Carnival in Jerusalem

Schneur Zalman of NY commenting to mentalblog.com: Jerusalem hats and heads:
The pictures are wonderful. The various costumes and hair styles peyoth, kippoth are wonderful and very photogenic. But permit me to make the following observations. The clothes are obviously just costumes. The people dress up in what they want to be. There are no longer any real Yidden with any real mesoroth in levush. Its cute to see American BT's dress up as Yemenis or Carlebachians or whatever but what does this mean spiritually. Perhaps the CPA in a grey hat and grey suit clean shaven is more spiritually aware than these people.. Perhaps the Mizrachi Zionist man in a knit kippah and white shirt has more spiritual energy than the Carlbachian characters. At my age the Yerushalmi Levush does not impress me either. If its their tradition fine but its nothing more than a good photo op for American tourists. I wish you went behind the scenes to seek true spiritual people teachers etc whatever they look like. Instead you produced wonderful photos of exotic looking people. Next year we will buy the costumes and have a carnival in Boston or New York.

Nahama:
I actually know one of the boys from this picture series. When I met him, he had just cut his hair, leaving the long peyos, and had donned the Breslov garb. Though it was very difficult for him, he had found an eclectic support group in the teens and various rabbis of Jerusalem. Walking down the narrow streets of Ben Yehuda amongst the regular 3:00 am crowd, hands and arms would fly out to pat him on the back in congratulations for making the "big jump". Cutting the hair and putting on the clothes is the final inauguration ceremony; the Mark of the Dati. There is a deep respect for the "turnover". A quick conversation with the 3:00 a.m.er's will reveal that they too will don the garb at one point in their life, whatever it may be.

There is another dimension: Jews wanting to become frum and change their lives (ring a bell?) try to differentiate themselves by a new uniform. They identify themselves with other Jews by dressing like them. This is a problem?