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Amish Family on the oversized Shabbos table at the Jewish Children's Museum.

Picture of the Day – Amish visit the JCM

Amish Family on the oversized Shabbos table at the Jewish Children’s Museum.

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51 Comments

  • CHT

    plus there is lots of technology in JCM. This might very well be not amish – there are lots of similar cultures in US and some of them are acceptive to technology. One of those tribes, for instance, resides in Elka Park.

  • Interested...

    How cool! What a wonderful way to create good feelings in both of our communities. I wish there was more information here about this picture. :-)

  • Roch

    you are right they do not, i went to the Amish town in Philadelphia and they said that it is against their “religion”
    I guess their are BUMS in every “RELIGION”

  • impressed

    That’s so nice to see…something pleasant for a change!

    Thanx for posting it!

  • ISchier

    Seriously, they are probably Mennonites, a less strict offshoot of the Anabaptists or whichever German sect it was that became the Amish in Pennsylvania. Amish BTW means the same thing and is related to – haimish!

  • ??

    howd they get there? I thought they only use horse & buggy…I can’t exactly imagine a horse & buggy on eastern parkway :P

  • Jewish Children-s Museum

    For the person who wanted more information.

    They live in Lancaster, PA (Amish Town) They came to NY to visit a relative in the hospital. While they were in NY they decided to check out another culture. I met them – they are very cool people (and very religios)- They gave us their contact information for us to visit them.

    BTW they also ate lunch in Mendy’s and loved it.

  • Milhouse

    1. You can tell that they are not chassidim of any variety, because they shave their moustaches.

    2. There are many different groups of Amish, just as there are many different chassidusen, and each group sets its own rules.

    3. Amish do not object to technology as such; they object to the worldliness that often comes with it. Many groups allow electricity in the barn, but not in the house. It’s much like people having an internet connection at work but not at home. They just take it to a greater extreme: once you have electricity in the house, next thing you know you’ll have a radio and a telephone, and even, chas vesholom, a malach-hamoves-box hidden in a closet, and who knows what will become of you?

    Looking at technology in a museum is an entirely different matter from having it in the home. On the other hand, many Amish would object to visiting museums in the first place. It’s an unnecessary involvement in the “goyishe” world; if there’s one principle that is the most basic to Amish philosophy, it’s to avoid “hischabrus lor’sho’im”, and we definitely count in their eyes as “resho’im”. Would we visit a Xian museum?

  • live and learn

    Is it not amazing that they have no problems keeping their beards and wearing their hats and in our community people feel that in order to succeed in life they have to do the opposite.

  • ISchier

    I can’t exactly imagine a horse & buggy on eastern parkway :P
    ——————————
    I can’t either. Dreck Nelson would steal the horse and the cops would issue a parking ticket to the buggy!

  • BrookAve

    To live and learn:
    How sad but true. However, in Lancaster most are farmers or builders up at dawn work til afternoon. Nobody cares how they look when they are sliting a pigs throat, making cheese or putting up preserves. And many have made money and sell their wares even on the internet.

  • Milhouse

    ISchier: “Amish” has nothing to do with “heimish”. They’re called Amish because their founder was Jacob Amman.

    “live and learn”: The difference is that they don’t *want* to “succeed in life”. They davka restrict their use of anything that will make life too easy, and will make a person too rich. They’re not applying for jobs anywhere – they work on their own farms, or for each other, so they don’t care what anyone thinks of them.

    Amish don’t have any paintings or photos themselves, but they don’t generally object to other people taking photos of them. And while they usually don’t drive — for much the same reason as many yeshivah hanholos don’t allow bochurim to have cars — if they need to get somewhere far away they hire a car and driver, or take public transport.

  • Sruly

    The name Amish comes from the founder, Jacob Amman who died in 1730, it has nothing to do with heimish or Creedmoor.

  • Eliezer.arg@gmail.com

    they may use a car or train, they just cant be the one driving it!

