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“Mothers write on the
hearts of their children, what the world’s rough hand cannot erase.” – Amish
Proverb 15 And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, 16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” - Genesis 48:15-16 (ESV) TOP: Amish mothers with their children. Bottom: Haredi Jewish women and girls in Mea Shearim, Jerusalem, 2013 – Notice the similarities: they have many children. https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/03/babyland-in-israel-israels-baby-boom.html https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/03/tauferische-mutterschaft-god-who-sees.html https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2024/12/israels-baby-boom-2024-children-are-joy.html https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/06/israels-children-world-ultra-orthodox.html |
For this year’s International Women’s Day, I will present this article about Professor Rivka Neriya-Ben Shahar where she gave lectures about ultraorthodox women and two videos from her speaking. After that I will give me thoughts about similarities between ultraorthodox women and Anabaptist women.
Frieda Vizel (second
from the right) gives a tour with Mennonite women
Amish & Jewish Ultra-Orthodox Women: Comparing Attitudes Towards TV, Radio, Magazines & The Internet
ByJoe Donnermeyer February 9, 2024
4 CommentsOn January 8, the first day of the so-called Spring Semester at The Ohio State University, the Department of Near Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures sponsored a very interesting and special presentation by Professor Rivka Neriya-Ben Shahar on “Old Order and Jewish Ultra-Orthodox Women’s Responses to the Media.”
Her lecture was built from a comparison of two very distinctive groups by lifestyle and religious beliefs. Distinctions and differences are important, because without the ability to systematically compare in any field of study, scholarship is much more difficult to achieve.
Rivka Neriya-Ben Shahar is a senior
lecturer at Sapir Academic College in Sderot, Israel, where she teaches
communications, religion, and gender. She received her doctorate from the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has been a Fulbright post-doctoral fellow.
Her book Strictly Observant: Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Women
Negotiating Media is forthcoming from Rutgers University Press. [PHOTO SOURCE: https://mennonitelife.org/event/strictly-observant-amish-women-and-ultra-orthodox-jewish-women-negotiating-media/]
Professor Neriya-Ben Shahar is a Senior Lecturer at Sapir Academic College in Sderot, Israel where she teaches courses in research methods, communications, religion, and gender. She earned her doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her doctorate was titled “Ultra-Orthodox Women and Mass Media in Israel – Exposure Patterns and Reading Strategies.”
For many years now, she has traveled to the United States, meeting with Old Order Amish women and learning about Amish culture and the roles of women in Amish society. She was a Snowden Fellow with the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College (Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania) in the Fall of 2017.
Old Order and Jewish Ultra-Orthodox Women’s Responses to the Media
Professor Neriya-Ben Shahar’s lecture begins by describing several essential features of both groups.
Miriam Malnik-Ezagui (born 1986) is an
American nurse and TikToker
known for making videos about her life and experiences as an Orthodox
Jew living in New York City. Malnik-Ezagui is the granddaughter of Holocaust
survivor Lilly Appelbaum Malnik. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_Ezagui [PHOTO SOURCE: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/miriam-ezagui-the-war-on-tiktok/]
17 Blessed is the man
that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. 18 For he shall be as a
tree planted by the waters, New
Order Amish cook - Gloria Yoder and her family https://amishamerica.com/amish-cook-gloria-yoder-husband-daniel-dies-accident/ https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/03/meet-gloria-yoder-new-order-amish-cook.html
and that spreadeth out her roots by the river,
and shall not see when heat cometh,
but her leaf shall be green;
and shall not be careful in the year of drought,
neither shall cease from yielding fruit. – Jeremiah 17 verse 7 to 8 (KJV)
Group Characteristics
For Old Order Amish women, it was that they have eight years of education (same as the men), average about seven children during their child-bearing years, and stay at home as housekeepers, with the husbands as the breadwinners, supporting their families through a great variety of agricultural and non-agricultural pursuits today.
