A Satmar Admission With Profound Deep Effects

A recent biography/ memoir by an escaped former Satmar Hasid has recently been released, to rave reviews and high sales. Deborah Feldman's UNorthodox: the Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots (Simon and Schuster, NYC, 2012) is an amazingly raw, honest, and transparent book.

One passage in particular jumped out at me: Deborah is relating the story of the days following her wedding to a man named Eli. It seems that the consummation of their marriage was a major deal for the community, their families, and their rabbis. After several stress-filled nights, Eli still hasn't been able to get an erection with or for his new bride, meaning they are not officially married, since the marriage is only official if he drills her raw. When she inquires
as to what is wrong with his plumbing down there:
In yeshiva, Eli says, the boys would jerk each other off. Because there were only men around and no girls, the sight of a boy could get him aroused. After many years, he explains with a sigh, to switch suddenly is weird. “I don't even know if I should be attracted to you. I didn't even have an idea of what a girl looked like before I saw you.” (pg 172 1st edition).

Let that sink in. “ the sight of a boy could get him aroused. “
Wow.

This explains the rampant sexual abuse in the Hasidic communities. Apparently he haredim are all gay, which is what they claim to hate the most.
It also begs whether or not someone can be programmed/ conditioned/ trained to be “gay”. Was Gaga wrong, and people are NOT “born that way”?

More on this soon...

-Joaquin 2 Cacimarex, Sewaornock, Manahatouac