  • Moshe Skier

    When I played Summerfest this year, I didn’t get too many chassidim, but quite a few Mennonites stopped by. I thought at first that they were Chassidish until I looked closer.

  • Wear the Beard

    To Millhouse:

    Are you tring to say that whoever has beards and wears hats are not successful and don’t want to be rich?! There are plenty of successful bearded men in our community and in the chassidishe world as well. It is more the attitude then the reality. The Rebbe had spoken harshly about trimming beards and removing them.(The beard represents the 13 middos of Rachamim, by removing the beard you are removing 13 middos of Rachamim(which may I add would help one be rich)). Unfortunately this is the sad reality we live in today, the sightings of the shaved and trimmed young men in the very daled amos of the Rebbe. Well, at least they’re wearing their kapotes!

  • Esti

    We should learn from these people. We may need to go out and make a parnusah but we DO NOT have to comprimise ourselves. Ladies don’t have to dress less Tznius, and men do not have to walk around with out hat and beard. Just because we don not live on a farm does not mean we should act and dress like the non jewish people in America. Lubavitch is slowly being eaten away by the want to be more modern. If we do not put a stop to this and keep to our ways the Amish will out last us. We will be just like the rest of the velt, assimilated.

  • The green grass on the other side

    To Esti and the rest of the quibblers: The Amish have something called rumspringa where young people are given the leeway of breaking the laws of their religion whatever they may be. Maybe you suppose we should institute some kind of rumspringa in our community?

    The grass is always greener on the other side where you are not close enough the see the dirt.

    January 9, 2007 4:09pm

  • ME THE AMISH

    that’s cool
    why doesn’t anyone believe it’s the AMISH??
    I DO AND I HAVE SEEN REALL AMISH IN THE SUBWAY STATION TOO
    BELIEVE IT

  • Milhouse

    We can learn achdus from Amish? What a joke? They’re the last people to teach achdus. The whole basis of Jacob Amman’s teaching was “al tischaber lorosho”. As soon as they decide someone is a rosho, he is put in cherem and they have nothing to do with him. And of course the rest of us are lechatchiloh reshoim; that’s why they live apart from us. They’re even more extreme than the most extreme Satmar. They have no interest in kiruv or in the spiritual welfare of reshoim; all they’re interested in is that they should not become contaminated, “ani es nafshi hitzalti”. Lock yourself up in the prushim-kloiz, and let the world go hang – that is the very opposite of the Baal Shem Tov’s derech.

    Tznius, yes, we can learn that from them. Also bittul. That’s why they don’t wear jewelry or anything that can make someone stand out (within their society; obviously they all stand out in the outside world, but they don’t care about that). Everything is plain, only hechrochieis, no meisreis.

    As for “wear the beard”, it could very well be that nobody needs to touch the beard in order to succeed, but you can’t learn that from the Amish, because they bedavke don’t *want* to succeed. They want to make a comfortable living if they can, but not so comfortable that they don’t need help from the community. If someone doesn’t need help from others then he won’t be afraid of being put in cherem, and he will do whatever he wants.

  • TED

    if you want to see more AMISH,
    go take a trip on a Greyhound Bus, from NEW YORK to CHICAGO

  • Interested...

    Thanks for the additional information. So facinating. It would be very cool to visit them in their community.

  • Amish are people too

    Many people who wrote comments are very naive. Although the Amish have a very secluded community, many of them are advanced! They DO have cars, some have electricity, telephones, etc. And please don’t jump to conclusiions about picture taking either. Many Amish people are friendly and, surprisingly, they are NORMAL PEOPLE. THEY DON’T BITE. If you don’t believe me, take a trip to Pennsylvania and spend a day with the Amish. Just don’t be mad when they all start making comments about YOU, the way YOU dress, and the car YOU drive. Enjoy.

  • to milhouse

    yeh u sadi s/t about them being able 2 c technology in a museum…probably tahst about exactly where its supposed 2 stay, THE MUSEUM!