Orthodox Mom, Who Gives
Glimpse Into Family Life, Never Expected Videos to Go Viral: 'Humbling'
(Exclusive) Miriam Malnik-Ezagui
opens up to PEOPLE about her life as an Orthodox mom to four daughters and why
she shares her day-to-day on social media Updated on December 19,
2023 02:26PM EST https://people.com/orthodox-mom-daily-family-life-viral-videos-exclusive-7562734
From left, Ruth, 4, Esther, 17, Abi, 2, mother Bethany, Elizabeth, 12,
Mary, 10, and Hannah, 16. Credit: Meredith O'Shea (Photo taken in 2018) Meet the McCallums, one of Australia's few Para-Amish families BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-mccallums-one-of-australias-few.html BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-mccallums-and-their-community.html BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-mccallum-family-musical-group.html BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/08/springfield-farm-fresh-produce-mccallum.html BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/11/einfache-leben-mccallums-and-their.html https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/03/tauferische-kopfbedeckung-und.html
The Ultra-Orthodox community, representing about one in every seven citizens in Israel, were described as a “community of scholars”, meaning that the men pursue study of the various sacred texts associated with the Jewish faith and do not have full-time jobs. This creates some interesting differences from Old Order Amish women. Ultra-Orthodox women average about fourteen years of education, and nearly four out of five work outside the home, yet, they too average about seven children during their child-bearing years.
Study composition
Her study included eighty-two respondents, forty of whom were Amish (from Lancaster County, PA) and forty-two of whom were Ultra-Orthodox from Israel. Professor Neriya-Ben Shahar developed a survey to study their perceptions of the media, constructing straightforward questions with required only “yes” or “no” responses (after discovering during previous field-testing that any more than two response categories created too much ambiguity among those answering the survey).
The respondents themselves were identified through what in research is known as a “snowball” sample. This means that the first individuals who agree to participate in the research recommend others who might do the same. This snowball process is continued until a sufficient number of respondents are obtained.
Fans say Miriam Ezagui
grew a large following through the authenticity of her daily life. (Miriam
Ezagui/TikTok) 5 daughters of Miriam
Ezagui [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10100961349856078&set=pb.209700767.-2207520000]
Television
Professor Neriya-Ben Shahar found that neither group watch television because they have little opportunity without televisions in their homes, but they all have watched television on occasion, usually when traveling or shopping. Remarkably, they are aware of the same programs, such as “Little House on the Prairie” and other family-oriented shows.
She quotes one Amish woman who responded by saying: “I would lose my Christian value if I would watch it daily.” Another stated: “The Bible says to keep away from evil. The time you spend watching TV should rather be spent with your family.” An Ultra-Orthodox woman wrote in response to the question about televisions: “…families are destroyed because if a man watches other women, much prettier than his wife, and the other women are always happy, then what are the expectations of this home?”
Radio
Perceptions of the influence of radios is not much different from how women within both groups see television. Only one respondent, an Ultra-Orthodox woman, listens to the radio regularly. Old Order Amish women expressed negative views, such as radio programs are filled with “negative news”, that they can “fill your mind with trash”, and radio “…connects you to the world too much, and we want to be a separate people.”
Unsplash,
Jüdisch-orthodoxe Mutter in Jerusalem, Symbolbild English Translation: Unsplash, Jewish Orthodox mother in Jerusalem, stock image [PHOTO SOURCE: https://de.icej.org/gesellschaftliche-und-religi%C3%B6se-hindernisse-israelische-frauen-gehen-ihren-weg] https://amishamerica.com/one-womans-journey-from-english-to-amish-to-jewish/
Amish mother carrying
her baby [PHOTO SOURCE: https://amishamerica.com/where-are-amish-babies-born/
….. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=985908166904693&set=pcb.985908200238023]
Newspapers & Magazines
Despite their views of television and radio, both sets of respondents do read newspapers and magazines regularly. For Old Order Amish women, it is the local paper, in this case, the Lancaster County newspaper (the Lancaster New Era), and periodicals made for Anabaptist subscribers, such as Die Botschaft (The Message), Family Life and Keepers of the Home, among others.
