Do you say hello and Good Shabbos or Yom Tov?

teachby

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 12:46 am

On weekday mornings, when I'm taking my walk, I smile and say "good morning" to everyone I pass.

On shabbos, we say "gut shabbos" to everyone we pass by who is clearly Jewish. We also go out of our way to say "good morning" to the non-jews we see on shabbos morning. I think they are especially shocked that a "black hat guy" said "good morning" to them.

We live out-of-town. When a jew does not greet us back on shabbos we chalk it up to their being from NY.

I don't want to start a fight or anything, but I must say that NYers who go visiting out-of-town often cause a big chillul hashem, which they don't even realize. They jay-walk, they cross when it says "don't walk", they are pushy, rude, and don't say hello. These are things that are acceptable in NY, but not elsewhere. If they would learn to "do as the romans do" people might like them better.

When the Skverer Rebbe came here a few years ago, and brought like 1,000 chasidim with him, the local people who organized the visit put up signs (in yiddish) that told people not to jay-walk, and also to wait for the signal to say "walk" before crossing the street.

I'm sure none of the above applies to any of the wonderfully nice, friendly people here on imamother, but just in case you see any of yourselves in this... Very Happy

Seraph

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 9:23 am

In out of town communities in america, I greet every yid.
Once I lived in brooklyn, I realized I couldnt greet everyone, nor was it expected of me. So I started smiling at people I met on the street.
Here in my yishuv its also not "mekubal" to say hi to everyone you pass on the street, especially the real charedi israelis, so I smile at them. I say hello if we're sitting together somewhere, like waiting for the bus or in the makolet or the park, and thats how I've made a few freinds. but not just passing by on the streets.

However, if I hear anyone speaking english in the neighborhood, I go out of my way to greet them and ask them if they live here or just visiting. it embarassed my husband at first, but hey, thats how I have freinds now.
And of course I say hi to everyone I know when I see them.

mom21n2

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 10:45 am

On Shabbat, I always say Shabbat Shalom to people I pass on the street that look like they also are observing Shabbat. I also make sure my ds greets people when we pass them. On weekdays, I usually smile and say Hi to women that I pass, unless they are ignoring me. I don't usually greet men, unless I know them or unless they greet me first. I usually have ds say Hi to other kids that we pass. I never address young men I pass on the street and rarely address young women. I find it strange that the yong women usually seem very uncomfortable. I hope my dd grows up able to greet people without looking so uncomfortable.

cookielady

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 12:31 pm

My dh greets e/o all the time. Im try to do this, but sometimes Im in my own world and miss people all together. One of my sons wishes e/o good shabbos or good yom tov (on shabbos and y"t) Of course living in a place fwith manyof yidden, its not a long shot.

Chani

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 2:16 pm

My three little ones, who usually stay home with me on shabbos, are our street's "greeting gang". They play on the front porch and yell "good shabbos" in chorus to everyone (and I do mean EVERYONE) who walks past our house - on either side of the street! They're impossible to ignore and loud enough to wake the dead (unfortunately), but pretty cute and definitely cheerful!

Akeres Habayis

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 2:24 pm

hmm,I think it depends where u are,when I lived in america I said gut shabbos,and got a response back.when I would go visit NY,no one would say gut shabbos,back,so one day I just got fed up and said"someone is going to say gut shabbos!"this couple was walking by and I said gut shabbos to the lady,she didnt answer back shock

,so I said to my friend"is it a crime to say gut shabbos on shabbos!",so the lady turned around,smiled and said gut shabbos!

when we moved here(to EY)in the chareidi communities it seemed no one said gut shabbos,they looked at u like u were crazy.my poor dh,couldnt' understand why they didnt say gut shabbos,for one thing I told him dont say anything to the ladies bc they cross the street,wondering to themselves what is this guy doing speaking to me! and the men, I have no clue.
but we realized all chareidi communties aren't the same here in TZ everyone says gut shabbos,
my dd waves her arm till its about to fall off,so u better say hi or something,or face the wrath of me Twisted Evil

and my disappointed dd who expects everyone to wave at her. LOL

Rutabaga

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 4:20 pm

I always say "good Shabbos" to Jewish-looking people on Shabbos. Otherwise, I'm also a big fan of the smile and nod. I get annoyed when I try to be nice and people look right through me. If you wouldn't greet people yourself, you can at least be polite and respond!

