Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Weird headline of the day

"NYC ultra-orthodox Jews give Amish walking tour" (from the Associated Press):

The city's ultra-Orthodox Jews took the Pennsylvania Amish on a walking tour of their world Tuesday, saying their communities are naturally drawn to each other with a commitment to simpler lifestyles.

"It's reinforcing to the Amish community to see us Jews living the way the Bible says Jews are supposed to live, and have lived since the time of Moses and Abraham," said Yisroel Ber Kaplan, program director for the Chassidic Discovery Center in Brooklyn. "The Amish are also living their lives as the Bible speaks to them."

. . . At a workshop where a young man was touching up a Torah, a scroll of the holiest Jewish writings, Epstein told the group how a Jew in wartime Germany had rescued the sacred scroll by wrapping it around his midriff under his clothes as he fled to safety.

The Amish listened, commenting to one another in Pennsylvania Dutch, a dialect of the German of their ancestors.

When Epstein, a native of Chattanooga, Tenn., had first greeted the Amish with the Yiddish "Zei gazunt!" — "be healthy" — they understood. After all, the expression is derived from the German word "sei gesund."
My cousin is a Lubavitcher rabbi in New York. I wonder if he was in on this. I'm always trying to get my mom to ask him to get me in on that birth right free trip to Israel thing, but she somehow thinks that is dishonest. Whatever, my friend Lisa is Jewish and she, like me, only has one Jewish grandparent. Luck of the draw that it was through the maternal line, I say. And SHE doesn't even want her free trip to Israel... grumble grumble grumble.

Anyway, this is adorable. The end.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not really sure they live as Jews have lived "since the time of Moses and Abraham" - back then they made animal sacrifices. Oh, and I don't think Moses selected the "18th-century Russian wardrobe" either. Just a thought

Lisa said...

I have no wish to work slave labor at a kibutz thank you very much.

Jocelyn said...

But Lisa, you escape the kibutz and then go trek around India and shit and then you get a free plane ticket home after six months. Besides, I hear there's lots of sexy hookups on kibutzes. Man, I wish I was Jewish.

Anonymous said...

I was checking Google to see if there were recipes for Jewish/Amish Fusion food and came across some links about an Amish/Jewish cult! Go figure.

Eve said...

this is awesome. i kind of wish i was either amish or jewish so i could be this adorable.

and lisa, you're an idiot for not going on birth rite. fyi.

Lisa said...

well it's only 1/4 of my birthrite. and also I don't think they let you disapear for like 4 months Joc.

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