young missionaries!

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Young missionaries!

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amother

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 12:12 am

Unbelievable! I had an appt. in downtown Brooklyn and was in dire need of a ladies' room. I walked into a Dunkin Donuts, right behind two young I-would-say-17-year-old sweet girls. Their faces had such a "chein" I suspected they might even be Jewish. Their clothes indicated they do not associate with the frum crowd....
One of the girls turns to me, sweetly, and asks if I know where the bathroom is. I say I'm looking for the same. They were surprisingly gracious to me in that when they thought they spotted the bathroom they motioned to me, and when they finally did locate it behind a locked door, one of them offered, "Here, I'll ask them to buzz us in". As there was only one available seat one of the girls offered me to go ahead of them. I graciously accepted the offer...
Here's the punchline. On my way out, this sweet blond-haired pony-tailed girl pulls two pamphlets from her schoolbag and tells me they're from the local church and something about God and the bible being the most important book to study. After the "extraordinary kindness" they'd extended to me earlier, I felt I owed her at least that much as to not spit in her face and crumple the pamphlets. I took the darn pamphlets, politely said my thanks, hurried on down the corridor, and dumped them in the first garbage bin I saw. What came to mind was "Don't give me your sting and don't give me your honey". What a ploy they had played on me, being ultra nice to me and then slapping me in the face with those missionary pamphlets.
The reason I say "extraordinary kindness" is because in all of my trips among the umos ha'olam I have never yet encountered such a display of kindness.
And of course, being a chaseedishe woman and dressing as such, with a noticeably synthetic wig atop my head, I took their gesture of "kiruv" as an audacious slap in the face!

happy2beme

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 8:42 am

these people are so disgusting!!!!
awhile ago I got the dvd in yiddish from jews for J & yesterday I got a postcard from them addressed to my husband!! how'd they get our names & more importantly, how do u get off their mailing list!!!!????
it's disgusting that it actually came into the house! I think I should sort my mail outside from now on

willow

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 9:17 am

When I was little I was playing with my siblings and these nice women came to the door ( I know I was an idiot for opening the door embarrassed

) They gave me this pamplet and a really pretty book "for free". I couldn't get over how nice they were and I let them know it. I kept telling them thank you and the book looks so pretty. Only when I showed it to my mother and she explained it to me did I realize what it was. embarrassed

happymom

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 9:37 am

I unserstand why u took them, But if there is ever a next time I think its better not to.... This happened to me once and I told them thank u I already have a religion, im jewish, and I believe in G-d and know about the Torah...

brooklyn

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 9:50 am

My DH once answered the door and there were two of them who offered him "literature". When they asked him if he believed in g-d he told them "I worship the dark lord of the underworld, my lord and master SATAN". Then he gave this meniacal laugh and ask them if they would like to offer themselves up as a human sacrifice to his lord. I was in the other room and heard him when I looked in to the front door I saw my dh laughing as the two were very quickly making their way away from our house. I told him that he was bad, but it was so funny.

Motek

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 9:53 am

happymom wrote:

I unserstand why u took them, But if there is ever a next time I think its better not to....

why?
my father says he takes them and dumps them so they have fewer to give out

as for amother - you may think you look so obvious as a religious Jew, but it's quite possible that they were clueless

Quote:

something about God and the bible being the most important book to study

They're right. I see nothing wrong with that. I think they should be commended in this day and age when many kids their age are up to no good.

LikeMeDoes

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 10:02 am

Quote:

awhile ago I got the dvd in yiddish from jews for J & yesterday I got a postcard from them addressed to my husband!! how'd they get our names & more importantly, how do u get off their mailing list!!!!????

I read an article in the Hamodia a couple weeks ago, dealing with this. Jews for J are doing a HUGE campaign in the NY area, targeting frum Jews.
DO NOT call and asked to be removed from their mailing list as this will only confirm to them that you are frum Jews!

Blossom

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 10:31 am

E&D I was just gonna post that. I read it in the article too. I also got a postcard this week in addition to the DVD a few weeks ago. It's so disgusting but I guess the best I can do is tear it up and throw it away. Most missionaries that I've encountered are sugar sweet nice. I've also seen one women, had a yiddishe chein, a striking dark haired cutey face and she was holding hands with a little boy and girl on each side to make it more appealing, I guess she thought some people soften when there are kids in sight. But it had the opposite effect on me. She was shlepping around 2 little kids from door to door, house to house. Goodness, these are kids!!!!! I thought she must be crazy, but from the far she looked like a pretty Jewish women, l'havdil.

Nomad

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 10:52 am

brooklyn ... LOL!! - thats great!

happymom

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 10:57 am

my brother was on a bus once and a missionary was telling him about yoshke... my brother was like "Yoshke, whos that!!!!????? I have heard of moses and aaron etc... but I never heard of him... ure sure hes the massiah? I heard moses was " etc.. and just kept playing dumb... lol!

DefyGravity

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 10:59 am

Any time I'm approached by non-Jewish young people that are dressed modestly and appear friendly, I'm immediately on guard. I've never been wrong!!!!

LubavitchLeah

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 11:13 am

Someone wrote

" I think they should be commended in this day and age when many kids their age are up to no good."

I am mixed on this one. Firstly the world wide campaign of "saving poor lost jewish souls who dont accept their (Chas Vashalom) lord and saviour into our lives and thus according to their (based in anti semitic doctrine)
belief will not go to Heaven bat rather hell, is a dangerous and deeply destructive one. I dont need to go into details on this site. So these girls who are trying to destroy jewish souls, no they should not be Commended!
However my mixed comes in more because I can see Moteks point, dont agree though. Her point being that they are focused on "spiritual " matters in a world of gashmius. I definitly DONT COMMEND this though.
This is not "about the bible being the most important book to study". This is more about their VERSION of the bible being focused on "bringing jews back Chas Vashalom to their version of TRUTH".

Pickle Lady

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 12:10 pm

Is my family the only ones that love it when they come to the door. when they come to my door I tell them al about G-d and about the 7 laws of noah. About moshiach and I don't really let them talk. I sometimes take thier pamphlets then dump them into the garbage right away.

chen

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 12:50 pm

brooklyn wrote:

"I worship the dark lord of the underworld, my lord and master SATAN". Then he gave this meniacal laugh and ask them if they would like to offer themselves up as a human sacrifice to his lord.

That is GREAT! I wish I had the nerve!

chen

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 1:08 pm

living in a neighborhood that is mixed poor nonwhite and jewish, we can tell the missionaries a mile away (with us they're usually Mormons or Witnesses): Young men of about college or post-college age, always traveling in pairs, often blond, always very clean-cut, in white dress shirts, plain dull ties and dress pants, with small backpacks and usually a black leather-bound book in their hand. (There must be a factory in Utah where they produce them because they all look exactly alike.) They stick out a mile: Too white-bread to be nonjewish locals, no kippah so they can't be yeshiva bocherim.

The Witnesses used to come knocking on doors Sunday mornings when I was a child, and my dad used to lo-o-o-ve arguing with them. They don't come around any more now that apartment lobbies are locked, and I think my dad misses the entertainment! (OTOH, I am grateful. Such entertainment leaves me cold.)

Downtown I have been approached by people asking me "are you Jewish?" I always say "no". For one thing, it's not their business. For another, I know if I'll say yes they'll start with their spiel from which I'll have to extricate myself somehow. More efficient to say "no".

Oh, but it could be Moshiach or Eliyohu HaNovi asking me? I don't think so--either one of them wouldn't have to ask.

Motek

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 1:24 pm

chen wrote:

Downtown I have been approached by people asking me "are you Jewish?" I always say "no".

Please don't be offended - would you ask your rabbi if this is okay? I had learned it's not. That you can respond, "Jewish?!" but that you cannot deny being a Jew.

amother

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 1:40 pm

Growing up we were taught to take pamphlets etc. and throw them away because then the missionaries have less to give out. I think the Lubav. Rebbe even said this, but I could be wrong.

Crayon210

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 6:31 pm

There is a fascinating video of the Rebbe speaking with a Jew who nebuch was practicing Christianity...the Jew gave the Rebbe some sort of publication, and the Rebbe said thanks, now you won't be able to give this to someone else.

mali

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 6:38 pm

Here's a link to the video Crayon's talking about:
http://video.google.com/videop.....42133

Crayon210

Thu, Jun 22 2006, 6:42 pm

Thanks-it's very interesting.

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