Tassels swinging as they walk
to the Wall on Saturdays;
perhaps not. It depends,
you know. Some wear frock
coats so you wouldn't
know it;
plus- tassels probably don't swing much under heavy polyester.
I went abroad
to teach a group of secular Jews
from Russia
in Georgia. The
country. I wore my skullcap (that's
not what I call it) and
only ate kosher food. They asked me all about ultra-
Orthodoxy. I'm no authority. No
insider. Most of that community sees
me as no
different than secular
Jews, perhaps "worse".
Complicated to explain
without getting into theology.
Hard to explain even
to Jews. Moving
on -
I live
with them in holy Jerusalem;
a large group assembles on Saturdays
near my former downtown apartment to block
traffic. My secular father found
this fascinating, as he did
nearly everything; my wife
found it degrading. Me too.
Most who protest weekly
wear those frock coats,
indicating membership in a Hasidic sect. Those who
wear modern black
business jackets
are of the "Lithuanian" ultra-
Orthodox persuasion, which, only several centuries ago,
vehemently opposed
Hasidic ways.
Now they're united in Israel's parliament
against serving in the
defense forces, despite
living under their protection.
Difficult not to let
bias show like my epidermis.
I'll try
to stick to the facts, Sir, Ma'am. That's what I am
here for. Not so sexy
writing about Jews; not
something the world cares to know about.
Write what
you know.
Some, mostly Hasidic,
will never, ever see my words online because their rabbis
forbid Internet access. Oh.
Those tassels are actually fringes,
tzitzit in Hebrew,
which I wear, sometimes
for months at a stretch, until I tire
or struggle
through a religious crisis. Those frock coats?
Bekishes. Never worn one, nor
do I
want to. It's ironic (
epidermis)
that they adopted the dress of non-
Jews in the Czarist
era and claim today that it's authentic Jewish garb.
Nonsense.
I wouldn't wear that, even to cover
my epidermis,
but I'm not trying
to. Ultra-Orthodox
women don't wear pants and cover their hair upon marriage.
Some wear wigs; but some heed rabbis who rule:
INAPPROPRIATE!
Personally, oh-
never mind. Just the facts, Ma'am, Sir.
My skull cap is a kippah; that's
Hebrew. Means
dome. Many call it
yarmulke. That's Yiddish. The majority who speak Yiddish
are Hasidic. The majority
who speak modern Hebrew
are Israeli.
Jews' exteriors once mattered more
to me. I saw wisdom in beards;
now I have one;
it's meaningless. I once asked a rabbi why he didn't have one.
He'd never thought
about it; I felt foolish. Still
do. If tzitzit are concealed
by bekishes, you'll
note ear locks swinging as they
walk to the Wall on Saturdays;
perhaps not, but most Hasidic males have them. I
don't. I do
have insight into their
lifestyles, as I've studied
them; we share
a heritage and religious texts.
The rub is that most
of the world sees me and assumes I am one. I
am.
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