A couple of years ago Jewish American blogger Jill asked me to write about haredim and army exemptions. Then in April, a young haredi man left an anonymous comment on that post. I like the way that he appears open about his reasons, even though he seems to realize that  some appear superficial. This is an extremely contentious topic. Sometimes I fear that we are headed for a civil war. My intention is to provide a platform for honest, open and above all respectful dialogue on this topic. Haredim are part of a system that has been in place for decades, and it is not a simple thing to make changes. Please keep this in mind if you choose to respond. Here is the comment, with only … [Read more...]