These amazing photos, of 40,000 Orthodox Jewish males filling New York’s Citi Field (with another 20,000 off-site), have been making the rounds. Some writers suggested the all-male meeting was sexist and/or excessively secretive . Predictable reactions from those made anxious by such a striking visual expression of the size and vitality of a faith community often ignored by the commentariat.
The meeting focused on the perils of the internet and included a discussion of the problem of internet pornography that presumably would have been quite awkward had both men and women been present.
The photos also evoke archive photographs of ball stadiums in days when men would wear suits to sporting events. The monochrome is a bit severe, especially for off-hours, but stadiums sure do look good in suits.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
