On materialism and the frum community

What voids in our comfortable American lives are we seeking to fill?

When Tradition asked me and Prof. Chaim Saiman to reflect on frum materialism (and it is a new reality in some ways, as we explain at length) — I agreed because I wanted the space to grapple candidly with my own personal struggle.

Namely: What voids are we seeking to fill with so much gashmius? What about our American lives feel so empty, even amidst so much communal activity and energy — that still leaves this constant need for more? And particularly for us frum women — how do we begin to move ourselves away from this distraction, which too often keeps our minds away from leading an examined life?

I write here not as someone removed from this, but in many ways as someone living in the heart of this issue.

This was written last summer and published this year. But I think today more than ever we are called upon to consider our priorities, just as the ground beneath us seems to be shaking.

Read more online at Tradition. Print it for your Shabbos read!