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ZipUSA: Iowa Kosher
JUNE 2005
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Shabbat is the seventh day of the week for the Orthodox Jewish community. It's a day of rest when no one is allowed to work, drive, or use electronic devices. That also meant no photography, so once a week I was forced to put down my camera and take a vacation.
It also gave me an opportunity to interact with the community on a different level. I spent one Shabbat at the home of some girls who are schoolteachers. We sat around a table lit with six candles and enjoyed talking with each other for a couple hours.
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The women abide by a code of modesty and keep their bodies covered by wearing long skirts and shirts that cover their elbows and collarbones. So to fit into the community better, I always dressed like the women. But that made it difficult to maneuver sometimes. Climbing up on things or stooping down to get a better shot is a lot harder to do in floor-length skirt.
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I met a group of Yeshiva students who study from dawn until night during most of the week. But when school let out early on Fridays, they would all pile into a van and drive over to the neighboring town to shop at Wal-Mart.
I went with them a couple times, and they blasted Jewish music and drove like maniacs. Getzel, the guy who did most of the driving, told me that one time he actually drove the van off the side of the road. That kind of put me in a panic, especially when I saw him trying to pass someone on a two-lane road. When I saw another car coming our direction, I screamed, "Getzel!" I got pretty embarrassed and apologized, but after that he toned down his driving.
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