tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6992806096474816766.post396204539957407465..comments2023-11-16T00:45:51.137-08:00Comments on Spiritual Skateboarding: Discard the peel; eat the fruit; throw out the pip!Dovid Tsaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08009151282745442582noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6992806096474816766.post-32530726719277368392012-04-30T11:23:58.692-07:002012-04-30T11:23:58.692-07:00Although in theory it's possible to differenti...Although in theory it's possible to differentiate between the sport and the culture, how can you guarantee that you won't eventually slide helplessly from the former to the latter?<br /><br />And even the sport itself isn't beyond reproach. It is a risk to life and health and, as such, I wouldn't recommend it for anybody. But for someone of your stature, it is even more reprehensible. From a rabbi, I would expect to see an entirely superior mode of conduct, and being passionate about skateboarding is certainly beneath that standard. To say that your principles consist of not waking people up at night and not damaging property is laughable.<br /><br />You are supposed to be an EXAMPLE for all the uninitiated people out there. Your effectiveness in influencing them doesn't depend on how YOU define your principles, but on what kind of lifestyle THEY expect you to lead. Thus, although they may give you the time of day because you are involved in something that interests them, you won't really be able to change them in any way. But if, when you approach them, they see that you are an entirely different sort of person, THAT is what will inspire them to better their lives.<br /><br />A way of guaging your real motives woluld be to ask yourself this question: Do I engage in skateboarding ONLY so that I am able to influence others, or am I in it for its own sake, and use influencing others as an excuse to justify my actions?Black Holes Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00596839430680490608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6992806096474816766.post-30602896344975929132012-04-28T03:11:38.539-07:002012-04-28T03:11:38.539-07:00Hi Black Holes,
Firstly, there is an enormous diff...Hi Black Holes,<br />Firstly, there is an enormous difference between reveling in the sport and reveling in its culture. I have only admitted to the former, not the latter.<br /><br />Concerning respect: if I didn't express Torah through the skateboarding medium, I'd have no respect from these individuals at all - they'd never even hear about me!<br /><br />Additionally, Skateboarding in no way contradicts my principles. On the contrary, when I go skateboarding in the evening I am careful not to skate near residentials, I refuse to skate on property that I may damage, and I make this obvious to whoever I skate with.<br /><br />Also, the condescension and abhorence with which you refer to skateboarders (especially in previous comments) is truly repulsive - I'd rather eat worm infested fruit than imbibe such insensitive arrogance! G-d states of the impure, I will dwell with them in their impurity..'. But of the arrogant He says,'He and I cannot dwell in one place!'Dovid Tsaphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08009151282745442582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6992806096474816766.post-37675203843769910722012-04-27T13:38:30.263-07:002012-04-27T13:38:30.263-07:00Hi, Dovid.
Please check out my posts related to t...Hi, Dovid. <br />Please check out my posts related to this topic here: <a href="http://a-farbrengen.blogspot.com/2011/01/caution-in-spreading-yiddishkeit.html" rel="nofollow">Caution in influencing worldly people</a>; <br /><a href="http://a-farbrengen.blogspot.com/2009/06/careful-love.html" rel="nofollow">Careful love</a>; <a href="http://a-farbrengen.blogspot.com/2009/12/relating-to-non-jews-and-their-culture.html" rel="nofollow">On befriending non-Jews</a>.Yehoishophot Oliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906934928426540018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6992806096474816766.post-90308005665930054922012-04-27T11:59:32.918-07:002012-04-27T11:59:32.918-07:00If your sole agenda was to influence these young p...If your sole agenda was to influence these young people for the better, without actually getting involved in skateboarding yourself, it would be an admirable pursuit. You could even allow yourself the liberty of enjoying the fruit. However, considering that, by your own admission, you actually revel in the sport, then, for a person of your calibre, it is akin to eating the peels and pips with relish. To bring the analogy into bold relief, it would be more like eating a worm-infested fruit without discerning. You obviously can't risk swallowing even one of those. And the 'few pips' that you ingest could eventually grow into full-blown trees, full of more worm-infested produce.<br /><br />As for the claim that you can only influence these youngsters if you both have some common reference point, people respect someone more if he sticks fast to his principles than if he attempts to curry favour with them by stooping to their level.Black Holes Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00596839430680490608noreply@blogger.com