Mennonites and Orthodox Jews Team Up to Make Kosher Milk

The confusion of Amish or Mennonites for ḥasidic Jews, and vice versa, is the subject of numerous jokes and anecdotes. But in real life, the two groups have found a common cause: Orthodox Jews who adhere to the strictest standards of kashrut seek only to drink milk that has remained under careful Jewish supervision from the moment it comes forth from the cow’s udder (known as ḥalav Yisra’el); the farming practices of the Amish happen to be particularly well-suited to producing such milk. Mike Andrelczyk describes the resulting cooperation, now the subject of research by the anthropologist Rachel Feldman: