meshiksa hasidic roots: Before Shabbos in Willy

Do you know this cards game? The Seven Families?
http://www.kaleberg.com/sevenfamilies/index.html
When i was a child, i used to play a lot.
I have an old one with animals and my favorite family was the monkeys.
I always dreamt of having a monkey, but it will be miserable if it lives in a city.
Maybe one day, if i live in a wild land, i will have a family of monkeys. :-)

I was in Willy, and i played this game.
7 families game is not enough because, in Willy, the majority of the sects are the Satmars, mixed with Bobov, Pupa, Viznitz, etc… The strictest sects are here, and there are lots of families.
In this game, there are 6 members to find to complete the family: mother, father, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother.
In Willy, you have to play bigger in numbers.
The average of children is 7.

The 7 families game: stripes, light brown, blue, orange with a white heart,
Williamsburg, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

The 7 families game: stripes, flowers print,
Williamsburg, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

The game is very easy in Willy: the parents dress up their children with the same color, or patterns.
You can guess who is the brother or sister according to their clothes. That's not easy to match the clothes for brothers and sisters. Some have succeeded.
I never noticed these matches till Friday where i strolled in the neighborhood to buy my challah.
Is it a sort of tradition to dress up the children like that, because it's Shabbos?
My king?

No doubt that the winners of the best herrings are in Crown Heights: less sweet than the Willy ones.
The reward for the best challah goes to Willy for the same reasons than the herrings. The Willy one is less sweet and also less rich.
If i eat 4 slices of Crown Heights Challah at 9:30am, i am not hungry before 6pm. :-)
After the banana diet, try the CH Challah diet. :-)
Very efficient!
The competition is still open with Brighton Beach, Boro Park, Flatbush, Midwood…

Don't expect to buy glasses, or the five fingers of Hashem… Most of the stores are closed. During the summer, the bakery where i used to go is closed for two months. The family goes Upstate during two months. I spent time in 4 bakeries.

But don't worry, a Jew who doesn't like eating is not a Jew. Thus, bakeries and supermarkets will please your Jewish palate. They will never let you starve for a Shabbos meal, never! :-)

Giant challah, and mini pastries, Williamsburg, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Satmar chicken van,
Williamsburg, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

According to my Hasidic friend, water challah "sucks", she recommended me the spelt one.
Williamsburg, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

I tested for the first time mini-pastries. I am not fond of this kind of pastries, but i don't want to die stupid.

I was scared that they might be "étouffe-chrétien"* (suffocate-Christian). That's not nice to talk about Christianity concerning Jewish pastries. But the origins of the expression is that the Christian above-named has not a religious meaning. France was in majority Christian when this expression was born. Christian has to be taken as a human being, not as a religious person. The honor of the mini Jewish pastries is intact. :-)

The meaning of the expression: you can suffocate when the food is too rich and substantial.

As you know, it's very impolite to talk with a mouth full of food. If you are eating an étouffe-chrétien, you spit on your nearby. Take an umbrella!

I tested a little of all of them. The chocolate cookie was not my taste: too sweet. It kills the chocolate flavor. The rest of them were fine.

On his way to Shabbos,
Williamsburg, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

On their way to Shabbos,
Williamsburg, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

The essential bouquet of flowers, $5,
Williamsburg, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

A Yarmi Boy playing with his kippah,
Williamsburg, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Without our phone, we are nothing,
Williamsburg, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

One way to SILVE…R,
Williamsburg, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Williamsburg, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Cute peyos,
Williamsburg, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Smiling young lady with a lace-up frisette,
Williamsburg, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

On the bridge, i thought that there was a protest. I wanted to be with them.
But i haven't seen signs with: "Bring back our mini skirts, shorts, or our real hair in the streets".
That was just the line for the Monroe bus. Families were going to Kiryas Joel for Shabbos.

One smile from an old man, that's pretty unusual and precious. :-)

And a series about the cute rascals

meshiksa hasidic roots

Monday, August 25, 2014

Before Shabbos in Willy

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