[lbo-talk] hassidic community

shag shag at cleandraws.com
Tue Jun 10 06:18:48 PDT 2008


back when i was looking for a place to live, i'd see folks walking to temple on saturday. one man lived in the old city district where we rented the condo, and walked every saturday to temple. turns out that the neighborhood to which i moved, the east side of the first 'burb to be built a mile from city center (back then, people traveled to and from work by streetcar), is home to an hassidic community. this particular development is about two blocks from the temple, a small island of affordable single family homes, that makes a perfect place for these families.

i confessed on the blog that i'm kinda weirded out by the conservative "modesty" clothes worn by women -- in a way i wouldn't be weirded out if they were muslim, amish, mormon, etc. in part, this is because most of my experience with jewish folks is with folks who are liberal to very progressive.

this morning, home with a nasty cold, i watched two men in their 30s and 40s, one wearing a round fur hat, accompany a teen boy who was sporting peyes (is that how you'd say it?) -- probably to private school. most of the girls wear long black skirts with white blouses, the school uniform. but when not attending, they wear long skirts. what kind of throws me is that the skirts are long but worn with other fashions considered stylish: a cute blouse, i think i've observed sleeveless tunics, and those croc shoes. sometimes, keds. sometimes, the look is a little goth-inspired.

anyway, aside from a book i skimmed earlier this year, about the history of a large jewish community in the area, what might be some recommendations about hassidism? orthodox jewish sects more generally.

and why the HELL don't we have a good jewish deli around here? :)

http://cleandraws.com Wear Clean Draws ('coz there's 5 million ways to kill a CEO)



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