Another business located on Main Street, Yellow Deli, is one of the few restaurants that made it through the pandemic. On the outside, Yellow Deli is inconspicuous, even jovial; but, secrets lie behind its wooden exterior. Walking through the door is akin to walking through a time machine. The restaurant’s interior is a work of art. It is incredibly atmospheric: hand-painted murals on brick walls and vines hanging from the ceiling. The workers conform to one another. The men have thick beards, long hair, and flannels and the women wear modest long skirts, their hair neatly pulled back.

Yellow Deli is actually a chain restaurant owned by a religious community that calls themselves the Twelve Tribes. The Twelve Tribes is a fundamentalist, millennialist religion founded back in the 1970s by Gene Spriggs during the Jesus movement. The group’s beliefs resemble a hybrid of Christian fundamentalism, Hebrew Roots, and Messianic Judaism, though they claim no denomination.

We sat down with one of the members, that goes by the name of “Brother Rori.” He was eager to talk to us about the group’s beliefs and values.

The Twelve Tribes believes that for the messiah to return, the Church needs to be restored to its original form seen in the Books of Acts. The group believes that world is already coming to an end and that they must prepare for when the messiah, “Yahshuva” will return. They insist on using Yahshuva instead of Jesus due to its religious etymology. To prepare for the restoration of the church, they observe the Sabbath and maintain some of the Mosaic law, including dietary restrictions and festivals.

As we continued talking with Brother Rori, he assured us that the Twelve Tribes was built on love and unity is what. Their values are utopian: everyone is equal, no one is rich or poor. Everyone has a job, a place to live, and a family of brothers and sisters looking out for one another. Members of the Twelve Tribes supports themselves with other small businesses, and all profits are expected to go into the common pool, as they are expected to give all their belongings to the community and live according to the teachings found in earlier texts of the Bible.

Brother Rori had invited us to come to join their house for a night of dancing, live music, and love, which we had politely declined. As we left, we were left wondering, who were these people, and what more can we find on them?

Our real investigation did not commence until after we left Yellow Deli. As we looked online, the Twelve Tribes has a history of controversy. The group interprets the Bible literally, holding outdated views on the treatment of women, people of color, and the LGBT community. They have come under fire for their use of biblical corporal punishment, especially against the women and children in their society to keep them in line. Former members of the community have come out to discuss the treatment of women. They claim women are expected to submit to the judgment and authority of their fathers and husbands. Furthermore, they are expected to have children and raise them, perform household chores, marry from within the community, all while living subordinately.

As aforementioned, the children are subject to corporal punishment. The community believes that discipline and obedience is necessary to ensure that their children are raised according to the scripture. These children are home-schooled and are not allowed to play with toys or engage in any fantasy play. If you search online, you’ll find many testimonies from ex-members about the abuse that they faced as children growing up. You’ll also find stories of communities being investigated and raided for allegations of child and labor abuse, particularly in areas of Germany and France. (https://www.apologeticsindex.org/2702-twelve-tribes)

Two female students of SUNY Oneonta provided us with some more insight into what they had experience in speaking with one of the members. The students told us that the community doesn’t believe in modern medicine and many of the members don’t use technology and have isolated themselves from their families. The students too were invited to join the community at their house for a party, though they did not attend.

Former Members have spoken out against the racism, abuse, cult-like practices, and other anti-Semitic allegations that they were subjected to. We don’t know the truth about what goes on behind closed doors. To the outside, they look like a tight-knit family that embraces love and unity. To others, they look like a religious cult influenced by the indoctrinations of Karl Marx. (https://www.thedailybeast.com/twelve-tribes-the-church-preached-child-abuse-and-slavery)

As Brother Rori told us, “Everyone has a story.” We couldn’t tell if Brother Rori was truly happy about where his journey took him, but that wasn’t for us to decide. We can only gauge that this community understands the importance of appearances, as evidenced by the contrived atmosphere of Yellow Deli.