Resisting the World: Hasidic and Amish Life

2785 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Religion and civilization

The most fascinating branches of a religion are often the most extreme, the most different from the mainstream denomination. Two such groups are Hasidic Jews and the Amish, a sect of Christianity. Shown a picture of a member of one of these sects, the average person would not be able to identify to which group he belonged. However, though “their shared style of dress does indeed reflect shared values of piety, extreme traditionalism, and separation,” these groups are extremely different(“A Brief Introduction”). Beyond the obvious difference of ideology in that Hasidism is based in Orthodox Judaism and Amish tradition in Christianity, to say nothing of the diverse groups within these separatist umbrellas, there are stark differences in origins, beliefs, practices, and the way that each group interacts with the secular world.
Hasidism grew out of Orthodox Judaism in Central and Eastern Europe in the late eighteenth century. It served as a “call to spiritual renewal and protest against prevailing religious establishment” (“A Brief History”). Hasidim means “the pious ones in Hebrew. The group formed around a stricter adherence to Jewish law than many of the surrounding religious centers. Hasidism began migrating to America after World War II as Holocaust survivors looked for a fresh start. In a higher degree than many immigrant groups, Hasidic immigrants to America sought to maintain their community and reestablish their former lives. This allowed them to keep many traditions of per-Holocaust Eastern European Judaism alive in the new world. Traditions that in most cases carry on to the modern day Hasid, such as the use of Yiddish as a dominant language. Hasidic communities settled and have remained in population centers, most notabl...

... middle of paper ...

...his unique way of life.

Works Cited
Berger, Joseph. "Dressing With Faith, Not Heat, in Mind." New York Times. New York Times, 28 June 2012. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.
"A Brief Introduction to Hasidism." A Life Apart: Hasidism in America. Ed. Dov B. Katz. PBS, 1998. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. .
Kraybill, Donald B., Steven M. Nolt, and David L. Weaver-Zercher. The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010. Print.
Mintz, Jerome R. Hasidic People: A Place in the New World. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992. Print.
"A Niche within Modernity." A Life Apart: Hasidism in America. Ed. Dov B. Katz. PBS, 1998. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. .
Trollinger, Susan L. Selling the Amish: The Tourism of Nostalgia. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012. Print.

Show More
Related

  • African American Contributions in Science

    3146 Words  | 7 Pages

    New York: William Morrow. Lipsett, S. M. & Co., P.A. and Ladd, E. C. (1971) The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secon "Jewish Academics in the United States: Their Achievements, Culture and Politics." American Jewish Yearbook -. Cited for Zuckerman, Harriet (1977).

    Read More

  • Jewish-American Culture in the United States

    1124 Words  | 3 Pages

    I chose to write about Jewish-Americans after my mother, who was raised Christian, chose to identify herself as Jewish. In my reading I examined Jewish culture and how it is in American society. I looked at how Jewish-American culture has become a prominent component of American society. I looked at the historical forces that have shaped Jewish-American experience in the United States. I looked at demographics of where most Jewish-Americans live. I examined how Jewish-Americans have contributed to our culturally pluralistic society in the United States.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Hasidism In Chaim Potok's The Chosen

    1085 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Hasidim, or "pious ones" in Hebrew, belong to a special movement within Orthodox Judaism, a movement that, at its height in the first half of the nineteenth century, claimed the allegiance of millions in Eastern and Central Europe--perhaps a majority of East European Jews. Hasidism gained popularity among the common people because of its charismatic leaders and the emotional appeal of its messages which stressed joy, faith and ecstatic prayer, accompanied by song and dance. Hasidism experienced a great decline during World War II and the Holocaust, but it was transplanted by immigrants to America, Israel, Canada, Australia, and Western Europe. Hasidism thrives today in areas such as New York and other American cities. Hasidic Jews thrive as a creative minority because they have conserved many of ...

    Read More

  • Benjamin Harshav's Language in Time of Revolution: Hebrew and Yiddish

    1470 Words  | 3 Pages

    Benjamin Harshav’s “Language in Time of Revolution” teaches the reader that social factors, historical factors, willpower, and accidents of history brought back and revived the Hebrew and Yiddish language. This was important because it created the base for a new, secular Jewish society and culture to emerge again with their own language and a new social identity. This new social identity meant that there was a nationalistic movement toward having a common language, literature, and cultural heritage. However, the reason why the Hebrew and Yiddish language lagged in the first place was due to Nazism and Stalinism. These two totalitarian empires wiped out the Yiddish culture since the Jews were not the majority population in places such as Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires. Since only one language of government and education was imposed on various ethnic groups, it is not a surprise that the Yiddish language became irrelevant. Stalinists argued that Jews can’t be a nation because they do not have a territory and a common language; the Zionists, however, tried to help by enforcing the Hebrew language on immigrants from all countries and languages because they believed in “national power and sovereignty rather than mere cultural autonomy.”

    Read More

  • After coming to America

    1651 Words  | 4 Pages

    Boroff, David. "A Little Milk, a Little Honey: Jewish Immigrants in America." 1966. Oates. 87-97.

    Read More

  • After Auschwitz and The Jewish State: Rubenstein and Herzl

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Jewish State was a book written by Herzl in 1895, which gave reasons for the Jewish population to move from Europe to either Argentina or Israel and make a new Jewish state of their own. Herzl thought the Jewish people had obtained a solid national identity but lacked a nation with a political system of their own. With their own Jewish State, the Jews could be free to practice their religion and culture without the fear of anti-Semitism. In The Jewish State he wrote. Herzl suggested a plan for political action in which they would acquire the Jewish State. He believed Jews trying to assimilate into European society were wasting their time, because the majority would always decide their role in society. As the anti-Semitism in Europe grew, it became clear that the only way to solve the Jewish problem would be to create their own Jewish sta...