Similarly, Ultra-Orthodox Women would read Ultra-Orthodox Newspapers, including Hamodia (the informant) and Yated Ne’eman (literally translated as trustworthy peg). Magazines might include Mishpacha (family), Bait Neeman (faithful home) and Bait Shelanu (our home).
Reasons for reading newspapers and magazines seem remarkably the same for both Old Order and Ultra-Orthodox women. For example, Old Order Amish women said they would read things that are “food for my soul” and “if it contains helpful knowledge, encouragement and promotes Christian living, I feel it can help me live a better life.”
On the Ultra-Orthodox side, respondents would say they read newspapers and magazines “to get updates in a clean way, with a quiet heart”, and “It’s good that we have so many newspapers, so we are busy with our own supply and don’t try to search for the secular ones.”
Ultra-orthodox Jewish
family at prayer [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.jewishboston.com/events/strictly-observant-amish-and-ultra-orthodox-jewish-women-negotiating-media-with-dr-rivka-neriya-ben-shahar/]
“The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its
loyalty to each other.” - Mario Puzo Hi! My name is Natasha
Sweazy, and I am a Christian woman, wife, and mother, striving to follow after
our King Jesus. My husband Charlton and I have been married for fourteen years.
The Lord has given us ten beautiful children, four biologically and six through
adoption. We are currently sojourning between Kampala, Uganda and Malden,
Massachusetts. (August 6, 2022) [PHOTO SOURCE: https://strengthtostrength.org/the-god-who-sees/?srsltid=AfmBOopaoy4TQds1p5faNJXWThbXtW0zvO99wUMyANa-4Jn2L76E9fsm] https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/01/meet-charlton-and-natasha-sweazy-and.html https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/03/tauferische-mutterschaft-god-who-sees.html https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/03/tauferische-kopfbedeckung-und.html
The Internet
Despite all these similarities in media use and opinions about the media, there is one notable difference. It is the use of the internet, which is directly associated with the extent that married Old Order Amish do not, and Ultra-Orthodox women work outside the home.
Professor Neriya-Ben Shahar found that only a handful of Amish women have ever used the internet, compared to most Ultra-Orthodox women who have, especially on-the-job uses, including information searches, emails, shopping, news updates and even maintaining contact with family members who do not live nearby in Israel, or live in other countries.
When asked about using the internet, one befuddled Old Order Amish women exclaimed: “I have no idea how to use this internet. All I know it that you have to type in words, and there is a little mouse.” However, another Old Order Amish woman was philosophical about it: “It’s only a good as the people who use it.”
On the Ultra-Orthodox side, one respondent said “A blocked internet is a Kosher internet.” Another declared: “The internet is the most terrible thing now. It’s poison, a Satan, an angel of death. It is destruction and ravage and all of terrible things written in the Bible, degeneration of everything.” Yet, a third voiced the view that “This is part of contemporary life and we need to learn how to deal with it.”
Rivka Neriya-Ben Shahar is a senior
lecturer at Sapir Academic College in Sderot, Israel, where she teaches
communications, religion, and gender. She received her doctorate from the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has been a Fulbright post-doctoral fellow.
Her book Strictly Observant: Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Women
Negotiating Media is forthcoming from Rutgers University Press. [PHOTO SOURCE: https://mennonitelife.org/event/strictly-observant-amish-women-and-ultra-orthodox-jewish-women-negotiating-media/]
In Conclusion
Professor Neriya-Ben Shahar observed that the lack of internet use by Old Order Amish women, and selective internet use by Ultra-Orthodox Women, creates a valuable cultural and religious currency for women in both communities, which goes as well for restrictions on television and radio. Newspapers and magazines, although more frequently read, are done so by both Old Order Amish and Ultra-Orthodox women within self-consciously regulated practices that neither threaten core religious beliefs, nor violate important cultural practices, hence, helping to keep both apart from the mainstream.
