Amish Take Tour of Hasidic Crown Heights
The tour is called "living Judaism"
Tuesday, Mar 31, 2009 | Updated 3:15 PM EDT
crownheights.info
As of 2007, of the approximately 150,000 residents in Crown Heights, 90 percent were of African descent, 9 percent were Hasidic Jews, and less than 1 percent were Latino, Asian and other ethnic groups, a local group reported.
New York City's ultra-Orthodox Jews are giving the Amish a walking tour of their world.
Several dozen Amish residents from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, started the tour earlier Tuesday of Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood with members of the Hasidic Jewish community.
Rabbi Beryl Epstein calls the tour "living Judaism." He says both communities are drawn to each other because they are known for old-fashioned dress and resistance to modern amenities.
The tour began in the basement of a Hasidic library, as Epstein explained what he saw as the similar ties the communities have.
It's the second year that the community has invited the Amish on a walking tour it offers to the public.