    Read More

  • The Fall And The Rise Of The Jewish South Analysis

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Eli Evan’s The Provincials and Stuart Rockoff’s piece “The Fall and the Rise of the Jewish South” the reader looks at the changing life and times for people of Jewish ancestry in the American south. Since the 1950’s, the Jewish south has experienced rife anti-semitism, a demographic shift as small town populations significantly decreased while large cities grew, and social change due to the civil rights movement.

    Read More

  • Assimilation of Jews in the Interwar Period

    1384 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the face of increasing anti-Semitism during the interwar periods Jewish identity often came into conflict with societal pressures to assimilate. Irving Howe’s, A Memoir of the Thirties, written in 1961, depicts his experiences as a Jew in New York City. In his memoir Howe describes the living and social conditions during this decade that pushed many New York Jews to become involved in some type of socialist movement. Although the memoir is primarily about political activities, his description of the social conditions and the Jewish community provides ...

    Read More

  • Seventeenth Century Jewish Individualism

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    The seventeenth century not only marks an important era in Jewish history, the arrival of Jews in the New World, but it marks a shift in Jewish ideology as well. Traditionally, in the Old World prior to the Inquisition, Jews did not live as individuals but rather as a part of a social network or community that worshipped together, studied together, at times lived together, and had the same set of beliefs. During, and for sometime after the Inquisition, some secret Jews were part of an underground community but other secret Jews chose not to be part of any Jewish community, secret or not, out of fear. It was not until the seventeenth century that there was a conscious break in the tradition of being part of a community and some Jews chose the path of individualism, because they were dissatisfied with the confines of their current Jewish community or they were forced to abandon their community and worship individually. When Jews began to move from the Old World to the New World they were forced with the challenge of figuring out how they were supposed to practice Judaism when there was no current Jewish framework in place. When Portuguese Jews arrived in the New World they were forced to live outside of the traditional community because there was no Jewish community to greet them in New Amsterdam. In the seventeenth century, it was not the norm for a Jew to live outside of the Jewish community, but it was possible; one’s willingness or necessity to live outside of the community depended upon one’s geographical location, fear, or personal convictions.

    Read More

  • Hasidic Judaism Religion

    1371 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are thousands of religions in this world, and of those, Hasidic Judaism is the most conservative. Throughout history Hasidism has not drifted from the rules and rituals of the 18th century. From the clothing, to the food, everything involved in Hasidic daily life is geared towards becoming closer to God. Around the world there are numerous Hasidic groups, and the largest population is in New York. Hasidic people live in small towns filled with members of the same group, and they all look towards their rebbe for guidance. The rebbe or the rabbi is the teacher of his followers and is responsible for inspiring his people. For Hasidic people everyday they must live by the 613 commandments of the Torah. Hasidic history, study, clothing, food, and communities prove that Hasidic Judaism is the most conservative and orthodox branch of religion for its time.

    Read More

  • Diaspora Essay

    1222 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the Diaspora experience is presented as a distinct identity trait of the Jewish people, there is ...

    Read More

  • My Promised Land

    1086 Words  | 3 Pages

    Herzl and his supporters believe the Jewish civilization in the Diaspora is now condemned either to disappear or to be assimilated, and that an urgent solution is required. In the years previous to 1897, Jewish identity survived unscathed thanks to its unshakable religious beliefs and to Jewry isolation from competing narratives, kept at bay by the thick walls of the ghetto. But now it's being menaced by secularization and emancipation. More alarmingly, a new wave of anti-Semitism is rising in eastern Europe and driving hundreds to migrate so as to escape discrimination. Herzl Zionists can`t possibly see what impending horrors await in the first half of the twentieth century but they are certain the only way to save Jewish civilization from extinction is for it to settle again in its ancient homeland, now Palestine.

    Read More

  • Larry David's The Baptism

    1486 Words  | 3 Pages

    They believe the act Larry performed was extremely amazing and brave. Once the marriage is broken up, the two families begin an extremely loud and passionate argument. Both families unify with each other causing an extremely passionate argument when the other begins to trash their beliefs. The American Jewish Historical Society wrote a piece titled Appeal to the Israelites of the United States for a Founding of a College. This writing compiles a variety of stories told in the first-person comparing and contrasting the treatment of Jews in various time periods. The American Jewish Historical Society focuses on how Jews are perceived in America, often as minority group with a constantly growing voice. The Jewish Role in American Life, written by Bruce Zuckerman notes that, “From inception of the United States, American Jewry has identified with the key social norms and political symbols of this society, and Jewish institutions have reflected not only the core terminology of American society but also the structural characteristics of the federal governmental system,

    Read More

  • Consumerism and Faith

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    Paul Tillich. “What Faith Is”. The Human Experience: Who Am I?. 8th ed. Winthrop University: Rock Hill SC, 2012. 269-273. Print.

    Read More

  • Albanian-Americans in New York

    2385 Words  | 5 Pages

    The erupting Balkan Wars in the 1990‘s stumble on Albanians occupying the United States. The Albanian community plays a strong role in the highly concentrated population within the boroughs of New York City and it’s Metropolitan area. Albanian Americans ethnic homes generally consist of Montenegro, Kosovo, and Albania. In previous years, dealing with economic struggles in these poor Balkan countries, and social and ethnic discrimination from Serbia, Albanians made movements away from the home they once resided in. Immigration within the Albanian community into New York City was due to issues leading up to the Balkan war in Kosovo in the 1990s. Through immigration, the Albanian ethnic group has accomplished many lifestyle changes, and will flourish economically, socially, and numerically within New York City and it’s Metropolitan area.

    Read More

More about Resisting the World: Hasidic and Amish Life

Open Document