Professor Neriya-Ben Shahar’s book, Strictly Observant: Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Woman Negotiating Media was released by Rutgers University Press in mid-January, 2024. Hot off the presses! If you are interested in purchasing a copy, go here.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://amishamerica.com/amish-and-ultra-orthodox-jewish-women-attitudes-towards-media/
From Jerusalem to the Amish: Navigating Feminism, Media & Faith - with Rivka Neriya-Ben Shahar
25.9K subscribers
217 views Oct 29, 2024 The Franciska Show Podcast
Message Franciska to share how a specific episode has impacted YOU. franciskakay@gmail.com In this episode Rivka Neriya-Ben Shahar shares her unique journeys and research related to Ultra Orthodox Jewish and Amish communities. Rivka Neria-Ben Shahar discusses her path from growing up in a National Ultra Orthodox community in Israel to earning a Ph.D. with pioneering research on ultra-Orthodox women and media. Rivka recounts her adaptation from Jerusalem to Amish country, highlighting cultural exchanges and genuine friendships formed along the way. The episode delves into the challenges women face balancing motherhood and career, exploring themes of feminism, societal expectations, and personal fulfillment within strict religious frameworks. Through personal anecdotes and rigorous research, the episode contrasts traditional roles with modern lifestyles, providing deep insights into the lives of women in these unique communities.
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
00:34 Rivka's Religious and Professional Background
05:21 Journey to Feminism
07:28 Challenges and Conflicts
10:43 Research on Ultra Orthodox Women and Media
14:47 Strictly Observant: The Book
26:51 Fascination with the Amish
31:05 Exploring Community and Tradition
31:48 Admiration and Conflict
32:38 Life Choices and Happiness
33:54 Balancing Career and Family
36:35 Cultural Observations and Personal Reflections
42:33 Religious Practices and Personal Stories
49:05 Cultural Shocks and Comparisons
56:54 Podcast Journey and Reflections
01:00:36 Editing and Reflections on Motherhood
About Our Guest: Dr. Rivka Neriya-Ben Shahar is a Ruth Melzer fellow at the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at Penn University. She is a senior lecturer at Sapir Academic College in Sderot, Israel, where she teaches courses on research methods, communication, religion, and gender. She is also a scholar at the Israel Democracy Institute, where she studies media usage among the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. Dr. Neriya Ben-Shahar investigates mass media from the perspectives of religion and gender. Her research addresses the tensions existing between religious values and new media technologies among women in Old Order Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities. Her book, Strictly Observant: Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Women Negotiating Media, was published by Rutgers University Press in January 2024.
VIDEO SOURCE: https://youtu.be/Uohejjh5RHE?si=jZsK-wMD2N5AXs9l
Old Order Amish and Ultra-Orthodox women’s responses to cellphone and smartphone use
UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies
1.24K subscribers
1,368 views Oct 24, 2025
This research explores exposure patterns and perceptions of cellphone and smartphone use among Amish and ultra-Orthodox Jewish women, while examining symbolic meanings these non-users might attribute to these devices. Triangulation of participant observations, interviews, and a survey, serve to demonstrate that although these populations differ in their cellphone use (the Amish mostly don't use them and the Ultra-Orthodox only use those deemed to be ‘kosher’), they concur in their non-use of smartphones, deriving from their perception (shared among many religious communities), that smartphone content is impure. Implicit in statements made by these women is the notion that the medium itself is more dangerous than the message. They argue that the smartphone disconnects people from their communities, friends and family, and that it interferes with a person’s relationship with him or herself, and even more importantly – with God.
VIDEO SOURCE: https://youtu.be/xVV3rjxXK5k?si=Wj0Z-7lBe5L7KeW5
MY THOUGHTS:
I noticed several similarities between the Anabaptist and Ultra-orthodox women: both have very large families with an average of 5 children each, some of them have seven or even more. They all follow the Four Core Values: Faith, Family, Community and Simple Living. That is why the women tend to make good mothers.
They both dress modestly and have head coverings. Sometimes, Anabaptist women do often get mistaken for ultraorthodox women. Most of all, they all tend to go out together in a community, for example, it is common to see both ultraorthodox and Amish-Mennonite women with their children together with other mothers of their group everywhere you go.
I feel that both groups have succeeded in making successful communities, where nobody will feel lonely.
"ילדים הם שמחה"
(yeldim hem simcha). The Hebrew phrase for
"children are a joy" is "ילדים הם שמחה" (yeldim hem
simcha). "ילדים" (yeldim) means "children", and "שמחה"
(simcha) means "joy" or "gladness". TOP: An ultraorthodox
family. Bottom: An Amish Family. Notice the similarities – they are a large
nuclear family https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/06/israels-children-world-ultra-orthodox.html
Fotos von Ultraorthodoxe Jüdische Frauen und Wiedertäufer Frauen (Photos of Ultraorthodox and Anabaptist women):
RELATED LINKS:
https://brisbanecatholic.org.au/gods-people/prayer-for-the-holy-family-of-jesus-mary-and-joseph/
Tatty My King
1.89K subscribers
52,042 views Feb 14, 2026
Composer: Dovid Edell. Used by permission. Arranged by Wendell Glick. Commissioned for Calvary Bible School, 2026.
VIDEO SOURCE: https://youtu.be/cvx7iiDOazY?si=YneuqRJ5DjGMbzTb
Ultraorthodoxe jüdische frauen (Ultra-orthodox Jewish women) Links:
1a. Ultraorthodox Jewish Women vs Amish Women
1b. A mother is a gardener of God, tending to
the hearts of her children ~ Amish Proverb
An Amish woman's role in the family
PHOTO: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=945738991166508&set=pcb.945739054499835
1c. Haredi Jewish women and girls in Mea Shearim, Jerusalem, 2013
PHOTO: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=945738704499870&set=pcb.945739054499835
1d. Amish & Jewish Ultra-Orthodox Women: Comparing Attitudes Towards TV, Radio, Magazines & The Internet
https://amishamerica.com/amish-and-ultra-orthodox-jewish-women-attitudes-towards-media/
Amische und mennonitische Frauen (Amish and Mennonite women) LINKS:
Täuferische Kopfbedeckung und Bescheidenhieit – Anabaptist Headcovering and Modesty: Interviews with Anabaptist women
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/03/tauferische-kopfbedeckung-und.html
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/03/tauferische-mutterschaft-god-who-sees.html
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/01/meet-charlton-and-natasha-sweazy-and.html
She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. – Proverbs 31 vs 17 (ESV)
Wiedertäufer Frauen bei der Arbeit – Anabaptist women at work
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/07/wiedertaufer-frauen-bei-der-arbeit.html
MEET GLORIA YODER THE NEW ORDER AMISH COOK
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/03/meet-gloria-yoder-new-order-amish-cook.html
Old Order Amish Author Linda Byler On Writing 39 Novels
By Erik Wesner July 13, 2021
https://amishamerica.com/old-order-amish-author-linda-byler-writing-39-novels/
https://www.amazon.com.au/Lizzies-Amish-Cookbook-Favorite-Generations/dp/156148735X
https://www.amazon.com.au/stores/Linda-Byler/author/B003CXW1KY?
https://lucindajkinsinger.com/how-my-plain-mennonite-heritage-impacts-my-parenting/
https://mennoniteeducation.weebly.com/
https://homejoys.blogspot.com/
https://kb.osu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/4cca1bec-552f-50e2-b5ec-f87c7420217a/content
https://undersevenstars.com/2019/08/31/5-reasons-why-i-love-being-mennonite/
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2024/10/grandfamilies-on-rise.html
11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” – I Samuel 1:11 (ESV)
Our home joys are the most delightful earth affords, and the joy of parents in their children is the most holy joy of humanity. - Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/05/2025-mothers-day-sermons.html
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