“Orthodox subcultures replicate successfully when their key ideas can be captured in viral rabbinic soundbites”

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Orthodox subcultures replicate successfully when their key ideas can be captured in viral rabbinic soundbites. Think “hechadash assur min haTorah,” or “avira d’Eretz Yisrael makhkim.” Each of these can be funny to sophisticates. After all, the Chatam Sofer’s use of the first phrase to oppose creativity was a creative pun, and contemporary Israel programs cite the second phrase to prove that true Torah learning can only take place in Israel, when the quote itself is taken from the Babylonian Talmud! But they are nonetheless the engines of cultural success.

Rabbi Aryeh Klapper, “And the Number One MO Meme Is…”, moderntoraleadership (27 January 2015) [https://moderntoraleadership.wordpress.com/2015/01/27/and-the-number-one-mo-meme-is/]

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