I’ve lived in Passaic for over 20 years—I’ve seen a glorious growth, a rebirth of the frum community. Kosher stores abound, shiurim are plentiful, schools are bursting at the seams. Since everyone wants to “drive the bus,” there are now over 30 shuls in Passaic/Clifton. Mazel Tov.
But…
There’s a deafness. Whereas when I first moved to town, “Good Shabbos” greetings were exchanged with simcha—today I see balabatim who look away or stay shtum (silent) when I greet them as we’re walking past each other to shul. And, yes, I am in my mid-60s, probably twice their age.
Due to a scheduling mishap I recently went into one of the new shuls—this one in a former storefront—for a Mincha minyan. I was greeted with cold stares—am I that good-looking?
Houses are expanding—knockdowns and add-a-levels abound—but it seems that in spending so much to make their homes beautiful, my new neighbors ran out of funds before fixing their broken sidewalks.
Lastly there’s debris and garbage. Empty cardboard boxes, from either Aisle One or Kosher Konnection, are left on tree lawns on recycling day, and they blow all over. It doesn’t take much seichel to understand that these need to be flattened. Icing on the cake is that some balabatim simply leave their garbage cans on the sidewalk or tree lawn seven days a week—it’s not a pleasure to walk past or around smelly cans on the way to shul.
Again, Passaic is not Brooklyn. Let’s keep it that way.
