I researched the history of the Orthodox Jews in northern Europe. The Ashkenazis, who spoke a mixture of their local languages of Russian and Astro-Hungarian lands' German and Hebrew which they learned to read so they could read the Bible (which Christians, introduced to Europe by the Romans, later called the Old Testament, adding the New Testament about Jesus and his disciples).
At the time the academic leader expected people to sit in the synagogue (a Greek word for a place where people assembled) reading literature and the words of the ancient leaders from scrolls. The illiterate leader wanted people to dance in the streets communing with God by worshipping his creating of nature and singing in celebration.
After Russian pogroms and a decree by the Czar in about 1880, Jews arrived in England. Some travellers on their way to America were cheated by ticket sellers and arrived on the East coast of England (I was told by a tourist guide in Hull. The travellers could not afford the money or stress of travelling further. They made the best of things and decided they would like to stay in the UK with compatriots who had already landed in England. Those who were rejected at Ellis island , not admitted to the USA, perhaps because of ill health, or wanting to stay wth a parent rejected because of ill health, ended up back in the UK.
I went to an Orthodox Jewish wedding oa a friend from college in London in the 1960s. I had been to an Israeli dance class (like flamenco it was just enough to let me do once dance in a circle). t was the first time I had seen men dancing with white handkerchiefs, old style.
Handkerchiefs When Dancing
I can see the point of dancing with a handkerchief separating your hands from the next dancer, especially when in the 1700s and 1800s access to clean water was less readily available and you did not want to catch illness from others.
Gloves
The Victorians wore gloves. I wonder whether the fashion for gloves will come back?
Hats
Hats provide protection from the cold in winter. In summer and on sunny days hats protect your eyes and face from the sun. Sunhats.
Covered Arms
I am a frequent traveller to tropical and warm countries, where my skin is exposed to the sun and hospital have posters warning about skin cancer. In the UK, Europe, America and cities, when working from home, I like to walk daily to get a little sunlight for exercise and to get vitamin D, as many people do nowadays for health reasons,
I am already wearing long sleeves with M o s i g u a r d (spellchecker keeps attacking brand names), to prevent myself being bitten by mosquitos carrying dengue fever, or Zika.
I also wear socks - having seen so many pictures of people with melanoma on their feet. People walk out covered from the sun but not head to foot, even going for a daily swim, feet in flip flops are exposed.
Fabrics
The Orthodox are also not allowed to mix different plant and animal sources such as cotton and wool by laws dating back to the book of Leviticus in the bible. the word Leviticus is Greek for laws. This is like a primitive form of quality control. If you make or buy a garment made from cotton, it is not mixed with a different fabric which has different properties.
The seller or maker cannot cheat you not he selling price, nor give you a fabric with different qualities. Until this century, large numbers of the population could not read, even more so in biblical times. So you could not rely on a garment label.
The only way to persuade the seller or maker to produce goods to a predictable standard was to make the rules coming not from man but from God who sent thunder and lightning, water and floods, sickness and health.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer, researcher, author, speaker.
At the time the academic leader expected people to sit in the synagogue (a Greek word for a place where people assembled) reading literature and the words of the ancient leaders from scrolls. The illiterate leader wanted people to dance in the streets communing with God by worshipping his creating of nature and singing in celebration.
After Russian pogroms and a decree by the Czar in about 1880, Jews arrived in England. Some travellers on their way to America were cheated by ticket sellers and arrived on the East coast of England (I was told by a tourist guide in Hull. The travellers could not afford the money or stress of travelling further. They made the best of things and decided they would like to stay in the UK with compatriots who had already landed in England. Those who were rejected at Ellis island , not admitted to the USA, perhaps because of ill health, or wanting to stay wth a parent rejected because of ill health, ended up back in the UK.
I went to an Orthodox Jewish wedding oa a friend from college in London in the 1960s. I had been to an Israeli dance class (like flamenco it was just enough to let me do once dance in a circle). t was the first time I had seen men dancing with white handkerchiefs, old style.
Handkerchiefs When Dancing
I can see the point of dancing with a handkerchief separating your hands from the next dancer, especially when in the 1700s and 1800s access to clean water was less readily available and you did not want to catch illness from others.
Gloves
The Victorians wore gloves. I wonder whether the fashion for gloves will come back?
Hats
Hats provide protection from the cold in winter. In summer and on sunny days hats protect your eyes and face from the sun. Sunhats.
Covered Arms
I am a frequent traveller to tropical and warm countries, where my skin is exposed to the sun and hospital have posters warning about skin cancer. In the UK, Europe, America and cities, when working from home, I like to walk daily to get a little sunlight for exercise and to get vitamin D, as many people do nowadays for health reasons,
I am already wearing long sleeves with M o s i g u a r d (spellchecker keeps attacking brand names), to prevent myself being bitten by mosquitos carrying dengue fever, or Zika.
I also wear socks - having seen so many pictures of people with melanoma on their feet. People walk out covered from the sun but not head to foot, even going for a daily swim, feet in flip flops are exposed.
Fabrics
The Orthodox are also not allowed to mix different plant and animal sources such as cotton and wool by laws dating back to the book of Leviticus in the bible. the word Leviticus is Greek for laws. This is like a primitive form of quality control. If you make or buy a garment made from cotton, it is not mixed with a different fabric which has different properties.
The seller or maker cannot cheat you not he selling price, nor give you a fabric with different qualities. Until this century, large numbers of the population could not read, even more so in biblical times. So you could not rely on a garment label.
The only way to persuade the seller or maker to produce goods to a predictable standard was to make the rules coming not from man but from God who sent thunder and lightning, water and floods, sickness and health.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer, researcher, author, speaker.
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