gavra_at_work, “Keeping up with the Joneses in being the “frummest”?” is (and should be) a priority for many people. Part of living in Lakewood is listening to the Gedolim/Roshei Yeshiva, and if they decide what the “Joneses” should do, then you have to listen, or expect to be left out of the greater Lakewood community.If you want to follow your own Rav, Lakewood may not be for you.”
you have got to be kidding me!
and suddenly you are in charge of how “frum” someone should be? everyone has their own level of yiddishkeit and they are working on that, they listen to THEIR Rav dont preach where you have no schichus. The gedolim in lakewood do not know everyones story and so everyone has their own rav. who are you to say they are not respectable enough to listen to? Ive seen a number of people ask the same sheila to the same rav and he gave each of them different answers according to their situation. and p.s. i know a very rich family in town who donates a lot of money to yeshivos and shuls and their child was turned down from a lakewood school. what do you say to that? money is not EVERYTHING its something but if a school wants a certain type, then let it be. its their decision when its THEIR school. Should Harvard start letting in people with a not so decent SAT score so they wont hurt peoples feelings?