Did you ever meet a Jew? A Hasidic Jew? What was your impression?

Question

Just curios how many of you have met people like myself, and what you thought.

I know I look, dress, talk and behave differently than others. I am very proud of my culture but was always curios when others think looking in at us!

Answer 1

Yes. Yes. A person is a person.

Answer 2

I've never met a Hasidic Jew, I've only seen some on TV. Anyway I don't think anything in particular and it doesn't irritate me if people look or dress differently and have a different culture. I think it's great that we have many different cultures in this world, it would be very boring if we were all the same.

Personally I'm very secular, so all religious and traditional ways of life are quite different to mine, but I think it's good that there are people who keep the cultures alive.

Answer 3

heh- well, I have met lots! I must admit that too many meshulachim come visit me from chareidi and chassidic Yeshivas LOL. Other than that, pretty much a mix across the people I have met- got invited to a great shabbos dinner by some Satmar chassidim when I joined them at Kotel for maariv on shabbos (and they discovered I was staying with a friend nearby- they felt something was missing for two guys to be staying in a rented flat and eating a shabbos meal by themselves!)

But then I am modern Orthodox and here in Johannesburg the various Orthodox factions tend to be very close and more united (though there are a few shtieblele that cater for specific communities)

Answer 4

sure I have met plenty of Jews.

especially when I look in the mirror and see one staring back at me =P

As for Hasidic Jews, yes I have had the honor to meet several Hasidic Jews.

of note those included
the Rebbe's of Sanz-Klausenburger, Belz, and Kaliver.

each time was brief but it left an impact.

I have also Friends who are Hasidim. Among them many Lubavitchers.

Of last note I had two teachers who were hasidim, one was a Belz Hasid and the other was Amshinov. The relationship I have with both of them I cherish.

I know I was not the target of your question, but I hope it makes you feel better knowing that not all Jews keep to their own groups.

Answer 5

I've taken classes from an Orthodox rabbi (not Hasidic) and his wife. I always learn from rabbis whether they be Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform. His wife described the life of an Orthodox woman, and actually made it sound fulfilling. I'm Reform at the moment -- perhaps one day I'll become more observant. I can't do it in this community though.

My husband attended a service and was invited to carry the Torah! He was very honored!

Love the music. We went to a concert by Simply Tsfat and bought two albums.

Answer 6

Sunshine, if you are, as you attempt to portray yourself, a chassidic jew, plz stay away from this site.
yes, internet is good and can bring many good things. But, I have seen little good come out of this site.
It has little potential for good, but an extremely large potention for harm.
Not worth the risk.

Wait, I too am a Jew.
I guess I should stop now on this site for good.
Seeing that this is my final message (hopefully truthfully), I at least hope to make a bit of good on this site by impacting you in this regard.

Oh, this is not just for you because you are Chasidic, but for all Jews out there on this site. Stop wasting your time.
I sure have wasted more than enough.

Answer 7

I like the way that Hasidim take the characters and stories of Torah and weave them into something amazing, pulling in pieces of Tanakh, Talmud and daily life and ending up with a beautiful narrative and a neat piece of wisdom about getting along together.

When it's done well, it's spell-binding, entertaining, deeply insightful and tremendously profound. I used to live near a rebbitzin who could do that seemingly at will. A truly incredible woman.

That's how I see the Hasidim. All the rest is commentary.

Answer 8

I grew up in an area with a high number of Hasidic Jews (i'm not Jewish, though). I'm going to give you my honest observations, so don't take it in a bad way (I'm Hispanic and I fully realize my culture has its faults)

I admire their family values and the fact that they place a strong emphasis on education.
I find their beliefs a little strange, though (but...since I'm an atheist, you can take this point as subjective)
Many of them can be a little pushy, and they can come off as somewhat bitter.
And no offense, but they can be pretty bad drivers.
And you don't have to believe me if you don't want to, but I've met many of them who have racist attitudes (I have been called sp!c by one of them from a distance, and on another occasion told to go back to my country). This may surprise people, since Jews have been persecuted for so long, and should be one of the last people to behave discriminatory.

It's great that many of the posters above me had better experiences than I did. But then again, since I've known so many of them, I got to see both the good and bad.

Answer 9

I think hasids are like everyone else, but I've had experiences where the women made me feel very excluded. I don't know if it was deliberate, and I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt but it happened more than once and with different people and I've wondered if it's even possible to cultivate a friendship with a hasidic woman. I'd like to, if given the opportunity.
I want to add that my husband is a Messianic Jew and most Jews refuse to accept that he is indeed a Jew. I don't know why it is so difficult to get that he accepts that Jesus is Messiah. He is a Jew racially, but an atheistic Jew is more acceptable to other Jews than he is. It's heartbreaking.
We don't ever try to convert anyone. (I am a Christian gentile) He's not a member of any Jews for Jesus group but meets with much hostility, especially from the most fundamentalist Jews.

Answer 10

I'm not sure of what a Hasidic Jew is but I have been a few Jewish people. My impression about them was based on the people as individuals and the fact that they are Jewish had no bearing on my impression of them.

Answer 11

I'm not trying to be funny, but I met one (the owner of the shop) when I had a taste for a bagel. I was coming from my then girlfriend's house in Crown Heights (Brooklyn, NY) and I remember it was closing time for him, but he didn't rush me out or anything. We chatted a bit and I was on my way. I went to school where there were Jewish people, but I'm not sure if my former classmates were Hasidic or not. I'm cool with people.