  • Concerned Lawyer

    live and learn wrote:

    Is it not amazing that they have no problems keeping their beards and wearing their hats and in our community people feel that in order to succeed in life they have to do the opposite.

    VERY WELL SAID.

  • person who got her information

    lshcier—great comment about nelson and cops!!LOL
    and thanx to whoever gave the information too@@!!

  • nice pic

    it is against their halacha to take pictures i know this for a fact becuz ive been to at least 4 amish towns and ive been told by the amish themselves that pictures are absolutely not allowed. my friend once took a picture before they saw what happened and they got really, really upset. they called aside our tour guide and in the end the girl had to give them her camera ( it was a disposable) and we had to leave. so pictures are a no-no.
    and all of u are probablyt right about them being mennonites because ive met these people too and they are allowed to have pix and even zippers! oy! amish arent allowed zippers btw for those of u who dont know.
    o and p.s. the whole amish/haimish thing? yea well it was joke. sheeesh.

  • geshmak

    BTW if anyone wants to learn somthing out of this, lern this weeks parsha in lekutei sichos chelek alef, it relly has to do with this, enjoy,

  • Chezi

    They were also seen hanging around 770. They even davened with my minyan Mincha yesterday.!!!

  • Amishyahu

    We have Amish Herbal store on Coney Islad.But Amish People in Brooklyn?
    Oy Vey…Brooklyn gashmis !Nu,Nu
    Frisco’s kid back!

  • Jewish with Amish understanding.

    I have read these comments with a bit of amusement and a lot of heartache. As I am a Jew from PA, I understand what it is like to be seen as different and be laughed at.

    I also have very many Amish friends in Ohio. I can see that they are Amish (Mennonite men are CLEAN shaven and the Ladies wear printed dresses.) I have a strong understanding of the faith.

    Most Amish do shun having their photos taken. (Taken from the old testiment- no graven images.) Most are not opposed to modern things. RIght now Cell Phones are that rage in some areas. What the leadership does is let the item be used for a bit and see where it leads. If the item(s) are deemed to be unhealthy, then said items are banned from widespread use.

    Futhermore, the Amish have quite a bit in common with Jews. They believe that community is a most important part of their idenity. Conformity, modesty in dress thought and deed, to name a few. Thoes that would attack or make fun of the Amish need to wake up. To live this lifestyle is VERY difficult. They have kept this lifestyle going since the 1600’s. They mayrtered themselfs for thier belifes. When was the last time you made a stand for your ideas and ideals and stuck with it for more than the duration of the conversation?

  • Jewish with Amish understanding.

    I must correct my last post. I didn’t see that the ladies have printed dresses. It is possiable that they are Mennonite, but of the Old Order. Or they could be of another plain group all together. My guess would be Old Order Mennonite or a more progressive Amish sect like the Beachy Amish, which allows things like electricity and phones in the homes.

  • Amish Lanzman

    I suspect that the Amish are really secret Jews sort of like the marrano crypto Jews that hid in the Catholic church for centuries. How else could they look like lanzman? They seem kind of heimish. I feel kind of drawn to them. Amish made noodles are superb in kugel recipes.

  • Hoosier Beachy Amish

    Not sure if anyone is still following this post at all, but the folks in this picture are not Amish or Mennonites. They actually are German Baptist Brethren. The German Baptists came about from a Pietist movement in southern Germany around the same time as the Anabaptist movements (i.e. Mennonites, Amish). A few ways to tell they are German Baptist: all are wearing ready-made jackets and the women’s headcoverings are mesh and cover the ears (whereas in the Beachy congregations, the coverings stop right behind the ears, rather than covering them). Although the German Baptists practice a plain dress in following Christian principles of noncomformity, they are allowed to use automobiles, which explains how they probably came in NY. Most German Baptist congregations can be found within PA, OH, and IN, with a number of larger congregations also in CA and WA. Hope this helps some!!