it is no secret that tishrei can be a bit depressing for me as a single woman. my birthday passes and then poof, the jewish new year as well as my personal new year begin. good grief. and of course im usually off to visit easily married off relatives who are constantly giving birth. im very happy for them and i don't wish my lot upon them, but sometimes its a bit difficult to keep the perma smile plastered on my face.
some people think its a shame that there is such a pressure to be married as a frum jew and that people look at you as less than if you are single . some think that it should be okay to be single and frum and people should not feel that they should aspire to be married. i think that singles are often looked down upon due to our status. especially women. what makes things worse is when one is over the magic age (use your imagination) and then less people want to marry you. what makes it even worse is that not only are you stigmatized for being single one becomes stigmatized for not being divorced as well.
i personally would like to get married. just because its not as easy for some to get married than it is for others doesn't mean that one should settle and say one will just remain single. i wish that judaism didn't treat singles like the orphan , the ger or the widow, but they do. the only way this will change is when those who have endured my lot marry but don't have amnesia afterward. so often people forget to treat singles with respect even after having been single so long themselves. i guess they are just trying to fit in. its too bad though. the only people who can really understand what its like to be single and frum are those who have spent time being a frum single. if those of us who get to be married after a long journey of singleness remember what it was like to be single when you deal with those who are single the world would be a better place. frum judaism will always think its best to be married , but at least one wouldn't be shunned for being in a state one never wanted to be in for so many years in the first place.
3 comments:
Amen to that! Hope everything works out for you, in the right time, the way you'd like it! (And that's coming from a frum single too...) May all of us never forget what it's like to be here!
That's pretty much what I expressed here: I Am Not A Tragedy
As it happens, a truly wonderful person found me and so we will be wedded soon. But I agree with all of your sentiments.
morahmamela and chana-
thanks for your support!
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