yeah, but i get where the elder is coming from.
my family have no legacy, but IF my family have an established business, let's say a restaurant that's been successful from my great-grandfather's time, i sure as hell will study something relating to it. maybe management, maybe cooking, maybe bartending. but something i can use.
now if between me and my many cousins(presumably) there is ONLY one or two who want to pursue something different like working the finance sector, for example. i'm sure the family elders won't mind. after all said cousin can, possibly, help the restaurant in 1 way or another. but if ALL the 'next generation' want to depart from the restaurant family business, that's another story entirely. because that means the perfectly good restaurant will go to ruin.
Legacy is a thing. like it or not.
I’m Jewish. I get it.
I’m the first person in my family like in generations to Jew things (long story), and my stepkid isn’t jewish so it ends here (🤷♀️), but 3000 years of beautiful history from Moses to Sandy Koufax… you’re Gddam right I’m livin’ in the fuckin’ past! I’m not-!
Times change, and it’s important to change with them, but don’t abandon the past! To continue with your hypothetical scenario:
The menu can’t stay exactly the same, and the decor may need updating, there’s certainly no smoking section anymore…
but you can’t just uproot everything and change it to another restaurant! That’s arrogant, imo. That sort of thing happens over time.
Judaism is not the same as it once was. Even the Ultra-Orthodox aren’t doing things the same as we did way back, no matter how yeshivish they are.
Hasidism is only a couple hundred years old! People needed a more spiritual practice in some communities, so things changed.
Some people needed XYZ sort of practice so there’s other branches and yadda yadda yadda.
These people should keep their ears open, but they don’t need to shut everything else out.