Definition: Schnorrer (שנאָרער; also spelled shnorrer) is a Yiddish term meaning ‘begger’. The word Schnorrer also describes a person who frequently asks for little things like cigarettes or little sums of money, without offering a return.
I have no doubt that they are good people. People who want to provide for their family, community and yeshivos. However, they continually frustrate me. This is not because I refuse to give them money or that they refuse to speak to my mother, who raised beautiful, dedicated yidden, but rather because they do not understand the Modern Orthodox world.
Let me explain to you the typical week of a schnorrer who comes from overseas to Australia.
Day 1: Typically a Thursday. Settle in. Receive the list of the massive donors. Their palms become sweaty and cheeks flush due to the excitement of a lot of money in a short space of time. Who said money never comes easy?
Day 2: Collection of the big bucks.
Shabbos Kodesh: Speaks for itself.
Day 3: Sunday: The Modern Orthodox ‘donors’. The Mistake. If these schnorrers understood the Modern Orthodox world, they would understand that failure is inevitable on a Sunday. Lets take a step back. Saturday night: drinking, clubbing, bed at 4am. We are not going to be functioning at 9am! Schnorrers please stay away. My ears are ringing and the last thing I want is to hear a doorbell and behind the door a guy who vaguely looks like Gandalf.
I wonder if that Baal Tshuvah dude has anything to say about this article. His probably one of these 'Shnorrers'!!
ReplyDelete