Heimish: What Does it Mean to You?

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  • #594653
    1dayatatime
    Participant

    I once dated a “Heimishe” girl who described heimish to me as “the best of both worlds”

    I thinks she meant, the best of the Litvaks/Yeshivish and the best of the Chasiddim

    I wanted to ask her, “so you mean a Heimishe person learns like the yeshivishe and davens, and follows Rebbes, like the Chasiddim.

    I think she meant someone in the middle, “chilled out”

    I’m not really sure what that means, but, to me Heimish has no clear meaning, usually we describe it as someone who’s in the middle

    e.g.: My Uncle describes himself as Heimish; clean shaven, perfect heimishe yiddish, down hat, goes to some Rebbes, eats heimish, has a somewhat Chasiddish Rov, in other words, leans toward Chasiddish without the garb.

    Yet he can’t stand Litvaks or Lutvaks as he calls them, and doesn’t much like like hardcore Chasiddim.

    So, what is Heimish

    Note: people would describe me as Heimish, yet since Heimish has no Spiritual basis I reject that

    #929188
    observanteen
    Member

    To me: Yeshivish or Chassidish.

    To a Hungarian: a Hungarian. (Even a Hungarian goy, I suspect;)

    #929189
    deiyezooger
    Member

    heimish to me is what you cook in your own kitchen.lol!

    #929190
    1dayatatime
    Participant

    Truth, on the Hungarian bit

    #929191

    I always use it to mean like family/friendly. As in, “we’re all heimish here you don’t need to type so professionally”.

    #929192

    “To a Hungarian: a Hungarian. (Even a Hungarian goy, I suspect;)”

    Sounds right.

    “Yet he can’t stand Litvaks or Lutvaks as he calls them, and doesn’t much like like hardcore Chasiddim.”

    This is how a lot of people describe heimish. Either look at it as the “best of both”, or the “worst of both”. This attitude can lead to people doing whatever they please…

    But it means something else to each person. Its not definitive.

    #929193

    people in Bp most who are considered heimish are usually people who in their families the men wear bekeshas but dont wear streimels on shabbos. Usually have some chassidishe leanings but not fully affiliated.

    #929194
    EloQuint5
    Member

    My venture to guess is that it most aptly describes people who are living in the yeshivishe world but are heavily influenced by an eastern european background that was not litvish, someone with great respect for the chassidishe velt and would revere a chassidic rebbe or yeshivishe gadol equally. A family that could describe themselves as heimish would be one where the zeide or even tatte reminisces “in der heim flegt men…”

    #929195
    smartcookie
    Member

    In every community the people part of that community- are Heimish to each others.

    A Chassid considers all Chassidim Heimish. A Litvak considers every Litvak Heimish…etc.

    #929196
    mytake
    Member

    I hate labels

    #929197
    apushatayid
    Participant

    Its really, Beheimish.

    #929198
    yossi z.
    Member

    Thata boy/girl mytake (by the way are you new to here?). I was actually about to say that a person is not litvish or chassideshe, rather they follow a specific derech. To me, someone who is heimish is a person who feels comfortable with all (and I tend to also mix in the meaning that they are “with it”) but likely follows one (or a slight combination of) derech/derachim

    for example I consider myself “heimish” yet I am a chossid of boston chassidus (in particular the rebbe that took over in boston) and follow their derech

    #929199
    1dayatatime
    Participant

    Truth, Mytake

    Good points, thats exactly why i asked this question. I hate lables

    “This attitude can lead to people doing whatever they please…”

    Exactly

    I wish we could do away with it

    To me it sounds like an Elitist Movement ” we don’t conform to anyone we do what we want”

    Can I just be a Ben Torah? Not an “orthodox Jew” as Rav Gifter z”tl says originated from the Greeks, or Heimish or whatever

    Just plain and simple a Ben Torah

    #929200
    always here
    Participant

    my husband says: hameish-beheimish .. (his parents were Hungarish/ Czech/ Romanish)

    #929201
    yossi z.
    Member

    Yes one could and should be a ben torah.

