So that's it, we can finally stop working, we can cancel home sales of natural products, and in general we can finally declare: "The Haredi sector has returned to welfare life.".
What, haven't you updated? Child benefits were raised by a few grams last week, literally in the spirit of "Vishman Yeshurun" (this verse has a sequel, you know).
No more days of hunger, no more poverty lines.
From now on, the scary sentences about chicken for Shabbat and empty refrigerators are over. It's all over, praise be to the light.
The somewhat illusory child allowance, which was provided for the first child, increased by an additional ten shekels, and now stands at 150 shekels! No less.
For the second and third child, the upgrade is much more significant. Instead of the 140 shekels you received so far, more than 180 shekels will be added to your account, an astronomical and legendary sum, which will give you some peace of mind from the predatory life and the loud worries that are heard outside among the poor, pitiful guys like them.
If you haven't updated yet, you're in good company.
I too was struck by this joyful news quite by chance, on the morning of an ordinary day. It was a pear-shaped smile on the face of my friend, the Abraach, that led me to investigate the immense joy, and it was only thanks to him that I became aware of the great miracle.
But the joyous cheer that remained with my friends all day made me think that I might have missed something. True, ten shekels is no small matter. Who can underestimate a kilo of tomatoes? But still, it's not like we cracked some hardened toppings, and we didn't see the Algazi stunner being pushed aside by a sting.
Just happy about nothing.
I dared to ask. "What's the joy about?" I asked. "Is there a child on the way?"" 180 shekels a month would explain such great joy. But he was right: "The allowances, my dear, the allowances.".
It turns out that the Jew is happy about the truth.
He probably felt sorry for me, otherwise there's no explanation for the great compassion added to his voice, as he explained to me with compassionate gentleness how much we actually receive from the state for free: discounts on dormitories, property taxes, pension payments, and negative income tax.
""But, how good the Lord is," he gushed.
""Do the math, my lord, do the math," he continued, "you'll see that in total we receive a lot of money from the state in an annual account, not something that should be underestimated.".
I thought.
I calculated a seventeen percent VAT on every product, including the tomatoes. I added taxes, property taxes, excise tax, National Insurance, lottery winning tax, vehicle licensing fee, annual test fee, tobacco tax, alcohol tax, income tax, municipal signage tax, parking reports, customs, permits, health tax, tax on a new apartment, on a new car.
I wanted to continue, but my friend was already fed up with the tax.
He ran away, his joy no longer on his face, he went to the nearest bank to borrow a few shekels.
•
Lest anyone understand otherwise, the Haredi representation in the Knesset deserves a huge thank you. Thank you for a bloody war that aims to make the lives of all citizens, not just those who wear a kippah and glasses, even a little easier.
They did it, in a big way.
But let no one think for a moment that the "state" as a body, as a society, or as a government is doing anything good for the Haredi public. If they could, they would uproot everything.
But they still can't. The amounts that an ultra-Orthodox citizen receives will never reach half the amount he pays in taxes to the state, and there is no giving for the sake of giving. Fortunately for us, as an egalitarian democratic society, the state cannot transfer to the bodies that are 'truly' important to it without also funding the ultra-Orthodox public and the other minorities in the country.
It is the fear of anarchy and governmental instability that still maintains the situation.
""Everything they bought, they bought only for their own needs" – and then it was complete rubbish.
•
And here's a message: Last week, I wrote about the unfortunate WhatsApp people, defined as daily anxiety sufferers. The message was sharp and clear, but probably too sharp.
Among the many responses I received was one from a dear Jew from Jerusalem who was completely surprised that I had chosen to reveal his story to the public. Along with him came additional responses from his acquaintances, reading which obliges me to write a clarification, and perhaps a mild to moderate apology.
It turns out that the sequence of writing the article led many to think and understand that the criticism was directed at that real anxiety sufferer, who was in possession of a non-kosher device and was exposed to WhatsApp hallucinations.
So that's it.
The young man in question is a true God-fearing Jew and the above statement is not meant to be taken lightly. On the contrary, in his role as an educator, he took the trouble to explain to his students the great disaster of the impurity of the nations. For this, I apologize and clarify.
Another response that came from the man's acquaintances actually appealed to me: "So what, Rabbi Menachem, are you telling true stories? I thought it was all fiction.".
Almost everything.
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