Welcome to 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 WATCH: Hasidic Performers Rock Out To An Amazing Hebrew Rendition Of ‘Despacito’
The music video for “Despacito” recently became the most watched video in YouTube’s history, with 3.3 billion views and, as someone who listens to that song seven times in a row twice a day, I can definitively say it deserves the accolade. But I can also definitively say that the video below, of Hasidic performers…
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Life This Hasidic Picture Book Teaches Children About Sexual Abuse
If you walk into Monsey’s Evergreen kosher supermarket, somewhere among the extensive schnitzel varieties and Shabbos candy treats, you’ll see a single children’s book for sale. Zai Gezunt! is the Yiddish translation of Artscroll’s Let’s Stay Safe, written by Bracha Goetz and illustrated by Tova Leff, a picture book that talks about children’s safety of…
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Life Orthodox Resistance to Trump Grows — In Secret Social Media Groups
Ever since the election, as an ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman, I was beginning to feel more and more isolated. In my politically conservative community, too few around me took issue with the saga unfolding in Washington, the racist slogans and shocking vulgarity to emerge from the White House. A few family members (all Hasidim) were my…
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Opinion Is It Wrong To Want Ultra-Orthodox Jews To Stay Out Of Your Town?
Recently, residents of Mahwah, New Jersey, noticed utility trucks driving around town, attaching strange-looking PVC piping to telephone poles. Soon they learned their purpose: the establishment of an eruv, a mysterious boundary that makes it possible for Torah-observant Jews to carry objects on the Sabbath. It’s a crucial step in making a neighborhood inviting to…
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Life How the Term ‘Ultra-Orthodox’ Is An Overgeneralization — And Why It Matters
One of my biggest pet peeves about how the media often portrays Orthodox Jews is its use of the overarching term, “ultra-Orthodox.” The photos that accompany articles about “ultra-Orthodox” Jews are typically of women in thick stockings, short wigs and little hats pushing strollers in busy intersections in places that look like Boro Park. Men…
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Fast Forward Formerly Ultra-Orthodox Millennials Get Special ‘Off The Derech’ Moishe House
Two not-for-profits, Moishe House and Footsteps, are teaming up to create a center for formerly ultra-Orthodox millennial Jews. Moishe House is known widely for subsidizing co-living spaces for residents who use the spaces as hubs for the local twentysomething Jewish community. The residents of the new Moishe House Crown Heights are all Jews who are…
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Fast Forward Ultra-Orthodox Matchmakers Will Get $4,000 For Pairing ‘Damaged Goods’ Over 21
The grand rabbi, or “rebbe,” of the Boyan sect of ultra-Orthodox Jews is offering $4,000 to anyone who suggests a successful match between “older singles” in their community, the Israeli news site Arutz Sheva reported Wednesday. The “older” designation applies to single men over the age of 23 and single women over the age of…
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Opinion The Day My Hasidic Father Visited Me At Wellesley
Walking around the leafy campus in his black hat and long black coat, my father looks like a historical figure from another era. Fascinated by the elaborate architecture, he points to a poster on Wellesley’s Science building. “What is the meaning of science?” he asks. I’m caught off guard. “Science explains how our world works,…
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