What Jews can learn about technology from the Amish

Published: 8 March 2018

Last updated: 5 March 2024

THERE'S A WELL-KNOWN story of a modern, smartly dressed Jewish man who sees a gentleman with a full beard and hat, dressed in old fashioned clothes walking down a New York street.

Sidling up to him, he remarks: “Don’t you think it’s finally time to join the 21st century? You embarrass the rest of us walking around in clothes like that.” The bearded man responds: “Actually, sir, I’m Amish”.

“Oh”, says the first man, turning red, “I’m so sorry, please forgive me. I think that the way you preserve your traditions is wonderful!”

We may not be of the Chasidic variety, but my family and I have long been fascinated by the Amish, a religious enclave of 19th-century farmers living in rural America, who eschew modern technology and still use horses and ploughs.

FULL STORY When the rabbi talked tech with the Amish (Jewish Chronicle)

Photo: Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (Utente/TheCadExpert via Wikimedia Commons)