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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Culture How Hasidism Bridges Boundary Between Christianity and Judaism
Hasidism Incarnate: Hasidism, Christianity, and the Construction of Modern Judaism By Shaul Magid Stanford University Press, 288 pages, $65 In some ways, the boundary between Judaism and Christianity is a boundary about boundaries — specifically, what separates humanity from God, and whether it is ever possible to bridge the gap. Christianity, of course, has among…
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Opinion Men Pushing Baby Strollers? Only Goys Do That!
Now that Hasidic men are barred from pushing strollers, will they turn to other modes of baby transportation? / Illustration by Anya Ulinich Baseball. Men’s briefs. Dogs. Hipster eyeglasses. Motorcycles. Neckties. English. Math. Men’s shoes any color besides black. Button-down shirts that flap left-over-right. Fixing your own car. Modern Hebrew. That’s a partial list of…
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Breaking News N.Y. Hasidic Lawmaker Aron Wieder Gets ‘ISIS’ Threat Letter
Federal authorities are investigating a threatening photo sent to a Hasidic lawmaker in suburban New York. Aron Wieder, a Democrat who is majority leader of the Rockland County Legislature, received a photo last week in the mail showing his head pasted on the body of a person beheaded by the Islamic State jihadist group. The…
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The Schmooze Bono Likes To Bike Around Dressed as A Hasidic Jew
Getty Images I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I hate Bono. And now, he’s just given me another reason. In an interview with CBS radio station KROQ’s Kevin & Bean Show, fellow U2 band-member The Edge mentioned that the lead singer casually dresses up as a Hasidic Jew while cycling around New York…
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News Hasidic Enclave Keeps Its Secrets Amid Elusive Rebbe’s Tight Control
To his hasidim, Rabbi David Twersky is nearly akin to God. But that does not mean he exempts himself from the obligations God imposes on all Jews, at least as traditionalists understand them. Like his followers, Twersky prays to God three times a day. But unlike other Hasidic grand rabbis, Twersky does not pray in…
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Breaking News Ex-Hasidic Man Sues for $1.25M Over Poor Education
A lapsed haredi Orthodox Jew is suing the Quebec government for $1.25 million for not enforcing provincial education guidelines that he says left him virtually illiterate and unemployable. Yonanan Lowen, 36, attended two still-operating illegal haredi Tosh yeshivas north of Montreal and spoke only in Yiddish. He says he never learned to read or write…
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News How Moshe Twersky’s Family Tree Melds Hasidic and Modern Orthodox Worlds
Rabbi Moshe Twersky, murdered in a bloody Jerusalem terror attack on November 18, bore the last name of one of the most illustrious families in Hasidic Europe. But he also was the “truest disciple” of his grandfather, Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik, the founder of Modern Orthodoxy in America, Twersky’s brother-in-law told the Forward. Twersky, the…
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Opinion The Hasidic Community Is Not a Cult
At a recent talk I gave on my new book, “The Pious Ones: The World of Hasidim and Their Battles With America,” a friend in the audience came away with some rather sharp comments, agreeing with some of the points I made, but finally dismissing Hasidim with the words “They’re a cult.” Although the book…
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