposed to be about self-agrandizement or spreading your wings. It was supposed to be mesirus nefesh. Once upon a time, mesirus nefesh was being the only frumer yid in your town, living on sardines and matzos and not having enough money to make Shabbos. Today, the mesiras nefesh means not telling your boss "F" you and running off to set up your own Chai Center. But that mesirus nefesh is far less romantic, isn't it?
"not telling your boss"?
Yes! NOT telling your boss.
The true mesirus nefesh is putting your ego aside and adhering to the system.
That was the whole point of my post. Folks got wrapped up in the chitzonius levush of shlichus (what I call the "rugged individualism"). But that's a populist perverion of the movement and everything it stands for. The essence of shlichus is (even if more in idea than in practice) BITUL to the meshaleach.
Thirty, twenty, even ten years ago, you could experience bitul by exiling yourself to a barren wilderness and fighting for Yiddishkeit. Nowadays, you experience bitul by working alongside and even under other guys who are no more or even less talented/intelligent/learned/chasidish than you.
But no! Today's kollel-leit don't want that. They wanna be the lone cowboy.
Tony, "bosses" always invent theories why it is a high purpose to serve them.
I'm getting whiplash. Let's move this whole thread to the more recent post.
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