    I believe this whole “label” thing came about due to the fact that a person can’t be without a rov/rebbi/rebbe/mentor so people started describing themselves by who the followed.

    #929202
    1dayatatime
    Participant

    It was kind of rhetorical

    Thanks anyhow:)

    #929203
    eclipse
    Member

    gefilte fish.

    In Toronto, there is no “heimish” label for people.

    And ironically,”The Heimish Bakery” was 100% treife and open on Shabbos.We had to tell all the meshulachim who came to town…

    #929204

    So no one uses Heimish like I do??

    #929205

    Doesn’t heimish mean old fashioned, and warm and friendly.

    #929206
    yossi z.
    Member

    Yes that is the proper translation of the word

    #929207
    always here
    Participant

    yes, Derech– that’s how I use it, too.

    #929209
    LAer
    Member

    100kilobear? Is that you?

    #929210
    always here
    Participant

    LAer~ are you speaking to me?

    #929211
    LAer
    Member

    No, sorry always here, there was another comment & it disappeared now.

    #929212
    bpt
    Participant

    True story:

    Someone called my wife for info about a girl, (Just so happens, I knew the caller and the young lady in question as well.)

    Basic info, all the relevant details, then she askes, “is she a Heimisher girl?” To which my wife says, “what do you mean by Heimish?”

    Caller says, (I kid you not):

    “Is she the type to only serve chicken soup on Friday night, or would she serve vegetable soup as well”

    And we wonder why we have a shidduch crisis.

    #929213
    doodle jump
    Participant

    People who are not into shtick.

    #929214
    1dayatatime
    Participant

    “People who are not into shtick”

    You’re not serious!?

    #929215
    oomis
    Participant

    bpt, the soup question is the LEAST of the naarishkeiten!

    #929216
    doodle jump
    Participant

    1day: What do you mean?

    #929217
    Sender Av
    Member

    chopped liver

    baked goods without food coloring…the real stuff.

    #929218
    1dayatatime
    Participant

    Doodle

    Forget it, never mind

    #929219

    I used the term on motzei shabbos when I was talking to my best friend about the environment I live in now/ will live in next year. “I don’t anticipate living in a heimishe environment next year because the rare bais yaakov girl who does what I plan on doing typically lives at home while doing it. Also my seminary isn’t so heimishe either, I have to go out every motzei shabbos in order to get pizza with the right hechsher.”

    #929220
    WIY
    Member

    Heimish has multiple meanings depending on the context.

    #929223
    apushatayid
    Participant

    “Heimish-What does it mean to you”

    Nothing more than, you enjoy a good kokosh cake.

    #929224
    ThePurpleOne
    Member

    heimish could either mean “friendly and chilled” or it could mean like half chassidish in my eyes!!

    #929225
    ThePurpleOne
    Member

    for ex- speak yiddish at home and verry yeshivish and wear gartel but then dont wear streimel and curly peyos..

    #929226

    Heimish means buying cholent in the gas station on Thursday night.

    #929227
    MHY
    Participant

    Do you mean hay-mish or high-mish? See what pronunciation is being used, and where the people are from, and then you can try to teitch it up.

    #929228
    ThePurpleOne
    Member

    MHY thats exactly the point.. theres 2 dif proununciations 4 2 dif meanings.. haymish is the semi chassidishe kind and highmish is like frendly..everyone agree??

    #929229
    WIY
    Member

    MHY

    I use both pronunciations. The way I pronounce is depending on how I am using the word. If I am talking about food I would usually say a heimish (haymish) bakery or the food tastes heimish…But if I am talking about a person its almost always heimish (high-mish). Although sometimes I would say don’t make yourself heimish overhere…in the haymish accent. Not sure if this is something others do or not but I do this lol.

    #929230
    RushLimbaugh
    Member

    It means a frum yid of strong European customs and extraction.

    #929231
    ItcheSrulik
    Member

    Food from the old country like lahmajin and kibbeh.

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