The series 'Question Marks' once again addresses the painful subject of coming out in question, a painful issue for the ultra-Orthodox sector, for the ultra-Orthodox parent, and for the ultra-Orthodox society that observes Torah and commandments.
The deliberate attempt to create a kind of mini-drama out of this reality of a number of people who are not willing to connect with the religious/ultra-Orthodox existence is distorted. To turn the ultra-Orthodox society into one that imposes its word on others, into one that rejects those who are different, is almost a crime.
The look at that father who appeared on the show and the hug he gave his son, the statement that I am a father in any situation - this is the correct view of Haredi society in the face of these issues.
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Would a secular father be happy to see his children steal or become addicted to drugs? And if, God forbid, he reacts with a sense of pain, would that indicate that he rejects his son from being his child? The faith of an ultra-Orthodox person who believes in the Torah of Moses given by the Creator of the world, views atheism or failure to observe commandments and commit transgressions as equivalent to failure to act correctly.
Do you really want him not to hurt? Do you really expect him not to care about his son, the thing closest to him, the one he loves most? So it happens that he reacts with a feeling of pain - so what?
Haredi society is busier than any other society in trying to maximize its capacity, to assist and provide a solution to every youth who does not find themselves in the normative social environment, to everyone who falls out of the framework, to everyone who enters a situation of risk, at any level.
The number of associations that the Haredi sector has established for these noble goals; the amount of sacrifices that a Haredi person is capable of making in order to have the financial means to deal with yet another problem of someone who is not even their biological son; the incredible amount of loans that people in the field are rolling over for the success of unique projects for these boys - these are unimaginable things.
Did you know how much effort educators make so that a boy who does not follow in his parents' footsteps will be able to maintain his connection with his family so that he will have a better life? Did you know how much effort the Haredi system makes so that a boy who does not follow in his footsteps will have a better life?
If we point to problems of mental difficulties, to actual suicides that have occurred recently among those in question, we will notice that these occurred precisely among those who were helped by secular organizations, those who supposedly gave them the backing to sever ties with their parents.
Is it right to encourage contact with the biological family or is it right to want to leave him alone as a lonely person? If a professional were asked, would anyone disagree with the critical impact of the connection between the child and his biological family?
These questions and more intensify the real question: Do similar series and ideas lie to the viewer and allow him to see color and blood before his eyes, when it is not at all certain that the truth emerges from them? Is it really possible and permissible to dissect these issues before the eyes of the camera, or are most of those engaged in this sacred work right, not willing to expose their work before the eyes of the camera that seeks the colorful and sensational?
Would a secular professional or any professional secular association agree to film unique, psychologically complex situations, and to investigate the case of a teenager whose relationship with his parents is problematic?
The Haredi public is more open today than ever to integrating even those who do not follow the familiar path within the community, and to giving their sensitive souls the unique place they desire.
