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In Satmar Williamsburg, even the Legos wear yarmulkes

JL;DR SUMMARY In Williamsburg's Satmar Hasidic community, toy stores like Toys 2 Discover offer a unique glimpse into the community's lifestyle and values. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

ShabbatStereotypesCultural UnderstandingSatmar HasidicFrieda VizelWilliamsburgHasidic LifeCommunity ValuesToysTours

Places mentioned

New York, United States
"Vizel grew up in Kiryas Joel, a Satmar enclave in upstate New York, and married a boy from Williamsburg at age 18, a match arranged by their parents."
Brooklyn, New York, United States
"Our group met near the entrance to the Williamsburg Bridge where Vizel unfurled a map of Europe that explained the origins of each Hasidic sect, and another of Brooklyn, marking which Hasidic groups lived in each neighborhood."
Mexico City, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
"a sunhatted woman from Mexico City and a Danish couple who were staying in Williamsburg and curious about the sea of black hats and modest women surrounding them."

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This item was indexed and curated by Cairo, JL;DR's web crawler.
Cairo Item ID 59335
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-08-15 05:32:04 UTC
Curated 2025-08-15 08:30:54 UTC