Goines On: Tzitzit

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After Goines raised the shade over the back door, Mrs. Goines stood there for a few seconds enjoying the cold morning view. “Tzitzit,” she said, “those are what those rope ties on the bird feeder remind me of.”
    “Tzitzit?” Goines said. “What’s that?”
    “What are those,” she corrected him. “The noun’s plural. They’re the fringes, or tassels, that Orthodox Jewish men wear on their garments. I remember them from Shtisel.”

Goines On: Curled sidelocks

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The Goineses had been watching the Israeli TV series Shtisel, a fictional story about a conservative (Haredi) Jewish family in Jerusalem who adhere strictly to their interpretation of Jewish law and values. The men wear religious vestments and curl their sidelocks. The Goineses found these people’s customs fascinating. But hardly anyone in the huge Shtisel family seems happy, and it was impossible to watch the series without sharing their sadness.