This weekend, besides seeing Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, I wandered around the Hasidic part of Williamsburg (Brooklyn). Beside little children looking up and me, pointing at me, then running away, it was a fantastic visit. Many people came up to me - being the only Gentile in the area - and started talking to me. Which was quite interesting.

Inside one of the parks, there was a large tent erected, and there were literally thousands of Hasidic men, women and children milling around and chanting coming from the tent, I didn't have enough time to stay to take many photos, but via Gothamist, I found out that this was one of the Satmar brother's doing - the one from upstate - and being he Sabbath, they were praying (here's some backstory about Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum and his feuding sons). Here's a sensational version from the News, some info from WikiPedia, and Hasidic News which is curiously in English and somewhat directed to the non-Hasidim (strange...).