I may be a New Yorker, but I have a very friendly father. He regularly waves at random people while driving (sometimes getting very confused looks in return) and starts conversations with perfect strangers.

chanagital

Fri, Oct 24 2008, 8:10 pm

My DH will wish any Yid on the street a Good Shabbos or Shabbat Shalom (for Sephardim) if they have on some head covering (Hat or kippah) otherwise how does he know they're a Yid? I usually don't greet males on their way to shul but I'll answer them if they say Good Shabbos etc.
Some elitist people in my area will walk by without saying or doing anything but most people will at least greet you. My DH usually catches those elitists and others off guard by initiating a greeting when you can tell they had no intention of saying anything in the first place. LOL

Ruchel

Sat, Oct 25 2008, 2:29 pm

lol!
How do you know which one is Sephardi? what about those who speak Yiddish better than many Ashkenazim? what about the Zionists who may be Ashkenazic but pride themselves in only using Hebrew? LOL

I have stopped trying to make a difference (I also used to alternate between shabbat shalom, good shabbes and git shabbes) because I would make mistakes and people would not understand or "correct" me LOL

Sat, Oct 25 2008, 2:46 pm

I live in a very frum neighbourhood but with a very mixed group of peope, all types of chassidim, litvish, sefardi and more. During the week if I passed by Jewish people I did not recognise (that wud be ALOT of people) I wud just walk past, if it s/1 from my community but not a friend (lets say s/1 my grandmothers age) I wud nod n smile. If it was a man from my community but not related to me or not a close friend of the family I try not to meet their eye or greet them cos I know they don't generally speak to women on the street.
On shabbos or yom tov I greet every woman I pass and if its MO family I wud greet them too. Most people reply, some just look startled. But I cant remember when s/1 I didnt know greeted me first, it doesn't seem to be 'the normal way' here.

chanagital

Sat, Oct 25 2008, 10:34 pm

Ruchel,

"How do you know which one is Sephardi?" In my community many of the sephardim wear jeans to shul, wear distinct kippot, say Shabbat Shalom and walk in the direction of their Beis Knessess.

How rude that they corrected you. But I'm not surprised.

cl, Gotta love the people that are startled by Shabbos greetings. LOL Smile

It does happen at times.

greenfire

Sat, Oct 25 2008, 10:49 pm

marina wrote:

I growl. In a friendly manner, so to speak. Sometimes I might wag my tail, just to confuse them

that was YOU - I thought it was your dog Twisted Evil

I say "hi" to everyone - everywhere ... and coming from a new yorker who moved out-of-town - what's up with NOT saying "hello" ... I play a game to see how many responses I'll get in return ... maybe 2 out of 100 Rolling Eyes

Ruchel

Sun, Oct 26 2008, 7:05 am

chanagital wrote:

It does happen at times.

Some very charedi or proud Yiddish lovers also corrected me for a "shabbat shalom". "Why would you say it in Hebrew, blah blah".

happyone

Sun, Oct 26 2008, 8:23 am

I say Good Shabbos/Yom Tov to everyone I meet. However, in our community it's the norm. I was once in another community and greeted a woman with Good Shabbos. She stared at me and actually asked me "Do I know you from anywhere?"

I still greet people when I visit that community. People must think I'm either crazy or overly friendly. That's fine. If I go walking in the morning I greet all the early risers I meet. However, during the day when the streets are full, or grocery shopping, I greet the people I know or see often.