Hasids

Several nights ago, I learned firsthand that there are two sides to my Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg: Hipster and Hasidic.

To the north is hipsterville--with sprinklings of ethnic color for good measure (pricey vintage stores and all-day brunch spots alongside $5 T-shirt marts and mobile fruit stands). To my south is the home of more than 60,000 Hasidic Jews. (Yes, 60,000. Trust me. Keep reading.)

While I was aware of their existence (I mean, I've seen a number of spiraling sideburns linger on the Broadway border before), I didn't I expect to find more action in their neighborhood at 10 p.m. than I'd regularly see around the dive bars on the other side of the tracks.

Apparently, my friend and I picked the right night for a walk. On Hasidic turf, on what to us was just a regular Monday, kids were running down sidewalks screaming Yiddish, and men were popping out of synagogues and bakeries that were, for some reason, still open. Upon further inspection, I noticed all these males were coming and going from a barricaded intersection. Here, in this closed-off enclave, children and men gathered around what appeared to be a scarecrow, or a dummy constructed of sticks, hanging from 10 foot pole. A ragdoll ready for sacrifice.

My friend and I stared, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did, so we kept on walking. (Note: We were the only non-Hasids out and about.) When we got to the next intersection, we saw another sacrificial totem. Then another. This one had people dancing and singing around it. This one, suddenly, went up in flames.

At this point, I needed to get the scoop. One man explained to me that the ceremony is honor of Rabbi Simeon, who was born and died (by being set on fire) on the same day (yesterday).

I'm not sure how long this went on; I probably went to bed before these pre-mitzvahed kids did. But the hood creates an interesting dichotomy, and apparently a hotbed of conflict. Upon further research, I found out that Williamsburg Hasids hate hipster fashion as much as the rest of us.

From an article in last September's New York Magazine:

"I have to admit, it's a major issue, women passing through here in that dress code," Simon Weisser, a member of Community Board 1 in Williamsburg-Greenpoint, told the Post.

Indeed.