Samuel Heilman
By Samuel Heilman
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Culture EXCLUSIVE: How A Hasidic Dynasty Handles A Succession Crisis
The following essay has been adapted from “Who Shall Lead Us: The Story of Five Hasidic Dynasties in America,” by Samuel Heilman (University of California Press). In his old age, Yoelish Teitelbaum, the first Satmar Rebbe, had outlived his heirs. Although he was leader of the largest Hasidic group in America, with tens of thousands…
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Opinion Ultra-Orthodox Jews Shouldn’t Have a Monopoly on Tradition
Avi Shafran is unhappy with the term “ultra-Orthodox.” I am too. Both as a sociologist and as someone who identifies himself as an Orthodox Jew, I too find the message implied by the term “ultra-Orthodox” false, but for different reasons. The people who have been so identified are not “more” Orthodox, nor are they necessarily…
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