I’ve gone a lot to Chabad shuls over the past few months and they’re totally different from the Modern Orthodox shuls I am used to.
For one thing, many of the Chabadniks I meet have muscles. Few Modern Orthodox Jews I’ve met have muscles.
Most Modern Orthodox Jews I know are college graduates. Most Chabadniks I know are not. They typically own their own businesses.
The Modern Orthodox Jews I know tend to be professionals. Each profession has this code of conduct. This produces different types of people than those who make their own way in the world.
I’m a blogger. I own my own business.
When Modern Orthodox Jews are mad at you, they threaten to tell the rabbi or to sue you or to take you to a Beit Din. They’ll write a letter against you. They’ll take out an ad.
I suspect that if a Chabadnik has a problem with you, he’ll let you know directly. I suspect that many Chabadniks have settled disputes with their fists.
I suspect Chabadniks are more likely to use a spanner rather than a lawsuit to settle a dispute.
Chabadniks strike me as more blunt and more Jewish than Modern Orthodox Jews. They have fewer concerns about how they look to the goyim. They’re less likely to believe in feminism and other goyisha ideologies. They’re less likely to go to therapy.
Rebbe emails: “It’s not just Chabad but Yeshivish and Chasidic men in general who are more physical and in non-professional jobs.”
