One of the most irritating consequences of textualism is that the hoi polloi feel that nitpicking is somehow virtuous, and that fretting over existential-but-irrelevant ideas is worth wasting time on. A good example of this is the imbecilic debate over whether or not there is any kind of halachic obligation to follow the remedies given in the Gemara. If the hoi polloi spent some time doing real learning instead of shouting and bellowing and being irritating, they might stumble across a nice, clear statement in the Pilpula Charifta commentary to the Rosh in the first chapter of Avoda Zara.
Mentioning Pilpula Charifta reminds me of the genius of its author, דער הייליגער תוספות יום טוב זצ”ל. His works are invaluable, and he was part of the Prague intellectual movement that flourished during the “Golden Age” of East/Central-European Jewry. One of the revolution’s* goals (besides burning of all lightboxes) is to restore this order to its natural, dominant position atop the jiddische Nahrungskette.
While still feeling acerbic, another pet peeve of mine is the existence of Arizona. The social dynamic is like a whole state made out of San Diego and Orange County (CA), but given that much landmass, Arizonans seem to be much more destructive to the environment, and more xenophobic extremism (not to mention UFOs and other secret “government stuff”) is fomented there than is acceptable.
Another nasty thing about Arizona is that it is home to many of the WHATEVERniks, an especially belligerent and aggressive breed of generation Y-ers, who feel that ignorance and apathy are virtues which need to be evangelised.
* ק”ק מערה דפילוסופים**
** .תנועה איסט איין קאלק פאן בעװעגונג, איך מיינע דאס איסט ניכט זא פאסיג.***
*** .איך מאג שטערנע
