Growing Up in an Amish Jewish Cult

[yetanothermeg]

So I just finished the 3 book series: Delusion, Deception, Deliverance: Growing up in an Amish Jewish Cult by Patricia Hochstetler. Has anybody else read these? Very interesting story and it has so much of what FJ talks about: Faux Jews, cult leaders, plain people, and a whole hell of a lot of cognitive dissonance.

 

Patricia's parents are an Old Order Amish mother and a former-Pentecostal father who join this faux jewish-amish cult commune in the 1940s. When she finally leaves in the 1960s, she has never seen a radio or tv, never heard music, it's crazy. They are so isolated, first on this mountain commune and then as sharecroppers picking cotton. She only goes into town once ever as a teenager and is surprised at all the food at the market.

 

Very quick read for anyone interested. My one beef is that it should have been a single book. I bought them used on Amazon.

[gustava]

Amish/Jewish is as much as oxymoron as Messianic Jewish.

[crazyforkate]

Amish Jewish? That's a new one. Will have to look it up - thanks for the recommendation.

[yetanothermeg]

Amish/Jewish is as much as oxymoron as Messianic Jewish.

Their cult leader just shows up in their Amish community one day saying he is a Jew and that he was told to go minister to Amish people, so he walked til he found some. It was all very strange, but he convinced all these Amish people to follow him. And he had them celebrating all the Jewish festivals, except he made them at weird times of the year. And he forbade sex, its all very crazy.

[NurseNell]

Amish/Jewish is as much as oxymoron as Messianic Jewish.

That was my first thought.

I wonder if Patricia Hochstetler is related to the other Hochstetler (John I think) who has written about the Amish?

I'm adding the books to my TBR list. Thanks.