This is the Forward’s coverage of Hasidic Judaism, a sub-group of Haredi Judaism that adheres to the historical traditions of Eastern European Jews, including communicating in Yiddish.
Hasidic
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Fast Forward The Last Holocaust-Era Rebbe Dies, And A Neighborhood Shuts Down To Mourn
The Brooklyn neighborhood of Boro Park is all but shutting down on Wednesday to mark the death of Rabbi Yisroel Avrohom Portugal, 95, the last Holocaust-era rebbe to lead a significant Hasidic sect. Portugal, who served as the rebbe of the Skulen Hasidic group since his father’s death in 1982, was imprisoned in Romania in…
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Life The Renegade Street Photographer Of Boro Park
On 16th Avenue and 48th, in the heart of Boro Park, Avi Kaye — not his real name — is sitting in his car, camera ready. “He’s going to come out soon,” he mutters. We’re parked outside the Beis Midrash Emunas Yisroel synagogue, waiting for one subject — a regular at this shul, who will…
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Life Why Do Hasidic Men Button Their Shirts The Wrong Way?
On any given weekday, walk into just about any Hasidic synagogue, and you’ll see a rabbi bending over a lectern, dressed in a well-pressed sports jacket for shacharit (morning) prayers. His jacket has been scrupulously tested for shatnez and deemed kosher to wear, but something still seems off — his black buttons are twisted so…
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News Crown Heights Jews Feel ‘Invisible’ As Anti-Semitic Attacks Persist
Just before 1 a.m. on a Wednesday morning, a 22-year-old man was sucker-punched while speaking on the phone in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. A few minutes earlier, a 51-year-old man nearby was knocked down and beaten. Neither had anything stolen from them. Both were Jewish. The twin attacks, from the same group of three assailants, make…
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Yiddish World How Sephardic Culture Shaped Ultra-Orthodox Judaism
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. Sephardi Jews often complain that Ashkenazim dominate Jewish culture to the point that they are losing aspects of their own cultural identity. The way one studies in a typical Yeshiva, the type of food eaten in honor of the Sabbath, the music, the men’s clothing, everything symbolizing…
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News Why Do Some Ultra-Orthodox Jews Defy Their Rebbes And Refuse Measles Vaccines?
“Minke” used to get her kids vaccinated, though she never felt right about it. The thought of injecting her children with a foreign substance — one that might cause them to run a fever or have an allergic reaction — scared her, even if it might protect them from measles, polio and other life-threatening diseases….
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Life What Yeshiva Kids Are Actually Studying All Day
In the last few years, advocacy groups have criticized yeshivas (Orthodox private schools) in the New York area for offering students a substandard education. YAFFED (Young Advocates for Fair Education) recently sued New York state, challenging the constitutionality of a recent amendment to an education law directed at these schools, and has argued that their…
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Life Why Hasidic Jews Avoid The Torah On Christmas Eve
It is a common practice among Hasidic Jews to abstain from studying the Torah on Christmas Eve. This tradition is remarkable, since for one thing, religious Jews do not usually have customs associated with Christian holidays. For another, studying of Torah is considered one of the most important things Jews must do, and they otherwise…
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