Can't beat Amish craftsmanship!

It's okay to fool God.

Consider the observant Jew's understanding that flipping an electric switch is akin to starting a fire and starting a fire is prohibited on the Sabbath. So, what's an observant Jew in Israel do if he lives on the 27th floor of a high-rise and wants to attend the synagogue on the Sabbath? Walk down (then back up) 27 flights of stairs? Don't buy an apartment that high up?

No, there's the "Sabbath Switch." On Friday afternoon, somebody flips the switch. Thereafter, the elevator cycles continually, stopping on every floor. The apartment dweller merely waits patiently and eventually the elevator will arrive and carry him to the lobby.

Reply to
HeyBub
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It doesn't get much press because portraying them as rustic romantics is far more profitable for Hotels, bus tours, and the many other businesses that benifit from tourism in Pennsyvania.

Reply to
salty

Having grown up (physically) in NYC, and having many, many friends and relatives that lived in apartment buildings, I can truthfully say that I have never heard of a "Sabbath Switch". I also don't ever recall having an elevator stop on every floor, every Saturday.

Maybe there were never any Jews in these buildings? I think not.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

It's a religious cult, and these are part of their belief system. Women and children are property, and it is considered a good thing to beat them regularly. Gods will, ya know!

Reply to
salty

Baloney! It doesn't get much press because it doesn't happen that much.

Cheri

Reply to
Cheri

That is not true.

Cheri

Reply to
Cheri

So you are saying you are aware that it happens?

Reply to
salty

Cite?

Reply to
salty

Of course it happens, just as it's happened around the world since time began, but it's not the norm, anymore than it's the norm for men to be wife/child beaters just because some of them are.

Cheri

Reply to
Cheri

On 12/30/2008 7:21 AM HeyBub spake thus:

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My neighbor got 2 of these heaters, sent as a gift by her mother.

She was all excited about them before they arrived, looking forward to being warm afterwards. Boy, was she disappointed.

They're totally useless.

By the way, regarding the claims of craftsmanship made in those ads: "hand-rubbed" my ass! The cabinets are obviously sprayed with lacquer or just varnished.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

Your part of Harlem may not have had many Orthodox Jews.

Reply to
HeyBub

going way off topic--- it depends on how seriously they take their religion. In christianity, as set down 1600 years ago, women are property and children are disposable.

Reply to
AZ Nomad

On 12/31/2008 9:17 AM Robert spake thus:

What an odd set of strictures these people saddle themselves with: it's OK to use a gasoline engine to power a diary operation (though not inside lights), but not OK to use that same engine to power their buggies. WTF??!?

Yet another illustration of how useless and ridiculous religion is.

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

Many cooking stoves also have a Sabbath mode. It is OK to adjust the temperature, but not to start the fire.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

It's a religious cult, and this behavior is part of their belief system. Women and children are property, and it is considered a good thing to beat them regularly. Gods will, ya know!

Reply to
salty

after a local problem where gasoline accidently got mixed in kerosene which amish use local news said faxes were going out to amish.

turns out the local amish often have faxes, and phone in their barns. its not allowed in their homes..if to do their job they are allowed to use computers at their place of employment

Rogers ohio has a big flea market, local amish use electronic scales, and such to sell goods

Reply to
hallerb

Rogers ohio has a big flea market, local amish use electronic scales, and such to sell goods

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They also use generators for electricity for tools and such. As long as they are not on the grid they are OK. Sounds like a little modern concessions are slipping in to make a living.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

To you, maybe. But have you ever know a crossword-puzzle devotee?

If so, you known they're not satisfied with the one in TV Guide - they want the Sunday New York Times puzzle! Then they try to fill it out in Latin!

So it is with the observant Jew or the devout of any religion; these people get a deep satisfaction out of doing, to the best of their ability, what they think God wants them to do. To them, their actions are not burdens, they are a sense of joy and satisfaction. It's the difference between building a bit of furniture from particle board or crafting that same furniture out of Teak.

Sometimes just asking the question is enlightening. Here's an example.

The Bible tells the Jews there are seven birds that shall not be eaten, but is silent on those permitted. The rabbis tried to figure out, by extension, what birds were kosher and what were not by trying to discover a common characteristic of the prohibited ones. Some on the list had two toes forward and two toes back - but not all. Some on the list were carrion eaters - but not all. Finally the rabbis just gave up and decided those birds traditionally used in the Temple were permitted: Quail, pigeons, chickens, etc.

For a thousand years, every Jew on the planet knew what birds were ritually edible and which were not.

Columbus set sail for the New World the day after the Jews were officially expelled from Spain. Columbus's chief navigator was, himself, Jewish, as were some members of the crews. Point is, Jews were early in the New World.

What did they find?

Turkeys*.

Is a turkey more like a chicken or more like a buzzard? Letters went back and forth between the Jewish settlers of the New World and the Sages of the generation in the Old World. It was finally decided, after much debate, that an observant Jew may gobble a turkey.

Another couple of hundred years go by.

Penguins.

The question on penguins is still open.

To some, this debate is borderline silly. But the intellectual horsepower involved focuses the mind and hones the logical skills. So much so that the Jews - comprising less than 1% of the world's population - have earned almost a quarter of the Nobel Prizes.

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  • The Hebrew word for "peacock" is "tukki" (think tail display).
Reply to
HeyBub

Professional models of course....

A young Amish model named Gretchen, Bragged "Bullemia keeps me so fetchin'. Perhaps exercise, Would slim down my thighs, But I save lots of time by just retchin'."

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

In some ways I agree with you, but because I am good friends with them, and they are nice people, I have asked them outright why they do some of these things.

As far as electricity, they are not allowed to be connected to the grid. They are meant to survive without being connected to the outside world. Well, I explained to them that using gasoline connects them to the outside world because they cant make their own. The answer I got was that it's just the rules, and if they could not get gas, they would make a wood powered steam engine.

They CAN use more modern stuff for business, but NOT for personal use.

Here's some more facts that are bizarre.

They can drive a tractor, but not a car or truck. They can not OWN the tractor, except for a few select members, who are then made to do all the tractor work, snow plowing, etc for the whole community.

They can have a phone, as long as it's outside the home (usually in a small 4 foot square shack), but Amish businesses can have it in their barn or work building with special permission.

If they rent a house and it has electricity, they can use it, but it must be used minimally.

To get water out of their well, they can use either a windmill, or a gas powered air compressor, which pumps air into a 500 or 1000 gallon propane tank. That air pushes water up the well pipes, and lasts for hours with the large air tank.

When they build a new house, they use common lumberyard materials including foam and fiberglass insulation. They install wiring cables in most of the houses, for resale value, but the boxes are not installed. There is a map showing the location of the wires.

They do use banks and get loans, and I know several of them went to deep in debt and had to foreclose their farm.

They do not use the local police for any internal problems (with other amish), but will contact the police if non amish people try to harm them. However they generally avoid courts.

They do use doctors and hospitals for themselves, but for their animals they have their own Amish vet, who is not a college educated or licensed vet.

They can use a gas powered rotatiller for theier lawn or pasture, but not for their food garden. For some reason it will affect their food (a religion thing). The garden must be tilled by human or animal power.

They can ride in anyone's car, but can not own a car or drive one.

Yes, a lot of this dont make much sense and I agree...... Every community has a little different rules too. The ones in my area are much less strict than soem others. Yet some others (but few) allow driving cars, but not ownership.

Reply to
Robert

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