What Orthodox Jews can—and cannot—learn from the Amish Rumschpringe

June 28, 2017

Holmes County, OH - Sitting on the back of a wagon pulled by two beautiful horses in Holmes County OH, I finally had a chance to speak directly to an Amish teenager about the Rumschpringe experience. With the beautiful green scenery passing by us, the young teenager described to us his plans and options and this juncture of his life and how Rumschpringe might affect it. I also realized that some aspects of Rumschpringe carry with them a valuable lesson for Jewish teens, while others do not.

In Amish practice, Rumschpringe, literally translated as "running around" is a rite of passage in which teenagers get to experience the world outside the Amish community. They get to use electricity, travel, drink and do things that would be normally forbidden to them as practicing Amish individuals. After this permissible span of time, the young Amish get to decide whether they would like to rejoin or not. Fascinatingly, about 90 percent of them decide to come back and live as Amish—voluntarily.

« Back to News