AprilLovesToTravel
Sep 2017
Just took a tour of Hasidic Williamsburg with Frieda Vizel, a young woman who has left the Satmer sect. We happened to be there on a day between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur when we could witness families observing kapporot with chickens outside on the street, a custom that can baffle Jews from other traditions. Frieda was extraordinarily informative and forthcoming about what we were seeing and very generous with her answers. We stopped at a bakery for some delicious pastries and babka, and nibbled on them while we passed other shops in the neighborhood and heard discussions about economic life, education, social expectations etc. in the community. At the end of the tour, seated around a table in a deli with a nice assortment of various tastes, rather like Jewish tapas, Frieda entertained all questions thoughtfully and head-on, with intelligence, wit, and respect for the community she knows well.